Leviticus 13:40
New International Version
“A man who has lost his hair and is bald is clean.

New Living Translation
“If a man loses his hair and his head becomes bald, he is still ceremonially clean.

English Standard Version
“If a man’s hair falls out from his head, he is bald; he is clean.

Berean Standard Bible
Now if a man loses his hair and is bald, he is still clean.

King James Bible
And the man whose hair is fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean.

New King James Version
“As for the man whose hair has fallen from his head, he is bald, but he is clean.

New American Standard Bible
“Now if a man loses the hair of his head, he is only bald; he is clean.

NASB 1995
“Now if a man loses the hair of his head, he is bald; he is clean.

NASB 1977
“Now if a man loses the hair of his head, he is bald; he is clean.

Legacy Standard Bible
“Now if a man loses the hair of his head, he is bald; he is clean.

Amplified Bible
“If a man loses the hair on his head, he is bald, but he is clean.

Christian Standard Bible
“If a man loses the hair of his head, he is bald, but he is clean.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
If a man loses the hair of his head, he is bald, but he is clean.

American Standard Version
And if a man's hair be fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean.

English Revised Version
And if a man's hair be fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"If a man loses his hair, he is clean, even though he is bald.

International Standard Version
"When a man's head becomes bare, he's bald, but he's clean.

Majority Standard Bible
Now if a man loses his hair and is bald, he is still clean.

NET Bible
"When a man's head is bare so that he is balding in back, he is clean.

New Heart English Bible
"If a man's hair has fallen from his head, he is bald. He is clean.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the man whose hair hath fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean.

World English Bible
“If a man’s hair has fallen from his head, he is bald. He is clean.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And when a man’s head [is] polished, he [is] bald; he [is] clean;

Young's Literal Translation
And when a man's head is polished, he is bald, he is clean;

Smith's Literal Translation
And if a man when his head shall become bald, he being bald; he is clean.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
The man whose hair falleth off from his head, he is bald and clean:

Catholic Public Domain Version
The man whose hair falls off of his head is bald and clean.

New American Bible
When a man loses the hair of his head, he is simply bald on the crown and not unclean.

New Revised Standard Version
If anyone loses the hair from his head, he is bald but he is clean.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And the man whose hair is fallen off his head, he is bald; yet he is clean.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And a man, if his hair has fallen out and he becomes bald, he is clean.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And if a man's hair be fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And if any one's head should lose the hair, he is only bald, he is clean.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Laws about Skin Diseases
39the priest shall examine them, and if the spots are dull white, it is a harmless rash that has broken out on the skin; the person is clean. 40Now if a man loses his hair and is bald, he is still clean. 41Or if his hairline recedes and he is bald on his forehead, he is still clean.…

Cross References
2 Kings 2:23-24
From there, Elisha went up to Bethel, and as he was walking up the road, a group of boys came out of the city and jeered at him, chanting, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” / Then he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.

Isaiah 3:24
Instead of fragrance there will be a stench; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of styled hair, baldness; instead of fine clothing, sackcloth; instead of beauty, shame.

1 Corinthians 11:14-15
Doesn’t nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, / but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering.

2 Samuel 10:4-5
So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the hips, and sent them away. / When this was reported to David, he sent messengers to meet the men, since they had been thoroughly humiliated. The king told them, “Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown back, and then return.”

1 Chronicles 19:4-5
So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved their beards, cut off their garments at the hips, and sent them away. / When someone came and told David about his men, he sent messengers to meet them, since the men had been thoroughly humiliated. The king told them, “Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown back, and then return.”

Isaiah 15:2
Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.

Jeremiah 48:37
For every head is shaved and every beard is clipped; on every hand is a gash, and around every waist is sackcloth.

Ezekiel 7:18
They will put on sackcloth, and terror will overwhelm them. Shame will cover all their faces, and all their heads will be shaved.

Matthew 5:36
Nor should you swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.

Luke 12:7
And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

1 Peter 3:3-4
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes, / but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight.

1 Timothy 2:9-10
Likewise, I want the women to adorn themselves with respectable apparel, with modesty, and with self-control, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, / but with good deeds, as is proper for women who profess to worship God.

Numbers 6:5
For the entire period of his vow of separation, no razor shall touch his head. He must be holy until the time of his separation to the LORD is complete; he must let the hair of his head grow long.

Judges 16:17
Samson told her all that was in his heart: “My hair has never been cut, because I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become as weak as any other man.”

1 Samuel 1:11
And she made a vow, saying, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever touch his head.”


Treasury of Scripture

And the man whose hair is fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean.

hair is fallen off his head.

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Leviticus 13
1. The laws whereby the priest is to be guided in discerning the leprosy.














Now if a man loses his hair
This phrase introduces a specific condition regarding hair loss. In the Hebrew context, hair was often seen as a symbol of strength and vitality, as seen in the account of Samson (Judges 16). The Hebrew word for "loses" here is "נָשָׁא" (nasha), which implies a natural process rather than a disease. This distinction is crucial in understanding the cultural and religious implications of baldness in ancient Israel. Hair loss, in this context, is not associated with impurity or sin but is recognized as a natural part of life.

and is bald
The term "bald" in Hebrew is "קֵרֵחַ" (qereach), which refers to the absence of hair on the scalp. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, baldness could sometimes be seen as a sign of mourning or shame (Isaiah 15:2, Jeremiah 47:5). However, Leviticus 13:40 makes it clear that baldness, in itself, does not render a person unclean. This reflects a compassionate understanding of human conditions, emphasizing that physical appearance does not determine one's spiritual state.

he is still clean
The declaration of being "clean" is significant in the Levitical law, where cleanliness often determined one's ability to participate in community and worship. The Hebrew word for "clean" is "טָהוֹר" (tahor), which denotes purity and acceptability before God. This statement reassures that natural baldness does not affect a man's ritual purity. It underscores a broader biblical principle that God looks at the heart rather than outward appearances (1 Samuel 16:7). This verse serves as a reminder of God's grace and the importance of inner purity over external conditions.

(40) And the man whose hair is fallen off--Better, And if a man loseth the hair of his head. The sixth and last case, discussed in Leviticus 13:40-44, is leprosy either at the back or in the front of the head. Though baldness in itself was regarded as a disgrace, and often looked upon as a Divine punishment (2Kings 2:23; Isaiah 3:17; Jeremiah 48:37), yet the simple fact of the mere falling of the hair is not to be taken as a sign of leprosy.

He is bald; yet is he clean.--Better, if he is backhead bald, he is clean. The baldness mentioned in the first part of the verse in general terms is now more minutely specified as consisting of two kinds of baldness.

Leviticus 13:41-42 distinctly show that the word (k?r?ach), here translated simply "bald" in the Authorised Version, denotes a person who has lost hair from the crown of his head downwards towards the channel of his neck, as the administrators of the law during the second Temple rightly define it, in contradistinction to the fore baldness which immediately follows. . . .

Verses 40-44. - Leprosy appearing on the bald head. Though leprosy makes the hair drop off around the leprous spot, baldness is in itself no sign of leprosy, whether at the back or front of the head (verses 40, 41); but as the bald head is a not unusual place for the leprous spot to appear, any eruption upon it is therefore to be watched and tested as before.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Now if
כִּ֥י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

a man
וְאִ֕ישׁ (wə·’îš)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

loses his hair
יִמָּרֵ֖ט (yim·mā·rêṭ)
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 4803: To make smooth, bare or bald, to scour, polish

[and] is bald,
קֵרֵ֥חַ (qê·rê·aḥ)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 7142: Bald

he is still
הֽוּא׃ (hū)
Pronoun - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

clean.
טָה֥וֹר (ṭā·hō·wr)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 2889: Clean, pure


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OT Law: Leviticus 13:40 If a man's hair has fallen (Le Lv Lev.)
Leviticus 13:39
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