Favor · the best way to learn the Bible
Leviticus 14 Bible study: In the day of his cleansing
Leviticus 14 heals no one. It brings someone already healed all the way back: the priest goes out of the camp to him, two birds, seven days outside his tent, and on the eighth day blood and oil on his right ear, thumb and big toe, where only priests had been marked before. Jesus sent a cleansed leper to this law: "offer for your cleansing the things which Moses commanded" (Mark 1:44).
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the words behind the words, what most readers miss, and how it all leads to Jesus.
First week free, then $10 a month per person
“then the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meal offering on the altar. The priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“In Leviticus 14, the cleansing law is for someone whose leprosy has already been healed.”
Is that in Leviticus 14, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
The priest goes out, and the law doesn't heal
A leper lived apart: "He shall dwell alone. His dwelling shall be outside of the camp" (Leviticus 13:46). So this law begins with the priest going to him: "the priest shall go out of the camp. The priest shall examine him" (14:3). And look at what he is looking for: "if the plague of leprosy is healed in the leper" (14:3). The law doesn't heal anyone, and the priest is never told to. It is for someone already healed, and it brings him back, step by step, until "The priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean" (14:20).
Where it leads to Jesus
Offer the things which Moses commanded
Leviticus 14:2leads toMark 1:40-44
"This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest" (14:2). A leper came to Jesus, and Jesus "touched him" (Mark 1:41); "immediately the leprosy departed from him and he was made clean" (Mark 1:42). Then Jesus told him, "go show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing the things which Moses commanded, for a testimony to them" (Mark 1:44). Matthew and Luke give the same command (Matthew 8:4; Luke 5:14). Jesus doesn't name the chapter; the offerings Moses commanded for a leper's cleansing are the ones set out here (14:4-32). Mark doesn't say whether the man went to the priest; he says the man "went out, and began to proclaim it much" (Mark 1:45).
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Leviticus 14
That was a taste
The rest of Leviticus 14 is waiting in Favor
- Coming home in steps
- Ear, thumb and toe, as at the priests' consecration
- Show yourself to the priest
- Cedar, scarlet and hyssop
- A house with leprosy
- 18 questions as you read
- 12 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Leviticus 14 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
טָהֵרtahersay ta-HEIR
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "be clean, pure". Strong's: "properly, to be bright; i.e. (by implication) to be pure". This chapter uses the verb 19 times, more than any other chapter of the Hebrew Bible. It comes in three forms. "He shall be clean" (14:8, 14:9, 14:20), and of the house, "it shall be clean" (14:53). The priest "shall pronounce him clean" (14:7), for which Brown-Driver-Briggs gives "pronounce clean, ceremonially". And the WEB's "him who is to be cleansed" (14:4, 14:14, 14:18 and more) is a third form, for which Brown-Driver-Briggs gives "present oneself for purification". Leviticus uses the verb 43 times, more than any other book. Brown-Driver-Briggs lists Naaman under it too, "freed from leprosy by washing in the Jordan": "his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean" (2 Kings 5:14). A psalm prays, "Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean" (Psalm 51:7).
For your group
Leviticus 14 Bible study questions
- 1The leper lived outside the camp, and "the priest shall go out of the camp" to him (14:3). Who is outside in your world, and what would it look like to go out to them?
- 2Coming back took steps: into the camp, seven days, then the door of the Tent of Meeting (14:8-11). What helps someone who has been away from God's people find their way back?
- 3Jesus sent the healed man to the priest "for a testimony to them" (Mark 1:44). When God has done something for you, how do you let the people around you see it?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Leviticus 14 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
Start a Bible studyThe best way to learn the Bible
Favor opens up every chapter as you read.
Favor is a Bible study app for your phone or computer. It takes you through the Bible one chapter at a time, a few minutes a day, and shows you what's really there: the words behind the words, the moments most people miss, and how the whole story fits together. For you. For everyone.
Every chapter explains itself
As you read, short notes open up what's really going on, the details most readers walk past, and the honest questions people ask.
The Hebrew and Greek behind it
Tap a highlighted word to see the original, how to say it, and what it means, checked against the original-language texts.
Every page leads to Jesus
Watch promises made in Genesis kept in Jesus. Each line lights up on your map as you read.
Better together
Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together.
- 1
Start your free week
Sign up in a minute with your email.
- 2
Read a few minutes a day
Each chapter opens itself up as you go. Tap what you're curious about.
- 3
Bring your people, if you like
Send one link. Everyone reads the same chapter, then meets to talk.
First week free, then $10 a month per person
Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
How much does it cost?
Your first week is free. After that it's $10 a month per person, the same for everyone, including groups and churches. There are no tiers and nothing extra to unlock.
Can I read Leviticus 14 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Leviticus 14 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
Do I need a group?
No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
I've never really read the Bible. Is this for me?
Yes. Favor starts where you are and explains as it goes. The questions along the way aren't marked right or wrong: you answer, then see what the text shows.
Which Bible does Favor use?
The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
Is Favor tied to a church?
No. Favor is non-denominational. Where Christians read a passage differently, it shows the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
Start with Leviticus 14
The best way to learn the Bible. For you. For everyone.
There's a seat for you at the table.
Start your free weekFirst week free, then $10 a month per person · Log in
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home