The first person to find the man was a priest. He was returning from his spell of duty at the Temple and was anxious to get back to his family. When he saw the man lying by the roadside, he was unable to tell whether he was alive or dead. To find out he would have to examine him. It was quite possible that he was dead, and as a priest he was explicitly forbidden by the Jewish Law to touch a dead person unless it were a close relative, since such contact was regarded as causing a kind of religious contamination. Moreover, if he did become so contaminated he would have to undergo a ceremonial purification which lasted seven days, during which time he would be in quarantine.

As the priest hesitated to take the risk, he looked back up the road and saw in the distance the Levite coming his way. He seized the chance of shifting all responsibility on to the newcomer, and, giving the body a wide berth, continued his journey.