Leviticus 14:33-47·~1 min

Signs of Home Contamination

The LORD gives Moses and Aaron rules for a house with suspected mildew in Canaan. The owner reports it, the priest inspects it, and the house is cleared and shut up for seven days before a second examination.

T³³hen the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ³⁴“When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your possession, and I put a contamination of mildew into a house in that land, ³⁵the owner of the house shall come and tell the priest, ‘Something like mildew has appeared in my house.’ ³⁶The priest must order that the house be cleared before he enters it to examine the mildew, so that nothing in the house will become unclean. After this, the priest shall go in to inspect the house. ³⁷He is to examine the house, and if the mildew on the walls consists of green or red depressions that appear to be beneath the surface of the wall, ³⁸the priest shall go outside the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days. ³⁹On the seventh day the priest is to return and inspect the house. If the mildew has spread on the walls,

If mildew spreads, contaminated stones are removed, the house is scraped and replastered, and new materials are fitted in. If the mildew returns after that, the house is judged unclean and destroyed, and those who enter it become unclean.

⁴⁰he must order that the contaminated stones be pulled out and thrown into an unclean place outside the city. ⁴¹And he shall have the inside of the house scraped completely and the plaster that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the city. ⁴²So different stones must be obtained to replace the contaminated ones, as well as additional mortar to replaster the house. ⁴³If the mildew reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house has been scraped and replastered, ⁴⁴the priest must come and inspect it. ⁴⁵If the mildew has spread in the house, it is a destructive mildew; the house is unclean. It must be torn down with its stones, its timbers, and all its plaster, and taken outside the city to an unclean place. ⁴⁶Anyone who enters the house during any of the days that it is closed up will be unclean until evening. ⁴⁷And anyone who sleeps in the house or eats in it must wash his clothes.

Section summaryThe chapter shifts from diseased bodies to damaged houses in the land. A priest inspects suspicious mildew, isolates the house, removes or replaces infected material, and, if the corruption returns and spreads, orders the house destroyed.

Role in the chapterThis section extends the chapter’s concern from persons to dwellings. It shows that uncleanness can affect the spaces Israel inhabits, and that those spaces too must be examined and judged under priestly oversight.