צָרָעַת tsara’at (H6883) is a contaminated substance, such as a disease, mold or mildew, on the skin, cloth or a building. צָרָעַת tsara’at is commonly translated as “leprosy’ but is more accurately translated as “infection” since צָרָעַת tsara’at also refers to clothing (cf. Leviticus 13:47). “For many years, the biblical term tzaraat has referred to leprosy. In fact, the disease or diseases described under this name have no relationship to leprosy, as it was known in the Middle Ages or today…Although the real nature of tzaraat remains unknown, the differential diagnosis might include the following: Psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis, favus, dermatophyte infections, nummular dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, pityriasis rosea, crusted scabies, syphilis, impetigo, sycosis barbae, alopecia areata, furuncles, scabies, neurodermatitis, scarlet fever, lupus erythematosus, lichen sclerosus et atrophicus, folliculitis decalvans, morphea, sarcoidosis, and lichen planopilaris…Leprosy became interchangeable with the biblical leprosy due to two inaccurate translations: The Hebrew tzaraat was first translated into Greek as leprosy in the sixth century, and later, the word leprosy was translated into Arabic as lepra in the ninth century.” – Andrzej Grzybowski MD, PhD & Małgorzata Nita MD, PhD (sciencedirect.com)
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