Leviticus 13:38

Summary

The verse introduces a new diagnostic case in the priestly skin-examination laws: when a man or a woman develops bright spots on the skin of their flesh, and specifically when those spots are white. The sentence sets up a conditional scenario that the following verses will resolve.

Key words

• 'Ish ("a man", H0376G) — masculine singular noun, paired with 'i.Shah to specify that the law applies regardless of sex.
• 'i.Shah ("a woman", H0802G) — feminine singular noun, joined to 'Ish by 'ov- ("or", H0176A), forming an inclusive pairing.
• ki- ("if", H3588A) — conditional particle introducing the hypothetical case that structures the verse as a legal protasis.
• yih.Yeh ("it will be", H1961) — qal imperfect of the verb "to be," marking future/potential occurrence, standard in casuistic (case) law formulations.
• be.ha.Rot ("bright spots", H0934) — feminine plural noun, repeated twice in the verse (once construct-linked to the skin, once modified by le.va.Not), emphasizing the plurality and visibility of the marks.
• le.va.Not ("white", H3836) — feminine plural adjective agreeing with be.ha.Rot, specifying the color of the spots.

What the text says

The verse opens with the paired subject ve'Ish 'ov-'i.Shah ("and a man or a woman"), using the conjunction 'ov- (H0176A) to mark an inclusive either/or construction typical of legal casuistry in this chapter. The particle ki- (H3588A) introduces the conditional clause, followed by the verb yih.Yeh (H1961), a qal imperfect form of "to be" that expresses a potential future event — the standard grammatical pattern for opening a legal case ("if X should occur").

The phrase be'or-besaram uses two nouns in construct chain: 'or ("skin of", H5785) construct with besaR ("flesh", H1320), plus the third-person plural suffix -m ("their"), yielding "on the skin of their flesh." The word be.ha.Rot ("bright spots", H0934) appears twice in the Hebrew text — first without qualification, then repeated and modified by the adjective le.va.Not ("white", H3836). This repetition in the Hebrew is a stylistic feature marking the specific subtype of spot under discussion: bright spots that are, specifically, white ones.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew repeats be.ha.Rot ("bright spots") twice, once unqualified and once qualified by le.va.Not ("white"). The LXX reflects this doubling with two participial forms, αὔγασμα ("bright spot") and αὐγάζοντα λευκαθίζοντα ("shining, whitening"), preserving the repetitive structure. The Vulgate condenses this into a single phrase, candor ("brightness/whiteness"), without repeating the noun, merging the two Hebrew terms into one Latin concept.