CategoryBackground / Ritual Purity Term
Modern Equivalentritual skin disease; uncleanness condition.
KJV Word TypeRitual purity term / disease term
DefinitionA skin-disease or surface-condition category in biblical ritual law that rendered a person ritually unclean; it is not always identical to modern Hansen’s disease.
Key Verses"And the leper in whom the plague is... shall cry, Unclean, unclean." (Leviticus 13:45); "And, behold, there was a man full of leprosy... Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." (Luke 5:12)
KJV Usage NoteBiblical “leprosy” may cover several skin conditions and ritual uncleanness, not only the modern disease called Hansen’s disease.
Common MisunderstandingBiblical leprosy is not always identical to modern Hansen’s disease; it can refer to several conditions tied to ritual uncleanness.
EtymologyFrom Greek lepra ("scaly").