A leper wore garments of mourning, and was supposed to act as if death had already gained the victory over him. Rent garments were the customary sign of calamity and deep sorrow (Job 1:20; 2:12; Matt. 26:65). His head was to be “bare,” or rather, unkempt. The hair was neither cut nor combed, and the appearance disheveled. In the latter stages of the disease the eyelids, ears, and nose sloughed off, and the cheek bones became exposed. The victim was about as loathsome a sight as could be imagined. Should he seek refuge under a tree, anyone in the shade of the same tree was considered defiled.

The leper was to dwell alone, without the camp, and could under no circumstances enter a city. He was dependent on charity for a living. Leprosy was truly a “living death.”