7146. qarachath

Lexical Summary

qarachath: Baldness, bald spot

Original Word: קָרַחַת
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: qarachath
Pronunciation: kah-rah-khath
Phonetic Spelling: (kaw-rakh'-ath)
KJV: bald head, bare within
NASB: bald head, head, top
Word Origin: [from H7139 (קָרַח - make)]

1. a bald spot (on the back of the head)
2. (figuratively) a threadbare spot (on the back side of the cloth)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

bald head, bare within

From qarach; a bald spot (on the back of the head); figuratively, a threadbare spot (on the back side of the cloth) -- bald head, bare within.

see HEBREW qarach

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from qarach
Definition
baldness of head
NASB Translation
bald head (2), bareness* (1), head (1), top (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

קָרַחַת noun feminine baldness of head; — absolute ׳ק Leviticus 13:42 a; suffix קָרַחְתּוֺ Leviticus 13:42 +; — baldness of head (always opposed to גַּבַּחַת baldness of forehead), Leviticus 13:42 (twice in verse); Leviticus 13:43,55.

Topical Lexicon

Meaning within the Levitical purity laws

קָרַחַת denotes the visible bald area on the scalp or forehead that served as a diagnostic surface for a suspected case of skin disease (commonly rendered “leprosy” or “infection” in English versions). In Leviticus 13 the term is never treated as defilement in itself. Ordinary hair loss (“he is bald; he is clean,” Leviticus 13:40) carried no stigma; only when a reddish-white lesion erupted in the bald spot did uncleanness come into view. Thus baldness became a neutral background against which uncleanness could be detected or disproved, protecting an afflicted individual from unnecessary exclusion while also safeguarding the camp from genuine contagion.

Priestly examination and pastoral oversight

The four occurrences all appear in instructions to the priesthood (Leviticus 13:42 twice, 13:43, 13:55). These verses underscore the priest’s role as medical examiner, public health officer and spiritual shepherd. By close inspection of the קָרַחַת the priest determined whether a person must be isolated or could remain within the covenant community. The process models careful, compassionate oversight in ministry:

• Investigation precedes judgment (Leviticus 13:42-43).
• A definitive verdict is rendered on the basis of observable evidence, not assumption.
• Where uncleanness is confirmed, further action (isolation, washing, even burning of garments, Leviticus 13:55) is prescribed for the good of all.

Historical and cultural backdrop

In the Ancient Near East, hair was often associated with strength, dignity and vitality; sudden or premature loss could be viewed as shame or mourning. Leviticus separates such cultural associations from ritual purity. An Israelite could be completely hairless yet ceremonially clean. This distinction safeguarded individuals from superstition while reinforcing that holiness is defined by the word of God, not by social prejudice.

Theological trajectory

1. Holiness and wholeness: Bodily integrity mattered because Israel’s holy God dwelt among His people (Leviticus 11:44-45). The inspection of a bald spot, no matter how small, preached that nothing unclean could be ignored in the presence of the LORD.
2. Sin as hidden contagion: A lesion erupting in a seemingly harmless קָרַחַת pictures sin emerging in what first appeared benign. “A little leaven leavens the whole lump,” echoes the principle (1 Corinthians 5:6).
3. Mediated cleansing: Only the priest could declare “clean” or “unclean,” foreshadowing the Mediator who alone can pronounce final cleansing (Hebrews 9:14).

Practical application for contemporary ministry

• Discernment: Leaders must distinguish between natural conditions and moral defilement, refusing both legalism (condemning baldness itself) and laxity (ignoring genuine infection).
• Accountability: The repeated priestly inspections remind congregations to submit to biblically-grounded evaluation for the sake of collective holiness.
• Compassionate isolation and restoration: Temporary separation of the unclean served ultimate reintegration once purity was restored—a pattern for church discipline that aims at recovery, not rejection (Matthew 18:15-17; 2 Corinthians 2:6-8).

Christological reflection

The Messiah willingly bore our uncleanness outside the camp (Hebrews 13:12-13). By His stripes the most defiling “sore” is healed (Isaiah 53:5). In Him, believers can approach God “without spot or wrinkle or any such blemish” (Ephesians 5:27), a reversal of every judgment pronounced upon a diseased קָרַחַת.

Summary

קָרַחַת serves as a precise medical-ritual term whose limited use in Leviticus teaches the intersection of physical health, ceremonial purity and pastoral care. It reinforces that God’s holiness regulates all of life, yet His provisions aim at restoration. The same God who scrutinized a bald spot in the wilderness offers perfect cleansing through the ultimate Priest, Jesus Christ.

Forms and Transliterations

בְּקָרַחְתּ֖וֹ בַקָּרַ֙חַת֙ בקרחת בקרחתו ḇaq·qā·ra·ḥaṯ ḇaqqāraḥaṯ bə·qā·raḥ·tōw bekarachTo bəqāraḥtōw vakkaRachat

Englishman's Concordance

Leviticus 13:42
HEB: וְכִֽי־ יִהְיֶ֤ה בַקָּרַ֙חַת֙ א֣וֹ בַגַּבַּ֔חַת
NAS: But if on the bald head or
KJV: And if there be in the bald head, or bald forehead,
INT: if occurs the bald or the bald

Leviticus 13:42
HEB: פֹּרַ֙חַת֙ הִ֔וא בְּקָרַחְתּ֖וֹ א֥וֹ בְגַבַּחְתּֽוֹ׃
NAS: But if on the bald head or the bald
KJV: sprung up in his bald head, or his bald forehead.
INT: breaking he head or forehead

Leviticus 13:43
HEB: לְבָנָ֣ה אֲדַמְדֶּ֔מֶת בְּקָרַחְתּ֖וֹ א֣וֹ בְגַבַּחְתּ֑וֹ
NAS: on his bald head or
KJV: reddish in his bald head, or in his bald forehead,
INT: white is reddish-white head or his bald

Leviticus 13:55
HEB: פְּחֶ֣תֶת הִ֔וא בְּקָרַחְתּ֖וֹ א֥וֹ בְגַבַּחְתּֽוֹ׃
NAS: whether an eating away has produced bareness on the top
KJV: it [is] fret inward, [whether] it [be] bare within or without.
INT: an eating he the top or the front

4 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 7146
4 Occurrences

bə·qā·raḥ·tōw — 3 Occ.
ḇaq·qā·ra·ḥaṯ — 1 Occ.