H4556 H4556
A scaly skin eruption or scab, particularly in ritual purity contexts
This term appears exclusively in Leviticus 13 as part of the priestly diagnostic system for skin conditions. It refers to a scab or crusty eruption on the skin that required examination by a priest. The spreading or healing of such a condition determined whether someone remained ritually clean or unclean. The multilingual evidence (Spanish erupción, French croûte, German Schorf) confirms this refers to the secondary crust that forms over a healing wound or lesion.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A scab or crusty skin eruption requiring priestly inspection for ritual purity. All three occurrences (Lev 13:6-8) describe the priest examining whether the eruption has spread or remained contained, determining the person's ritual status. The consistent rendering across languages as 'scab' or 'crust' reflects its medical diagnostic function in the purity code. 3×
AR["الْقُوبَاءُ", "قُوبَاءُ"]·ben["খোস-পাঁচড়া", "সেই-খোস-পাঁচড়া"]·DE["Schorf", "der-Schorf"]·EN["scab", "the-scab"]·FR["croûte", "le-croûte"]·heb["ה-מספחת", "מספחת"]·HI["फुंसी", "में-चमड़ी", "याजक"]·ID["kudis"]·IT["crosta", "il-crosta"]·jav["kudis"]·KO["그-딱지-가", "딱지"]·PT["a-crosta", "crosta"]·RU["струп"]·ES["erupción", "la-erupción"]·SW["upele"]·TR["kabuk"]·urd["خارش"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מִסְפַּ֫חַת n.f. id.;—abs. Lv 13:6, 7, 8.