The linguistic root of tzaraath may mean smiting, in comparison with Arabic, in reference to a Talmudical explanation that it serves as a punishment for sin; it is quite possible that tzaraath was a general term for certain types of skin disease, rather than a particular condition, and the Talmud maintains a similar view, arguing that tzaraath referred generally to any disease that produces sores and eruptions on the skin.
Investigations of keratins extracted from wool by reduction hydrolysis and by alkaline hydrolysis showed that their chemical compositions and secondary structures were similar to original wool. The keratin isolates were similar in amino acid, Amides I and II, and secondary structure to each other and to original wool.
Tanbark is the bark of certain species of tree. It is traditionally used for tanning hides into leather. Bark mills are horse- or oxen-driven or water powered edge mills and were used in earlier times to shred the tanbark to derive tannins for the leather industry. A barker was a person who stripped bark from trees to supply bark mills.