Leviticus 14 Summary

Leviticus 14 prescribes detailed purification rituals for a person healed of leprosy, beginning with the priest examining the individual outside the camp. The cleansing occurs in two stages: an initial rite using two birds, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop — with one bird slain over running water and the living bird released — followed by washing, shaving, and a seven-day waiting period, and then on the eighth day a series of sacrificial offerings including a trespass offering, sin offering, burnt offering, and meat offering, with blood and oil applied to the cleansed person's right ear, thumb, and great toe. A reduced provision using turtledoves or young pigeons is specified for those too poor to afford the full offerings. The chapter concludes with laws governing leprosy in houses in the land of Canaan, detailing priestly inspection, quarantine, remediation by removing infected stones and replastering, and, if the plague persists, demolition of the house; a healed house is cleansed using the same two-bird ritual as for persons, and the chapter closes with a summary statement covering all the laws of leprosy.