(I.) Proper Leprosy. — This is the kind specifically de- nominated ri";in3, Jo /;ere?/?, whether white or black, but usuall}' called ichite leprosy, by the Arabs hurras; a dis- ease not unfrequent among the Hebrews (2 Kings v, 27 ; Exod. iv, 6; Numb, xii, 10), and often called lepra Mo- saica. It was regarded by them as a divine infliction (hence its Heb. name ri^"niS, tsardath, a stroke i. e. of God), and in several instances we find it such, as in the case of Miriam (Numb, xii, 10), Gehazi (2 Kings v, 27), and Uzziah (2 Chron. xxvi, 16-23), from which and oth- er intlications it appears to have been considered hered- itary-, and incurable by human means (comp. 2 Sam. iii, 29; 2 Kings v, 7). From Deut. xxiv, 8, it appears to have been weU-known in Egypt as a dreadful disease (comp. Description de PEyypte, xiii, 159 sq.). The dis- tinctive marks given by Moses to indicate this disease (Lev. xiii) are, a depression of the sutface and whiteness or yellowness of the hair in the spot (ver. 3, 20, 25, 30), or a spreading of the scaliness (ver. 8, 22, 27, 30), or raw Jlesh in it (ver. 10, 14), or a white-reddish sore (ver. 43).
The disease, as it is known at the present day, com- mences by an eruption of small reddish spots slightly raised above the level of the skin, and grouped in a cir- cle. These' spots are soon covered by a very thin, semi- transparent scale or epidermis, of a whitish color, and very smooth, which in a httle time falls off, and leaves the skin beneath red and uneven. As the circles in- crease in diameter, the skin recovers its healthy appear- ance towards the centre ; fresh scales are formed, which
are novr thicker, and superimposed one above the other, especially at the edges, so that the centre of the scale appears to be depressed. The scales are of a grayish- white color, and have something of a micaceous or pearly lustre. The circles are generallj' of the size of a shil- ling or half crown, but they have been known to attain half a foot in diameter. Tlie disease generally affects the knees and elbows, but sometimes it extends over the whole body, in which case the circles become contiucnt. It does not at aU affect the general health, and the only inconvenience it causes the patient is a slight itching when the skin is heated; or, in inveterate cases, when the skin about the joints is much thickened, it may in some degree impede the free motion of the limbs. It is common to both sexes, to almost all ages, and all ranks of society. It is not in the least infectious, but it is al- ways diflicult to be cured, and in old persons, when it is of long standing, may be pronounced incurable. It is commonly met with in all parts of Europe, and occasion- ally in America. Its systematic name is Lepra vidgaris.
Moses prescribes no natural remedy for the cure of lep- rosy (Lev. xiii). He requires only that the diseased person should show himself to the priest, and that the priest should judge of his leprosy ; if it appeared to be a real leprosy, he separated the leper from the company of mankind (Lev. xiii, 45, 46 ; comp. Numb, v, 2 ; xii, 10, 14; 2 Kings vii, 3; xv, 5; Josephus, .J^jw?, i, 31; Ant. iii,ll,3; jr«r«,v,5,6; see Wetstein,A''. 7'.i,175; Light- foot, Ilor. Heb. p. 861 ; Withob, Ojmsc. p. 169 sq.). Al- though the laws in the jMosaic cotie respecting this dis- ease are exceedingly rigid (see Michaelis, Orient. BibL xvii, 19 sq. ; Medic, hermeneut. Untersitch. p. 240 sq.), it is by no means clear that the leprosy was contagious. The fear or disgust which was felt towards such a pe- culiar disease might be a sufficient cause for such severe enactments. AU intercourse with society, however, was not cut off (Matt, viii, 2 ; Luke v, 12; xvii, 12), and even contact with a leper did not necessarily impart unclean- ness (Luke xvii, 12). They were even admitted to the synagogue (Lightfoot, Hor. Heb. p. 802). Similar liber- ties are still allowed them among the Arabians (Nie- buhr, Beschr. p. 136) ; so that we are probably to regard the statements of travellers respecting the utter exclu- sion of modern lepers in the East as relating to those affected with entirely a different disease, the elephanti- asis. In Lev. xiv are detailed particular ceremonies and offerings (compare Matt, viii, 4) to be officially ob- served by the priest on behalf of a leper restored to- health and purity. See D. C. Lutz, De duab. avib. pur- gationi leprosi destinatis eanmdemgue mysterio, Hal. 1737 ; Biihr, Symbol, ii, 512 sq. ; Baumgarten, Comment. I, ii, 170 sq. ; Talmud, tract Negaim, vi, 3 ; Otho, Lex. Rahb, p. 365 sq. ; Ehenferd, in Meuschen, N. T. Tedmud. p. 1057.
(II.) Elephantiasis. — This more severe form of cu- taneous, or, rather, scrofulous disease has been con- founded with leprosy, from which it is essentially differ- ent. It is usually called tubercular leprosy (Lepra nodosa, Celsus, Med. iii, 25), and has generally been thought to be the disease with which Job was afflicted (""l "i"!^^, Job ii, 7 ; comp. Deut. xxviii, 35). See Jon's Disease. It has been thought to be alluded to by the term ''botch of Egypt" (nin:a-3 "pn-a, Deut. xxviii, 27), where it is said to have been endemic (Pliny, xxvi, 5; Lucret. vi, 1 1 12 sq. ; comp. AretiEus, Cappod. morh. diut. ii, 13 ; see Ainslie, in the Transactions of the Asiatic Society, i, 282 sq.). The Greeks gave the name of elephantiasis to this disease because the skin of the person affected with it was thought to resemble that of an elephant, in dark color, ruggedness, and insensibility, or, as some have thought, because the foot, after the loss of the toes, when the hollow of the sole is filled up and the ankle enlarged, resembles the foot of an elephant. The Arabs called it Judhum, which means '• mutilation," '' amputa- tion," in reference to the loss of the smaller members. They have, however, also described another disease, and a very different one from elephantiasis, to which they