Leprosy

Biblical Texts

The regulations concerning leprosy are set out most fully in Leviticus 13–14. If a priest examined a sore or spot on the skin and pronounced it unclean, the person had to tear his clothes, cover his upper lip, cry "Unclean, unclean," and live alone outside the camp (Leviticus 13:45-46). If the person recovered, the priest went outside the camp to verify the healing. The person then returned to the community after a purification rite and sacrifices involving two birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop (Leviticus 14). The same term is also applied to blemishes on garments, leather, and the walls of houses (Leviticus 13:47-59; 14:33-53).

Leprosy appears in the following narratives:

• The sign given to Moses: The hand of Moses briefly became leprous and was then restored (Exodus 4:6-7).
• Miriam: After speaking against Moses, Miriam was struck with leprosy and remained outside the camp for seven days (Numbers 12).
• Naaman and Gehazi: Naaman, commander of the army of Aram, washed seven times in the Jordan as Elisha instructed and was healed. Gehazi, who secretly accepted gifts from him, was afflicted with Naaman's leprosy (2 Kings 5).
• The four men at the gate of Samaria: Four lepers at the entrance of the city gate reported that the Aramean camp had been deserted (2 Kings 7).
• Uzziah: Uzziah, king of Judah, was struck with leprosy when he attempted to burn incense, a duty reserved for the priests, and lived in a separate house until the day of his death (2 Chronicles 26:16-21).

In the New Testament, Jesus stretches out his hand, touches a leper, makes him clean, and tells him to show himself to the priest (Mark 1:40-45; Matthew 8:1-4; Luke 5:12-16). In the account of the ten lepers, only one of the ten who were healed, a Samaritan, returns to give thanks (Luke 17:11-19). Leprosy is also mentioned in connection with "Simon the leper" of Bethany (Mark 14:3), in Jesus' instructions when he sends out the disciples (Matthew 10:8), and in Jesus' reference to Naaman (Luke 4:27).

Terminology and Background

The Hebrew term is tsara'at, which the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament) rendered as lepra. Because the word is applied not only to human skin but also to garments and houses, scholars widely hold that it is difficult to identify it with the disease known in modern medicine as Hansen's disease. It is often understood as a term covering a range of skin conditions. The concern of Leviticus is not treatment but "clean and unclean," that is, whether a person may take part in the worshiping community. In these regulations the priest is not a healer but the one who renders a verdict.

Among Korean Bible translations, the Korean Revised Version (Gaeyeok Hangeul) rendered the term mundungbyeong, and the New Korean Revised Version (Gaeyeok Gaejeong) changed it to nabyeong. The New Korean Standard Version renders it in Leviticus and elsewhere as "malignant skin disease."

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

In the Old Testament, leprosy signifies uncleanness and separation from the community. In some cases, such as those of Miriam, Gehazi, and Uzziah, it is presented as divine chastisement. In the New Testament, the cleansing of lepers is presented as a sign of the messianic age (Luke 7:22). Under the law, anyone who touched an unclean person also became unclean. Many interpreters therefore read the scene in which Jesus touches a leper and makes him clean as an act in which he crosses the boundary between clean and unclean to restore the marginalized.

Interpretation and Debate

• A symbol of sin: Church tradition and preaching commonly treat leprosy as a symbol of sin. The text, however, never directly calls leprosy sin. Moreover, because "uncleanness" in Leviticus also includes conditions unrelated to moral wrongdoing, such as childbirth, some caution against simply equating the two.
• Disease and punishment: Some narratives present leprosy as chastisement. Other cases, however, such as those of Naaman and the four men at the gate, are not connected to sin, and many interpreters therefore hold that these accounts provide no basis for regarding all illness as punishment.
• Identification with Hansen's disease: Some have noted with regret that equating biblical leprosy with Hansen's disease deepened the stigma against people affected by Hansen's disease.

In the Korean Church

To avoid the stigma attached to the word mundungbyeong, the terms "Hansen's disease" and "people affected by Hansen's disease" are now generally used. The ministry of Pastor Son Yang-won, who lived among and pastored people affected by Hansen's disease at Aeyangwon in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, is widely known in the Korean church. The account of the ten lepers is frequently cited in sermons on thanksgiving.