John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 3. And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh , etc.] Whether it be a swelling, scab, or a bright spot that appears, and judge of it by the following rules, and none but a priest might do this: and [when] the hair in the plague is turned white ; it arising in a place where hair grows, and which hair is not naturally white, but of another colour, but changed through the force of the plague; and there were to be two hairs at least, which were at first black, but turned white; so Jarchi and Ben Gersom: and these hairs, according to the Misnah f435 , must be white at bottom; if the root (or bottom) is black, and the head (or top) white, he is clean; if the root white, and the head black, he is defiled; for hairs turning white is a sign of a disorder, of weakness, of a decay of nature, as may be observed in ancient persons: and the plague in sight [be] deeper than the skin of his flesh ; appears plainly to view to be more than skin deep, to have corroded and eat into the flesh below the skin: it [is] a plague of leprosy ; when these two signs were observed, hair turned white, and the plague was more than skin deep, then it was a plain case that it was the leprosy of which (see Gill on “ Matthew 8:2”) (see Gill on “ Matthew 8:3”) (see Gill on “ Luke 5:12”). This was an emblem of sin, and the corruption of nature, which is an uncleanness, and with which every man is defiled, and which renders him infectious, nauseous, and abominable; and of which he is only to be cured and cleansed by Christ, the great High Priest, through his blood, which cleanses from all sin. The above signs and marks of leprosy may be observed in this; the white hair denoting a decay of strength, (see Hosea 7:9) may be seen in sinners, as in the leper, who are without moral and spiritual strength to keep the law of God, to do anything that is spiritually good, to regenerate, renew, convert, and sanctify themselves, or to bring themselves out of the state of pollution, bondage, and misery, in which they are; and, like the leprosy, sin lies deep in man; it is in his flesh, in which dwells no good thing, and in which there is no soundness; it does not lie merely in outward actions, but it is in the heart, which is desperately wicked; for the inward part of man is very wicked: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean ; and so should be obliged to rend his clothes, make bare his head, put a covering on his upper lip, and cry, unclean, unclean; dwell alone without the camp, and at a proper time bring the offering for his cleansing, and submit to the several rites and ceremonies prescribed, ( Leviticus 13:45,46 14:1-57).
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-17 - The plague of leprosy was an uncleanness, rather than a disease. Chris is said to cleanse lepers, not to cure them. Common as the leprosy wa among the Hebrews, during and after their residence in Egypt, we have no reason to believe that it was known among them before. Their distressed state and employment in that land must have rendered the liable to disease. But it was a plague often inflicted immediately by the hand of God. Miriam's leprosy, and Gehazi's, and king Uzziah's were punishments of particular sins; no marvel there was care taken to distinguish it from a common distemper. The judgment of it was referre to the priests. And it was a figure of the moral pollutions of men' minds by sin, which is the leprosy of the soul, defiling to the conscience, and from which Christ alone can cleanse. The priest coul only convict the leper, (by the law is the knowledge of sin,) but Christ can cure the sinner, he can take away sin. It is a work of grea importance, but of great difficulty, to judge of our spiritual state We all have cause to suspect ourselves, being conscious of sores an spots; but whether clean or unclean is the question. As there wer certain marks by which to know it was leprosy, so there are marks of such as are in the gall of bitterness. The priest must take time i making his judgment. This teaches all, both ministers and people, no to be hasty in censures, nor to judge anything before the time. If some men's sins go before unto judgment, the sins of others follow after and so do men's good works. If the person suspected were found to be clean, yet he must wash his clothes, because there had been ground for the suspicion. We have need to be washed in the blood of Christ from our spots, though not leprosy spots; for who can say, I am pure from sin?
Original Hebrew וראה7200 הכהן3548 את853 הנגע5061 בעור5785 הבשׂר1320 ושׂער8181 בנגע5061 הפך2015 לבן3836 ומראה4758 הנגע5061 עמק6013 מעור5785 בשׂרו1320 נגע5061 צרעת6883 הוא1931 וראהו7200 הכהן3548 וטמא2930 אתו׃853
