The Law of the Leper
The Law of the Leper is often cited as a Pinpointed Lunar Sabbath since the leper is to see the Priest on the 8th day of the month.
This page presents the rationale for considering it as a Pinpointed Lunar Sabbath, and discusses several objections.
Rationale
The Law of the Leper comes from Leviticus 14:2-10. On the day of his cleansing, he is to be brought to the priest (on the Sabbath). On the seventh day he is to shave himself, wash his clothes and bathe himself. On the eighth day (the Sabbath) he is to offer sacrifice.
If the count of seven days were to start any day other than the Sabbath, the leper might sometimes need to do his laundry on the Sabbath.
It should be evident that the seventh day referred to here is not a Sabbath because
- He could not wash his clothes on the Sabbath
- It's not a day following six work days
Therefore the "seventh day" referred to here was the sixth work day of the week, upon which he washed his clothes.
The Sabbath is often referred to as the Eighth Day in Scripture. For example, we find in John 7:
Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man. If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day? (Joh 7:22-23)
Here, Jesus describes that circumcision was taking place on the Sabbath, yet the Law demands that it be done on the Eighth Day:
And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs. (Act 7:8)
This proves that the Eighth Day and the Sabbath are sometimes synonymous! If the Sabbath falls on the Eighth Day, then it also falls on the 15th, 22nd, and 29th days!
Objections
The argument presented above relies on several informal fallacies to make the following proofs:
- The first day of the leper's cleansing must always be a Sabbath day
- The "seventh day" refers to the seventh day of the month
- The eighth day is therefore both the eighth day of the month and a Sabbath, making it a Pinpointed Lunar Sabbath
The issues with each of these points are discussed below.
Fallacy of the Single Cause
The first error of logic is presented early on in the argument:
If the count of seven days were to start any day other than the Sabbath, the leper might sometimes need to do his laundry on the Sabbath.
This error is known as a Fallacy of the Single Cause. It assumes that there is only one solution to the problem of trespassing the Sabbath (start the seven day count on the Sabbath) when there are five other days upon which the count could start without having the seventh day fall on the Sabbath. In truth, the only day upon which the count of seven cannot start is the first day of the week, as illustrated on the calendar below:
Therefore it's not required by either Scripture or the calendar that the priest pronounce the leper clean on a Sabbath. It could be done on any day of the week other than the first day of the week.
The False Dilemma
The second point that must be established by this argument is that the "seventh day" referred to in Lev 14:9 is the seventh day of the month. This is necessary to prove that the following Sabbath then falls on the eighth day of the month. There are three possible interpretations for the "seventh day" in this passage:
- The seventh day of the week
- The seventh day of the month
- The seventh day of the cleansing period
However, the Assertion completely ignores the third option. It only seeks to disprove the first option and then conclude that the second option must be correct. This is an error known as a False Dilemma, as it presents an argument with only two options when in fact there is a third one that is ignored.
When read in context, it should be obvious from the previous passage (Lev 14:8) that the "seventh day" refers to the seventh day of the leper's cleansing period, and not to a specific day of the week or month:
And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days. But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows... (Lev 14:8-9)
The context that should be used for evaluating the meaning of the phrase "the seventh day" is in the previous chapter, Leviticus 13. Here, there are numerous seven-day periods for the evaluation of leporsy, most importantly some that occur back-to-back:
If the bright spot be white in the skin of his flesh, and in sight be not deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be not turned white; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague seven days: And the priest shall look on him the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague in his sight be at a stay, and the plague spread not in the skin; then the priest shall shut him up seven days more: And the priest shall look on him again the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague be somewhat dark, and the plague spread not in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean: it is but a scab: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean. (Lev 13:4-6)
And if the priest look on the plague of the scall, and, behold, it be not in sight deeper than the skin, and that there is no black hair in it; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague of the scall seven days: And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the plague: and, behold, if the scall spread not, and there be in it no yellow hair, and the scall be not in sight deeper than the skin; He shall be shaven, but the scall shall he not shave; and the priest shall shut up him that hath the scall seven days more: And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the scall: and, behold, if the scall be not spread in the skin, nor be in sight deeper than the skin; then the priest shall pronounce him clean: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean. (Lev 13:31-34)
It should be obvious from these passages that the "seventh day" cannot refer to the day of the month, because the "seventh day" then occurs after seven additional days, and months are not one week long. Therefore the phrase "seventh day" in contex could either refer to the seventh day of the examination period, or perhaps the seventh day of the week, but not the seventh day of the month.
Equivocation
In order to substantiate the conclusion that the "eighth day" refers to the Sabbath, the Law of Circumcision is discussed. Here, a technique known as equivocation is used (in addition to another false dilemna) to establish a link between the "Eighth Day and the "Sabbath Day". The argument presented is:
- Jesus discusses the fact that circumcision is performed on the Sabbath Day
- The Law of Moses commands that circumcision be performed on the Eighth Day
- Therefore the Sabbath Day and the Eighth Day must be the same.
Here equivocation is used by assuming that the phrase "Eighth Day" refers to the eighth day of the month instead of the eighth day of the child's life. However it's clear in Scripture that the latter is the requirement instead of the former:
And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. (Gen 17:12) And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. (Gen 21:4)
Genesis 17:12 makes it clear that the "Eighth Day" for circumcision does not refer to the eighth day of the month, but rather the eighth day of the child's life. Moses circumcised Isaac when he was eight days old, fulfilling the requirement. The "eighth day" therefore does not mean "The Sabbath", but could refer to any day of the week or month (relative to the day of birth of the child).
