– Under this name, in antiquity sheltered various skin diseases that required separation from the family because of contagion. For the Jews, the sick person was considered unclean and, as such, could not go where other people were or be touched by them:
Lev 13–14 : When a man has […] an inflammation […] and it becomes […] leprosy, he shall be brought to Aaron.
– In addition, it was considered as punishment from God because of the sins of oneself or one’s parents:
Num 12,9-10 : The anger of the Lord was kindled against them. The Lord departed, and the cloud removed from over the tent.
2Sm 3,29 : Let no one ever lack in your house men attacked by the itch or leprosy, who work at the spindle, who fall by the sword.
2 Kings 5:27 : Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and all your descendants forever.
2 Kings 15:5 : The Lord smote the king with leprosy, and he was a leper until the day of his death, living in a faraway house.
2Ch 26,19 : Ozias […] was enraged; but during this fit of anger, leprosy broke out on his forehead.
– It was up to the priests to examine the sick, the extent of their illness and, if they healed, reintegrate them into the community:
Leviticus 13:49 : If the spot […] is greenish or reddish, it is leprosy: it will be shown to the priest.
Leviticus 14:2-26 : This is the law concerning the leper, for the day of his purification. You will be taken to the priest.
– Jesus respected the Law about lepers, but perfected it, touching them and healing them without caring about legal impurity:
Lc 5,12-14 : While he was in a city, a man full of leprosy appeared.
Lk 17:11-19 : Jesus was passing through the borders […] of Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers met him.
– To convince some disciples of John the Baptist, who still refused to believe that he was the Messiah, Jesus described his work with the same expressions used by Isaiah when he prophesied the future coming of the Messiah:
Is 35,5 : Then the eyes of the blind man will be opened. And the ears of the deaf will be cleared.
Is 61,1-5 : The Lord consecrated me by anointing; he sent me to bring the Good News to the humble.
Mt 11 :5: The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised.
Lk 7,18-35 : Lepers are cleansed […] and the Gospel is preached to the poor.
