44 he is a leprous man. He is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him unclean. His plague is on his head.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
He is a leprous man, he is unclean. In the first part of the verse he says that the leprous man must be counted unclean; but, in the latter part, he commands the priest to give sentence against this uncleanness, lest it should be carried into the congregation. On this ground he says, "his plague is upon his head," which is as much as to say, that he is sentenced to just ignominy, for Moses takes it for granted that God holds up to public infamy whomsoever He smites with leprosy, and thence reminds them that they justly and deservedly bear this punishment. The two following verses contain the form in which the sentence is executed, viz., that the man should wear a rent in his garment, which is to be the mark of his disgrace, that he should walk with his head bare, and with his mouth covered, (for this I take to be the meaning of the covering of his lip;) and besides this, that he is to be the proclaimer of his own pollution; finally, that he must dwell without the camp, as if banished from communication with men. Moses here [1] refers to the existing state of the people, as long as they sojourned in the desert; for after they began to inhabit the land, the lepers were driven out of the towns and villages to dwell by themselves. I know not whether the opinion of some is a sound one, that they were enjoined to cover the mouth or lip, lest by the infection of their breath they should injure others. My own view is rather, that because they were civilly dead, they also bore the symbol of death in having the face covered -- as their separation deprived them of the ordinary life of men. Where we translate "shall cry, Unclean, unclean," some, taking the verb, yqr' yikra, [2] indefinitely, construe it passively, "shall be called,:" and I admit that in many passages it has the same force as if it were in the plural number. But, because the repetition of the word "unclean" is emphatic, it is probable that the word is not to be taken simply for "to call," (vocare;) and therefore, I rather incline to the opinion that, by the command of the Law, they warned all with their own mouth not to approach them, lest any one should incautiously pollute himself by touching them; although their uncleanness was perhaps proclaimed publicly, so that all might mutually exhort each other to beware And Jeremiah seems to allude to this passage, where, speaking [3] of the defilements of the city, he says that all men cried "Unclean; fly ye, fly ye." (Lamentations 4:15)
1 - Add. Fr., "en parlant de l'oster du camp;" in speaking of putting him out of the camp.
2 - yqr'. He shall cry, or call out. Had it been passive it would have been yqr' There is, therefore, no ambiguity as to the voice, except to such as deny the authority of the points, or read Hebrew without them. -- W
3 - Fr., "en parlant des pollutions de la ville de Jerusalem, il dit que tous pourront bien crier, Souillez, retirez vous, retirez vous,'" in the speaking of the pollutions of the city of Jerusalem, he says, that all might well cry, "Ye polluted, depart ye, depart ye." A. V. "It is unclean, (or Margin, ye polluted,) depart, depart," etc.
He is a leprous man, he is unclean,.... And so to be pronounced and accounted; only a leprous man is mentioned, there being no leprous women, having this sort of leprosy, their hair not falling off, or they becoming bald, usually; unless, as Ben Gersom observes, in a manner strange and wonderful:
the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; as in any other case of leprosy:
his plague is in his head; an emblem of such who have imbibed bad notions and erroneous principles, and are therefore, like the leper, to be avoided and rejected from the communion of the saints, Titus 3:10; and shows that men are accountable for their principles as well as practices, and liable to be punished for them.
*More commentary available at chapter level.