Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The priest shall look


Lev 13: 38-46, “If a man also or a woman have in the skin of their flesh bright spots, even white bright spots; Then the priest shall look: and, behold, if the bright spots in the skin of their flesh be darkish white; it is a freckled spot that groweth in the skin; he is clean. And the man whose hair is fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean. And he that hath his hair fallen off from the part of his head toward his face, he is forehead bald: yet is he clean. And if there be in the bald head, or bald forehead, a white reddish sore; it is a leprosy sprung up in his bald head, or his bald forehead. Then the priest shall look upon it: and, behold, if the rising of the sore be white reddish in his bald head, or in his bald forehead, as the leprosy appeareth in the skin of the flesh; He is a leprous man, he is unclean: the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague is in his head. And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.”
It was very important that a person who was infected be excluded from the community in order to preserve public health. However, it was even more important that a person who should not be excluded from the community have a good way of keeping his place in the community. The rules that governed this situation were precise for the protection of the person involved. There was also the chance of someone being healed and there were rules to cover that possibility as well. Everyone was protected through these regulations.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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