the LORD
The term "the LORD" is a translation of the Hebrew name Yahweh, the covenant name of God, which signifies His eternal, self-existent nature. This name is deeply significant in the Hebrew tradition, representing God's faithfulness and His relationship with Israel. It is a reminder of His sovereignty and His role as the ultimate lawgiver. In the context of Leviticus, it underscores that the laws and instructions given are not merely human constructs but divine mandates from the Creator Himself.

said
The word "said" indicates direct communication from God. In the Hebrew, this is often rendered as "amar," which conveys not just speaking but authoritative declaration. This highlights the importance of the message being delivered. It is a reminder that God's words are powerful and purposeful, meant to instruct, guide, and sometimes correct His people. The use of "said" here underscores the personal nature of God's communication with Moses and Aaron, showing His desire to be involved in the details of His people's lives.

to Moses
Moses is a central figure in the Old Testament, chosen by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and to receive the Law. His name, derived from the Hebrew "Mosheh," is traditionally understood to mean "drawn out," reflecting his rescue from the Nile as a baby. Moses' role as a mediator between God and the people is crucial, and his inclusion here emphasizes the continuity of God's revelation through him. It reminds us of the importance of faithful leadership and obedience to God's commands.

and Aaron
Aaron, the brother of Moses, is the first high priest of Israel. His inclusion in this verse highlights the priestly role in the administration of God's laws, particularly those concerning ritual purity and holiness. Aaron's involvement signifies the beginning of the priestly duties that will be elaborated upon in Leviticus. His partnership with Moses underscores the collaborative nature of spiritual leadership and the importance of both prophetic and priestly roles in guiding God's people.

(1) And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron.--As laws of leprosy chiefly concerned the priests, who had to examine the symptoms and to decide whether they indicated the distemper or not, the Lord addressed the regulations to Aaron as well as to Moses. The leprosy discussed in this and the following chapters consists of three general classes: viz., (1) leprosy of man (Leviticus 13:2-46); (2) leprosy of garments (Leviticus 13:47-59); and (3) leprosy of houses (Leviticus 14:33-57).

When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh.--In discussing the leprosy of man, the lawgiver enumerates six different circumstances under which it may develop itself. The first circumstance adduced in Leviticus 13:2-6 is of its developing itself without an apparent cause. Hence it was enjoined that if anyone should notice in the skin of his flesh a rising or swelling, he should be taken to the priest. As the description of these symptoms is very concise, and requires to be specified more minutely for practical purposes, the spiritual guides of Israel, who had to explain the law to the priests during the second Temple, and who came in personal contact with this distemper, defined them as follows :--

A rising.--That is, a swelling, or swollen spot. . . . UNCLEANNESS DERIVED FROM LEPROSY OR CONTACT WITH LEPERS AND LEPROUS THINGS (chapters 13, 14). A third cause of uncleanness is found in a third class of offensive or repulsive objects. There is no disease which produces so foul an appearance in the human form as leprosy. There was, therefore, no disease so suitable for creating ceremonial, because representing spiritual, uncleanness. The name leprosy has been made to cover a number of diseases similar but not identical in character. There are many spurious forms of leprosy, and many diseases akin to leprosy which do not now come under discussion. The disease here dealt with is elephantiasis, especially in its anesthetic form, which is otherwise called white leprosy. The two varieties of elephantiasis - the tuberculated and the anesthetic - are, however, so closely connected together that they cannot be separated, the one. often running into the other. The first symptom of the malady is a painless spot, which covers an indolent ulcer. This ulcer may continue unprogressive for months or for years, during which the person affected is able to do his ordinary business; but at the end of these periods, whether longer or shorter, it produces a more repulsive and foul disfigurement of the human face and frame than any known disease, the features of the face changing their character, and part of the body occasionally mortifying and dropping off. Death at last comes suddenly, when a vital part of the body has been affected. The home of leprosy has in all ages been Syria and Egypt and the countries adjacent to them, but Europe has not escaped the scourge. In the Middle Ages, no European country was free from it; London had at one time six leper houses; cases were found not unfrequently in Scotland till the middle of the last century; and there was a death certified by medical science to have resulted from leprosy in the city of Norwich in the year 1880. The object of the regulations relating to leprosy is no more sanitary than of those relating to unclean meats. Like the latter, they may have served a sanitary purpose, for leprosy is, according to the prevailing medical opinion, slightly, though only slightly, contagious. Because leprosy was hideous and foul, it therefore made the man affected by it unclean, and before he could be restored to communion with God and his people, he must be certified by God's priest to be delivered from the disease. As in the previous cases, physical ugliness and defilement represent spiritual depravity and viciousness. "The Levitical law concerning leprosy reveals to us the true nature of sin. It shows its hideousness and its foulness, and fills us with shame, hatred, and loathing for it. And it reveals to us the inestimable benefit which we have received from the incarnation of the Son of God, 'the Sun of Righteousness, with healing in his wings' (Malachi 4:2); and fills us with joy, thankfulness, and love to him for his infinite goodness to us" (Wordsworth). Leprosy, the most loathsome of all common diseases, is the type and symbol of sin, and the ceremonial uncleanness attaching to it is a parable of the moral foulness of sin.

Parallel Commentaries ...