Leviticus 13:30

13:30 the priest is to examine the infection, ¹  and if ²  it appears to be deeper than the skin ³  and the hair in it is reddish yellow and thin, then the priest is to pronounce the person unclean. ⁴  It is scall, ⁵  a disease of the head or the beard. ⁶ 

Leviticus 16:4

16:4 He must put on a holy linen tunic, ⁷  linen leggings are to cover his body, ⁸  and he is to wrap himself with a linen sash ⁹  and wrap his head with a linen turban. ¹⁰  They are holy garments, so he must bathe ¹¹  his body in water and put them on.

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¹ tn Heb “and the priest shall see the infection.”

² tn Heb “and behold.”

³ tn Heb “its appearance is deep ‘from’ (comparative מִן, min, “deeper than”) the skin.”

⁴ tn This is the declarative Piel of the verb טָמֵא (tame’; cf. the note on v. 3 above).

⁵ tn The exact identification of this disease is unknown. Cf. KJV “dry scall”; NASB “a scale”; NIV, NCV, NRSV “an itch”; NLT “a contagious skin disease.” For a discussion of “scall” disease in the hair, which is a crusty scabby disease of the skin under the hair that also affects the hair itself, see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 192-93, and J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:793-94. The Hebrew word rendered “scall” (נֶתֶק, neteq) is related to a verb meaning “to tear; to tear out; to tear apart.” It may derive from the scratching and/or the tearing out of the hair or the scales of the skin in response to the itching sensation caused by the disease.

⁶ tn Heb “It is scall. It is the disease of the head or the beard.”

⁷ sn The term “tunic” refers to a shirt-like garment worn next to the skin and, therefore, put on first (cf. Exod 28:4, 39-40; 29:5, 8; 39:27). It covered the upper body only. For detailed remarks on the terminology for the priestly clothing in this verse (except the “linen leggings”) see the notes on Lev 8:7-9 and the literature cited there.

⁸ tn Heb “shall be on his flesh.” As in many instances in Lev 15, the term “flesh” or “body” here is euphemistic for the male genitals (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:1017, and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 222; cf. the note on Lev 15:2), which the priest must be careful not to expose during such ritual procedures (see Exod 20:26 with 28:42-43).

⁹ sn The sash fastened the tunic around the waist (Exod 28:4, 39; 29:9; 39:29).

¹⁰ tn Heb “and in a turban of linen he shall wrap.”

sn The turban consisted of wound up linen (cf. Exod 28:4, 37, 39; 29:6; 39:31; Lev 16:4). It is usually thought to be a “turban,” but it might be only a “turban-like headband” wound around the forehead area (HALOT 624 s.v. מִצְנֶפֶת).

¹¹ tn Heb “and he shall bathe….”