What Does Leviticus 13:56 Mean?
And if the priest looks, and behold, the stroke is somewhat dim after its washing; then he shall tear it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the weft.
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
And if the priest look, and, behold, the plague be somewhat dark after the washing of it; then he shall rend it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the woof:THE KEY
The mark fades after washing, but fading does not make it disappear: the affected part is torn from the material.
THE MEANING
The verse holds your attention on what remains after washing: the mark is fainter, yet still present. The priest tears the affected part from the garment, hide, warp, or woof. The remaining condition determines what happens next.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A faded mark is not necessarily a vanished mark; washing alone does not settle the question.
THE ROOT
כֵּהָה
kēhāh
GROWS FROM
כהה
k-h-h
To grow dim, weak, or faint.
“dim” in this verse is kēhāh. The KJV’s “somewhat dark” carries the sense of something dimmed or weakened. This same root describes eyes losing clarity and a wick burning faintly; here, the mark’s reduced visibility is still something the priest can see.
ALSO GROWS
vatikhheina: Eyes losing their clarity of sight.
וַתִּכְהֶיןָ
The same root describes diminished sight, not sight that has vanished.
pishtah kēhāh: A wick burning faintly.
פִּשְׁתָּה כֵהָה
The shared root names reduced intensity while the thing itself remains present.
וְקָרַע
wəqāraʿ
GROWS FROM
קרע
q-r-ʿ
To tear or rend apart.
“tear” in this verse is wəqāraʿ. The verb names separation: the marked portion is torn away from the material. Elsewhere the same root describes tearing garments and tearing the heart, but here its object is concrete, the affected part of the garment, hide, or weave.
ALSO GROWS
vayyiqraʿ: He tore his clothing.
וַיִּקְרַע
The same root explicitly names tearing cloth, as it does here.
ve-qirʿu levavkhem: Tear open your heart.
וְקִרְעוּ לְבַבְכֶם
The root can name an inward rupture too; in this verse, it describes physical removal from the material.
THE PATTERN
A first washing or treatment is followed by attention to what remains, and that remaining condition governs the next response.
And the priest shall see him again on the seventh day; and behold, if the stroke is somewhat dim, and the stroke has not spread in the skin, the priest shall declare him clean; it is only a scab; and he shall wash his garments, and be clean.And he looked up, and said, I see humankind, like trees that walk. Then he laid his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up; and he was set back in place, and saw everyone in clear light.THE THREAD
A crushed reed he will not break, and a dimming wick he will not snuff out. He will bring out judgment into truth.The Hebrew calls the flax כֵּהָה (kēhāh), “dim,” using the same root as the mark after washing here. Isaiah’s faint wick is not quenched, while Leviticus’s affected section is torn away; the shared word names the dimness, while each verse’s object and action shape what follows.
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