Leviticus 14:36

Lev 14:36 Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest go [into it] to see the plague, that all that [is] in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house:

Ver. 36. That all that is in the house be not made unclean.] As it will be when once the priest hath been there and pronounced it unclean. Learn here, saith a good interpreter, to prevent God’s last judgment, by sequestering ourselves betimes, from the contagion of sinners.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lev 14:36. That all be not made unclean — It is observable here, that neither the people nor the household stuff were polluted till the leprosy was discovered and declared by the priest, to show what great difference God makes between sins of ignorance, and sins against knowledge.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14:36 Having the house emptied indicated that it was not actually unclean until the priest pronounced it so. The owner would remove furnishings so that they would not be included in the quarantine.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(36) That they empty the house.—If the examination was made before the removal of the objects in it, and the priest pronounced the house leprous, all the furniture, &c, found therein would be defiled. Hence the benign law that everything should be removed previous to the priest’s inspection, to save the household stuff. This assuredly shows that the law did not regard leprosy as infectious.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is,.... In there appeared any cavities, or the above colours, and these spreading: in order to put a stop thereunto, these stones were to be drawn or pulled out, as the word signifies, in such manner as not to endanger the fall of the house, and two stones at least were to be taken out; for, as Gersom says, a house was not shut up unless the plague appeared on two stones:

and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city; where dead carcasses were laid, and dung, and filth of every sort; and being laid in such a place, it would be known that they were unclean, as Aben Ezra observes, and so would not be made use of for any purpose.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Become. If any thing was left in the house, it was deemed unclean, as soon as the priest had declared that the house was infected; and therefore, all was to be removed before he came, (Calmet) and might be used without scruple, unless some marks of leprosy appeared afterwards on the garments, chap. xiii. 47.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

That they empty the house, i.e. the possessors of the house. It is observable here, that neither the people nor the household stuff were polluted till the leprosy was discovered and declared by the priest, to show what great difference God makes between sins of ignorance, and sins against knowledge and conscience.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

36. Empty the house — Literally, prepare the house for inspection, by the removal of its contents, as a safeguard against ceremonial defilement.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That all be not made unclean - It is observable here, that neither the people nor the household stuff were polluted till the leprosy was discovered and declared by the priest, to shew what great difference God makes between sins of ignorance, and sins against knowledge.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

so that nothing in the house will be made unclean

Once the priest declared the house to be unclean, everything in the house became unclean, as well. This can be translated in active form. AT: "so that he does not need to declare anything left in the house to be unclean" (See: Active or Passive)

the house will be made unclean

The house that Yahweh has stated is unfit for people to touch or live in is spoken of as if it were physically unclean. (See: Metaphor)

in the depressions in the wall's surface

This means the priest is to determine whether mildew has gone deeper that just the surface of the walls.

translationWords

command

clean

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

'בטרם יבא הכהן וגו‎ [THEY SHALL CLEAR THE HOUSE] BEFORE THE PRIEST COME etc. — For so long as the priest has not yet engaged himself with it no law of uncleanness is applicable there.

ולא יטמא כל אשר בבית THAT ALL THAT IS IN THE HOUSE BE NOT MADE UNCLEAN, for if he does not clear it out and the priest comes and examines the plague, it requires shutting up and all that is inside immediately becomes unclean. To what is it that the Torah has regard in ordering these precautions to be taken? If it had in mind wooden or metal vessels that need only be rinsed in order to restore them to cleanness, he can immerse them and they will become clean (and there is no need to remove them from the house for fear that they will become unclean if he does not do so), and if it has in mind food and liquids, he can eat them during the time of his uncleanness (in which case also he suffers no loss since he may consume them at a time when he himself happens to be unclean). Consequently it follows that the Torah must have regard only to earthen vessels for which there is no means of purification by immersion in a ritual bath (cf. Rashi on Leviticus 11:35) and which therefore will remain unusable except in connection with ordinary food (חולין) (Sifra, Metzora, Section 5 12).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

And they shall empty the house [of its contents]. “They shall empty” refers to the homeowner and all his household members, and the reason it is plural is so they will empty the house quickly.

Before the kohein will come. For in a short while he will confine the house due to its doubtful nature …

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.