metzora). In after Miriam spoke against Moses, God's cloud removed from the Tent of Meeting and "Miriam was leprous (, m'tzora'at), as white as snow." In Moses warned the Israelites in the case of skin disease (, tzara'at) diligently to observe all that the priests would teach them, remembering what God did to Miriam. In 2 Kings part of the haftarah for parashah Tazria, the prophet Elisha cures Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, who was a "leper" (, metzora). In part of the haftarah for parashah Metzora, the story is told of four "leprous men" (, m'tzora'im) at the gate during the Arameans' siege of Samaria. And in 2 Chronicles after King Uzziah tried to burn incense in the Temple in Jerusalem, "leprosy (, tzara'at) broke forth on his forehead." The Torah mentions the combination of ear, thumb, and toe in three places. In God instructed Moses how to initiate the priests, telling him to kill a ram, take some of its blood, and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and his sons, on the thumb of their right hand, and on the great toe of their right foot, and dash the remaining blood against the altar round about. And then reports that Moses followed God's instructions to initiate Aaron and his sons. Then, 17, 25, and 28 set forth a similar procedure for the cleansing of a person with skin disease (, tzara'at). In God instructed the priest on the day of the person's cleansing to take some of the blood of a guilt-offering and put it upon the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of the right foot of the one to be cleansed. And then in God instructed the priest to put oil on the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of the right foot of the one to be cleansed, on top of the blood of the guilt-offering. And finally, in and 28, God instructed the priest to repeat the procedure on the eighth day to complete the person's cleansing. In early nonrabbinic interpretation The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these early nonrabbinic sources: Leviticus chapter 14 Philo taught that the skin disease in signified voluntary depravity. In classical rabbinic interpretation The parashah is discussed