934. bahereth
Lexical Summary
bahereth: Bright spot, white spot

Original Word: בֹּהֶרֶת
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: bohereth
Pronunciation: bah-heh-reth
Phonetic Spelling: (bo-heh'-reth)
KJV: bright spot
NASB: bright spot, bright spots
Word Origin: [feminine active participle of the same as H925 (בָּהִיר - bright)]

1. a whitish spot on the skin

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
bright spot

Feminine active participle of the same as bahiyr; a whitish spot on the skin -- bright spot.

see HEBREW bahiyr

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
brightness, bright spot
NASB Translation
bright spot (9), bright spots (3).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
בַּהֶ֫רֶת noun feminine brightness, bright spot, of eruption on skin (Late Hebrew id., Aramaic בַּהְרָא) — ׳בּ absolute Leviticus 13:2 7t.; בֶּהָ֑רֶת Leviticus 14:56; plural absolute בֶּהָרוֺת Leviticus 13:38,39; — bright spot (sore, scar, etc.), clean or unclean Leviticus 14:56; following a burn (from fire) Leviticus 13:24,25,26,28; possible beginning of leprosy Leviticus 13:2,4,19,23; but possibly a (passing) eruption מִסְמַּחַת Leviticus 13:6; or due to a boil שְׁחִין Leviticus 13:19; Leviticus 13:23; — due to בֹּהַק (q. v.) Leviticus 13:38,39.

Topical Lexicon
Nature of the Affliction

בֹּהֶרֶת designates a bright, milk-white patch that may appear on human skin. Scripture classifies it among the several manifestations of צרעת (commonly translated “leprosy,” but encompassing a broader range of dermal disorders). The mark’s diagnostic feature is its intense whiteness, in contrast both to normal flesh and to the reddish or duller hues of other lesions. In Leviticus 13:2 the lesion is listed alongside “a swelling or a scab,” signaling that the priest must differentiate between temporary irritation and an enduring contagion demanding separation.

Occurrences in Leviticus

Every appearance of בֹּהֶרֶת is concentrated in the priestly legislation of Leviticus 13–14:

Leviticus 13:2; 13:4 establish initial inspection protocols.
Leviticus 13:19; 13:23 relate to lesions developing in the scar of a previous boil.
Leviticus 13:24–26 address burns that blanch into a בֹּהֶרֶת.
Leviticus 13:28, 13:38–39 record cases that prove non-contagious after observation.
Leviticus 14:56 summarizes the affliction as one of the conditions for which the priest may render a final verdict of cleanness or uncleanness.

These tightly grouped references show that the term never functions as casual narrative detail; it appears solely within covenantal regulations for distinguishing holy from profane.

Role in Israelite Community Life

Because contagion threatened corporate worship, the Lord charged the priests—not physicians—with medical-spiritual oversight. A suspected בֹּהֶרֶת required quarantine and re-examination after seven days. If the spot “has not spread and has faded, the priest shall pronounce him clean” (Leviticus 13:6). The procedures protected the tabernacle from defilement while also preserving communal safety, balancing mercy toward the sufferer with allegiance to God’s holiness.

Priestly Examination and Ritual Process

1. Initial Presentation: The sufferer approached a priest, not a civil judge, underscoring that impurity is primarily a theological concern (Leviticus 13:2).
2. Observation Period: A seven-day seclusion mirrored creation’s week and allowed time for either healing or manifestation of deeper corruption (Leviticus 13:4).
3. Verdict: Spread or depth signaled uncleanness; stagnation or waning whiteness signaled cleanness (Leviticus 13:19, 23).
4. Restoration: If declared clean, the individual offered sacrifices culminating in blood applied to ear, thumb, and toe, testifying to redeemed hearing, doing, and walking (Leviticus 14:14–18).

Symbolism of Sin and Holiness

The dazzling brightness of בֹּהֶרֶת paradoxically depicts that sin can appear outwardly innocuous or even “white,” yet still estrange from God. Isaiah later laments, “Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18), inverting the association to promise redemptive cleansing. The contrast underscores that external appearance never suffices; divine examination reaches “deeper than the skin” (Leviticus 13:3).

Foreshadowing of Christ’s Cleansing Work

Leviticus 14 provides the only Old Testament account of a person restored from צרעת—picturing resurrection life. Two birds were required: one slain, one released after being dipped in the blood of the first over “running water” (Leviticus 14:6). The type anticipates Jesus Christ, whose death and resurrection secure complete cleansing. The New Testament fulfillment is explicit when Jesus commands healed lepers to “present the offering that Moses commanded” (Matthew 8:4), proving continuity between covenant epochs.

Practical Lessons for Modern Believers

• Vigilance: Spiritual maladies, like בֹּהֶרֶת, may begin small yet demand prompt examination under Scripture’s light.
• Community Accountability: Just as priests assisted the afflicted, churches bear one another’s burdens, restoring with gentleness (Galatians 6:1).
• Holiness and Compassion: Maintaining doctrinal purity must never eclipse mercy toward the repentant, mirroring the priest who both diagnoses and pronounces release.
• Assurance in the Gospel: The meticulous rites culminated in freedom, prefiguring the believer’s sure standing: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Summary

בֹּהֶרֶת, while a technical medical term, serves Scripture’s larger purpose of unveiling humanity’s need for cleansing and highlighting God’s gracious provision through ordained mediators—ultimately fulfilled in the great High Priest, Jesus Christ.

Forms and Transliterations
בֶּהָרֹ֑ת בֶּהָרֹ֖ת בַּבֶּהֶ֙רֶת֙ בַּבַּהֶ֗רֶת בַּהֶ֛רֶת בַּהֶרֶת֩ בַהֶ֔רֶת בַהֶ֖רֶת בבהרת בהרת הַבַּהֶ֙רֶת֙ הַבַּהֶ֜רֶת הבהרת וְלַבֶּהָֽרֶת׃ ולבהרת׃ ba·he·reṯ ḇa·he·reṯ bab·ba·he·reṯ bab·be·he·reṯ babbaHeret babbahereṯ babbeHeret babbehereṯ baheRet bahereṯ ḇahereṯ be·hā·rōṯ behaRot behārōṯ hab·ba·he·reṯ habbaHeret habbahereṯ vaHeret velabbeHaret wə·lab·be·hā·reṯ wəlabbehāreṯ
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Englishman's Concordance
Leviticus 13:2
HEB: סַפַּ֙חַת֙ א֣וֹ בַהֶ֔רֶת וְהָיָ֥ה בְעוֹר־
NAS: or a bright spot, and it becomes
KJV: a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin
INT: A scab or A bright becomes the skin

Leviticus 13:4
HEB: וְאִם־ בַּהֶרֶת֩ לְבָנָ֨ה הִ֜וא
NAS: But if the bright spot is white
KJV: If the bright spot [be] white
INT: if the bright is white he

Leviticus 13:19
HEB: לְבָנָ֔ה א֥וֹ בַהֶ֖רֶת לְבָנָ֣ה אֲדַמְדָּ֑מֶת
NAS: a reddish-white, bright spot, then it shall be shown
KJV: rising, or a bright spot, white,
INT: white or bright white A reddish-white

Leviticus 13:23
HEB: תַּחְתֶּ֜יהָ תַּעֲמֹ֤ד הַבַּהֶ֙רֶת֙ לֹ֣א פָשָׂ֔תָה
NAS: But if the bright spot remains
KJV: But if the bright spot stay
INT: place remains the bright and does not spread

Leviticus 13:24
HEB: מִֽחְיַ֣ת הַמִּכְוָ֗ה בַּהֶ֛רֶת לְבָנָ֥ה אֲדַמְדֶּ֖מֶת
NAS: becomes a bright spot, reddish-white,
KJV: have a white bright spot, somewhat reddish,
INT: and the raw the burn A bright white reddish-white

Leviticus 13:25
HEB: שֵׂעָ֨ר לָבָ֜ן בַּבַּהֶ֗רֶת וּמַרְאֶ֙הָ֙ עָמֹ֣ק
NAS: the hair in the bright spot has turned
KJV: upon it: and, behold, [if] the hair in the bright spot be turned
INT: the hair white the bright appears to be deeper

Leviticus 13:26
HEB: וְהִנֵּ֤ה אֵֽין־ בַּבֶּהֶ֙רֶת֙ שֵׂעָ֣ר לָבָ֔ן
NAS: hair in the bright spot and it is no
KJV: hair in the bright spot, and it [be] no lower
INT: and indeed there the bright hair white

Leviticus 13:28
HEB: תַּחְתֶּיהָ֩ תַעֲמֹ֨ד הַבַּהֶ֜רֶת לֹא־ פָשְׂתָ֤ה
NAS: But if the bright spot remains
KJV: And if the bright spot stay
INT: place remains the bright not spread

Leviticus 13:38
HEB: בְעוֹר־ בְּשָׂרָ֖ם בֶּהָרֹ֑ת בֶּהָרֹ֖ת לְבָנֹֽת׃
NAS: a woman has bright spots on the skin
KJV: of their flesh bright spots, [even] white
INT: the skin of the body bright spots white

Leviticus 13:38
HEB: בְּשָׂרָ֖ם בֶּהָרֹ֑ת בֶּהָרֹ֖ת לְבָנֹֽת׃
NAS: bright spots on the skin
KJV: [even] white bright spots;
INT: of the body bright spots white

Leviticus 13:39
HEB: בְעוֹר־ בְּשָׂרָ֛ם בֶּהָרֹ֖ת כֵּה֣וֹת לְבָנֹ֑ת
NAS: and if the bright spots on the skin
KJV: shall look: and, behold, [if] the bright spots in the skin
INT: the skin of their bodies the bright faint white

Leviticus 14:56
HEB: וְלַשְׂאֵ֥ת וְלַסַּפַּ֖חַת וְלַבֶּהָֽרֶת׃
NAS: and for a scab, and for a bright spot--
KJV: and for a scab, and for a bright spot:
INT: A swelling A scab A bright

12 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 934
12 Occurrences


bab·ba·he·reṯ — 1 Occ.
bab·be·he·reṯ — 1 Occ.
ba·he·reṯ — 2 Occ.
be·hā·rōṯ — 3 Occ.
hab·ba·he·reṯ — 2 Occ.
ḇa·he·reṯ — 2 Occ.
wə·lab·be·hā·reṯ — 1 Occ.

933
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