Leviticus 13:2, commentary and pictures

Anyone in whose skin appeared a rising, a scab, or a bright spot that looked like the plague of leprosy was to be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons for examination, and the priest examined him and decided whether the disease was present. That priestly examination decided the case with decisive authority, even where noted physicians had already examined the case thoroughly and confessed that their skill was baffled and the disease was incurable. No rank exempted a man from this requirement, for it bound even a man of high distinction whose case physicians of note had examined thoroughly and searched their books for further knowledge before reluctantly acknowledging that their skill was baffled.

One pronounced unclean was isolated and cut off, separated from family and home, from friends, from the congregation and community, and from the society in which he had lived. Those declared lepers were required to live apart together with others afflicted with the disease. A priestly verdict that the case was the worst form of leprosy sentenced the person to a living death as an exile from home. That sentence fell even on one who had held a lofty position in society, whose former admirers and those who had courted his favor fled from his presence with horror.

Leprosy was dreaded as contagious and incurable. Among the Jews it was regarded as a judgment for sin and as a symbol of sin.