The two conditions stated here are different by comparison with the previous verse: the affected area is not deeper than the skin around it, and the hair has not turned white. But since there is still some doubt about the person’s condition, a seven-day period of isolation is required. The person is to be shut up alone in a building for seven days. The expression for seven days is common in such rituals (see 8.33) and may be retained instead of “for a week” (see 12.2).

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René and Ellington, John. A Handbook on Leviticus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1990. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .