Leviticus Chapters 13-14
In the Old Testament days, having the disease of leprosy was a life threatening, and a life changing, event. Not only did one have a terrible disease, the leper would be shunned from society.
In Leviticus chapters 13-14 the Lord outlines to Moses, the law regarding the determination of leprosy, as well as the law regarding the pronouncing of when a person was cured of leprosy. Both were major events.
In the 13th chapter of Leviticus, the Lord instructs Moses of the manner of detecting when an individual had leprosy. In the 14th chapter, Moses learns of the process whereby a person is proclaimed free of leprosy.
When an individual developed a skin problem (rash, scab, bright spot, etc.) the individual was instructed to go to either Aaron of one of his sons who were also priests for an inspection. The priests than had instructions from the Lord for an examination of the person’s skin and to pronounce that individual "unclean" if early signs indicated leprosy. Lev. 13:2-3.
If the priests detected the early signs of leprosy, the person would be quarantined for 7 days. After the week quarantine the person was again examined, and if the problem had not spread or grown worse, there was another week of quarantine. After the second week, if the skin problem had cleared, or had scabbed over, then the priest would pronounce the person clean, his clothes were washed and he was free to go.
The Lord gave specific instructions relating to the various stages and form of leprosy and the specific individual treatment for each stage. Lev. 13:7-20, 29-36. Detection of signs later revealing no leprosy would invoke different procedures for evaluation. Lev. 13:21-28, 37-42.
A person determined to be a leper was marked (13:45) and required to isolate himself from the remainder of the people, isolated from all communication. 13:46; and specific instructions were given for the care of the person’s garments. 13:47-59.
The 14th chapter of Leviticus deals with instructions as to the determination of when a leper was finally cured and thus "clean".
The priest would be called out of the camp and would go check on the status of the leper. The priest would make the examination, and then pronounce the person "clean" if the leprosy had healed. 14:1-3.
A special sacrifice was required of the person who was healed and again, it would be a special time because it meant a leper would finally be allowed back onto society to mingle with the people and be with family.
A special, detailed sacrifice was instructed for persons healed of leprosy. The person was required to fully wash himself, shave his beard and head and wash clothes. Lev. 14:4-20. If a person could not afford the cost of the required sacrifice, a different sacrifice was required of poor people. 14:21-24.
The Lord also provided instructions as to when the Israeli people reached Canaan, and leprosy was detected in a home. A quarantine of the house was required, and a cleansing of the house. 14:33-42. If the plague returned, the house was to be dismantled. 14:43-45.