What Does Leviticus 13:54 Mean?
Then the priest shall command that they wash the thing in which the stroke is, and he shall shut it in seven days more;
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Then the priest shall command that they wash the thing wherein the plague is, and he shall shut it up seven days more:THE KEY
Washing is not the verdict: the marked thing stays enclosed for seven more days, so what remains can be seen.
THE MEANING
A troubling mark does not become settled simply because the material has been washed: it remains closed away for seven more days and is examined again. The interval allows change or persistence to appear, and the verdict remains open until then.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It dissolves the belief that one cleansing proves a problem has disappeared: the material remains under examination, and the next finding can still be severe.
THE ROOT
נֶגַע
negaʿ
GROWS FROM
נגע
n-g-ʿ
Touch, reach, or strike; the noun can mean a stroke, mark, or affliction.
The noun rendered “plague” belongs to the same root as the verb “touch” and the noun “contact.” That family makes the mark a contact-like stroke upon the fabric, while the seven-day interval asks whether it remains.
ALSO GROWS
nagaʿ: To touch, reach, or strike.
נָגַע
The verb reveals the contact sense held within the word for the mark.
maggaʿ: Contact or touch.
מַגָּע
This related noun makes the shared root connection between contact and affliction visible.
וְהִסְגִּירוֹ
wəhisgîrô
GROWS FROM
סגר
s-g-r
To close, shut in, or confine.
“shut it in” in this verse is wəhisgîrô. The verb gives the uncertainty a physical boundary and an exact duration. Closure does not itself cure the fabric; it creates time for another look.
ALSO GROWS
sāgar: To shut or close.
סָגַר
The basic verb clarifies the concrete action behind “shut it up.”
səgîrāh: Closure or closing.
סְגִירָה
This noun from the same root carries the sense of a bounded period before the next examination.
וְכִבְּסוּ
wəkibbəsû
GROWS FROM
כבס
k-b-s
To launder or wash clothing.
“wash” in this verse is wəkibbəsû. This is the laundering verb used for fabric, so the action treats the thing itself rather than promising that its condition has changed. After washing, the fabric remains a subject of examination.
ALSO GROWS
kibbēs: He laundered or washed clothing.
כִּבֵּס
This verb form shows the same root as the prescribed washing of the affected thing.
kōvēs: A launderer.
כֹּבֵס
The related word for the person doing the washing confirms the root’s association with laundering.
THE PATTERN
A cleansing step does not by itself settle the condition; the affected thing or person remains in a process of examination and confirmation.
And the priest shall look upon the stroke, after it is washed; and behold, if the stroke has not changed its color, and the stroke has not spread; it is soiled; you shall burn it in the fire; it is gnawing inward, whether it is bald within or without.And the one being cleansed shall tread his garments, and shave all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, and shall settle outside his tent seven days.And he said to him, "Look, say nothing to anyone. But go your way, show yourself to the priest, and bring near for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a witness to them."THE THREAD
And the priest shall look upon the stroke, after it is washed; and behold, if the stroke has not changed its color, and the stroke has not spread; it is soiled; you shall burn it in the fire; it is gnawing inward, whether it is bald within or without.Leviticus 13:55 repeats נֶגַע (negaʿ, a touch or affliction), the same word translated “plague.” It shows what the waiting is for: the mark is examined after washing, and if it persists, the fabric is burned.
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