A Terrifying Biblical Disease
In ancient Israel, there was one disease above all others which terrified the people. Like the modern coronavirus, it was an invisible and highly contagious pathogen that spread undetected through the air. There was no known cure, and it was often fatal. The name of this terrible disease was tzara’at צרעת. The name comes from the Hebrew root tzara צרע meaning “to prostrate.” This is because the disease crippled people, reducing them to a state of paralysis. Interestingly, to prevent the spread of tzara’at, the ancient people of Israel used many of the same methods that we use today against COVID-19. The Bible says an infected person should “cover the lower part of his face…and live alone outside the camp” (Leviticus 13:45-46). This is essentially wearing a mask and entering quarantine, two measures that we are very familiar with.
Understand Scripture like Never Before
Tzara’at is translated as “leprosy,” but this is actually incorrect. Leprosy is a modern infectious disease that affects the skin. Tzara’at is an ancient biblical disease that affects the soul as a divine punishment. When Jesus famously healed a leper in Matthew 8:2-4, he was in fact cleansing a man of tzara’at. As a speaker of Hebrew, Jesus knew the word tzara’at, and he understood its deadly power. He alone had the ability to cure people of tzara’at because it was a disease of the soul. As there is no direct translation for tzara’at, you need to know Hebrew to appreciate this, and thousands of other words like it in the Bible. Enroll in our live, online Biblical Hebrew course to understand Scripture in ways you never have before.