Mold in the Bible

Insurance adjusters are terribly fond of telling people that mold has been around long before human beings walked the earth and that it is not as big of a deal as the modern day medical community is making it out to be, however what many of these people don’t know (or are banking that their clients don’t know) is that mold has been a problem ever since Biblical times and probably before.

The book of Leviticus speaks of a mold contaminated home in chapter 14:39-47. A priest was said to remove the stones in the home that were contaminated with mold and they were to be taken to a place outside of town that was used to dump things that were considered “unclean”. If the mold (or mildew) came back after all these stones were removed, then the entire house was to be torn down. It was considered to be a defiled place to live in and that also any clothing that was contaminated with it was to be shown to the priest and thrown away, as well.

The eighth plague of Egypt, the locusts, would have caused the Egyptians to collect as many crops from the field as possible and store them underground (where it is moist and dark). It is speculated that the reason for the deaths of the first born children of Egypt was mold that contaminated the crops and when fed to children, would cause disease and if enough was ingested, death. The Bible says that the eldest child received double portions of food in those times and a theory says that this is the reason that the firstborn alone died: he/she was the only child who had eaten enough of the mold for it to be fatal. Stachybotrys atra, along with other kinds of mold, releases mycotoxins and if this was present in the grain that the Egyptians stored underground after the plague of locusts, then anyone who consumed it would have become ill. It is said that the Jews living in Egypt at the time would have been eating herbs, unleavened bread, and lamb, which are supposedly safe from being contaminated by this mold.

So, if your insurance adjuster claims that mold was not a problem years ago and that mold has been around longer than we have, take a Bible and show him the book of Leviticus. Even if he’s not religious, seeing mold talked about in a text over 2,000 years old should be enough to take back his statements.


Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
New Jersey Sewage Damage Cleanup and other states such as
New York mold remediation companies across the united states.