ויקרא, פרק י״ד, פסוק מ״ד

House afflictions are not ordinary physical decay, but a manifestation of deep spiritual impurity embedded in the walls. When initial purification efforts fail and the affliction worsens or returns, the home enters a critical state requiring drastic intervention or complete demolition.

The primary approach among commentators [שד״ל, ביאור יש״ר, רש״ר הירש, רד״צ הופמן, העמק דבר] views the unfolding events sequentially. If the affliction reappears after the infected stones have been removed and the house replastered, it is categorized as an active spread. Even if the new mark is smaller than the original, its presence on fresh stones indicates a renewed and aggressive outbreak. Because the initial purification failed, the spirit of impurity has only grown stronger and bloomed more fiercely [העמק דבר].

Conversely, another perspective [רש״י, מזרחי, שפתי חכמים, גור אריה, ברטנורא] suggests the events are not presented in strict chronological order. Rather than describing an affliction that returned after treatment, this scenario addresses a house that was quarantined for a week with no change, only to have the affliction spread by the end of the second week. Such a house must undergo the removal of its stones, scraping of its plaster, replastering, and a further week of quarantine.

At this advanced stage, the affliction is deemed malignant, carrying a curse [ביאור שטיינזלץ] and acting as an incurable disease that ultimately dooms the structure to destruction [ביאור יש״ר]. A direct parallel is drawn to the laws of afflicted garments. Just as an infected garment is burned if the mark returns, a house must be completely demolished if the affliction reappears after the stones and plaster have been replaced, regardless of whether the mark actually grew in size [רש״י, מזרחי, רש״ר הירש, גור אריה].

The priest's arrival to inspect the home at this juncture is not merely a routine follow-up, but a response to a new, severe development in the home's status [תורה תמימה]. By examining the nuances of the priest's ongoing inspections, commentators also conclude that if an affliction remains entirely unchanged for two consecutive weeks, it triggers the same invasive treatment of removing the stones and replastering the walls [רש״י, מזרחי, לבוש האורה, דברי דוד].

Ultimately, the house is declared definitively impure, marking a severe escalation in its condition. During the initial quarantine, only the specific afflicted stones were contaminated, and the house only affected those who stepped inside. Once the structure is entirely condemned, however, the impurity engulfs the entire building. It becomes profoundly contaminated from all sides, transferring impurity even to someone who merely touches its exterior walls [מלבי״ם, רש״ר הירש, רד״צ הופמן].