American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
Numbers 19
1
And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
2
This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and on which never came yoke:
Reference
3
And you shall give her to Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face:
Reference
4
And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times:
Reference
5
And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn:
Reference
Parallel theme
Exodus 29:14
6
And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the middle of the burning of the heifer.
Reference
7
Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even.
Reference
Parallel theme
Leviticus 11:25
8
And he that burns her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even.
9
And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin.
Reference
10
And he that gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be to the children of Israel, and to the stranger that sojournes among them, for a statute for ever.
12
He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 31:19
13
Whoever touches the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifies not himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled on him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet on him.
Reference
14
This is the law, when a man dies in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.
16
And whoever touches one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
Reference
17
And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel:
18
And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, and on all the vessels, and on the persons that were there, and on him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:
Reference
19
And the clean person shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.
Reference
20
But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD: the water of separation has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.
Reference
21
And it shall be a perpetual statute to them, that he that sprinkles the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that touches the water of separation shall be unclean until even.
Reference
Parallel theme
Hebrews 10:4
Summary of Numbers 19
Numbers 19 makes clear provisions for the Israelites’ purification from contact with death. The chapter describes the red heifer, whose ashes shall be used to make the purifying water. The instructions concern the ceremonial laws and should be followed meticulously by the Israelites camping around the tabernacle.
God instructs Moses and Aaron to take a red heifer that has not been used for any work and has not had a yoke put on it. The animal should be brought to Eleazar, the priest’s son, who shall kill it in his presence and throw some of its blood against the front of the tabernacle.
Its carcass should be burned along with cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet stuff; the priest who burns it should wash his clothes after throwing them into the flame. Additionally, Eleazar and the one taking up the ashes should wash their clothes and be unclean until evening. All of the above points show that this procedure is considered ceremonially dirty.
The chapter mentions that the ashes of the red heifer shall be kept in a clean place outside the camp, mixed with water, and used in making the water of separation. It means that the Israelites would have an annual source of water to ceremonially cleanse themselves from being unclean.
The Israelites should follow detailed instructions concerning their contact with death. Touching a dead person or having a dead person in one’s tent makes them unclean for a week. A priest who touches a dead body should sprinkle some of the water of purification on it and declare it clean. Moreover, any vessel that does not have a lid and is, therefore, usually unclean becomes ceremonially unclean if a dead person is in this tent.
God commands to treat both humans and objects with equal respect and warns that unclean people should not participate in ceremonies in the tabernacle. If a priest becomes unclean through touching a dead person, he brings dishonor upon the Lord’s tabernacle and should be cut off from the camp of Israel since his impurity is not removed by the water of separation yet. Similarly, any object may be purified by sprinkling it with the water of purification from the ashes of the red heifer burned to death.
The same is true for people: if they become unclean by touching either a dead person or a human bone, they should sprinkle the water of purification and consider themselves ceremonially clean from the third day after contact with death. However, if a person touches a dead body and fails to sprinkle the water of purification on the next day after death, they stay unclean till the evening of the seventh day.
They should be sprinkled with the water of purification once on a third day and again on a seventh day after contact with death. After sprinkling, they should wash their clothes and bodies in running water to consider themselves clean from the evening of the seventh day after contact with death. Additionally, any person or thing that becomes unclean should be purified by the water of separation to remain clean.
The chapter narrates that if a person refuses to be purified from death, they dishonor the Lord’s tabernacle by participating in the ceremonies with their impurity. This rule applies not only to the people but also to objects that have become unclean through contact with death.
However, the one performing the sprinkling should put on clean clothes if they touch either an unclean person or an object that has become unclean through contact with the dead. The same rule applies if someone touches the water of purification; they should be considered unclean till the evening of the day they have touched an impure thing.
The instructions narrate that one may make water of purification on the morning of the first day of the year and sprinkle some of it on the tabernacle and vessels of the Lord. The water should be sprinkled on people and objects that have become unclean through contact with the dead to consider them pure.
Numbers 19 interprets death as the most detestable source of ceremonium uncleanness. The Israelites living near the tabernacle should be purified by the source of water and sprinkled with the mixture of ashes, water, and scarlet stuff. The Israelites should respect the holiness of the tabernacle by not allowing any uncleanness to disturb them while in the camp. Therefore, the chapter narrates the detailed procedure of purification from death and sprinkling the water of separation.
God instructs Moses and Aaron to take a red heifer that has not been used for any work and has not had a yoke put on it. The animal should be brought to Eleazar, the priest’s son, who shall kill it in his presence and throw some of its blood against the front of the tabernacle.
Its carcass should be burned along with cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet stuff; the priest who burns it should wash his clothes after throwing them into the flame. Additionally, Eleazar and the one taking up the ashes should wash their clothes and be unclean until evening. All of the above points show that this procedure is considered ceremonially dirty.
The chapter mentions that the ashes of the red heifer shall be kept in a clean place outside the camp, mixed with water, and used in making the water of separation. It means that the Israelites would have an annual source of water to ceremonially cleanse themselves from being unclean.
The Israelites should follow detailed instructions concerning their contact with death. Touching a dead person or having a dead person in one’s tent makes them unclean for a week. A priest who touches a dead body should sprinkle some of the water of purification on it and declare it clean. Moreover, any vessel that does not have a lid and is, therefore, usually unclean becomes ceremonially unclean if a dead person is in this tent.
God commands to treat both humans and objects with equal respect and warns that unclean people should not participate in ceremonies in the tabernacle. If a priest becomes unclean through touching a dead person, he brings dishonor upon the Lord’s tabernacle and should be cut off from the camp of Israel since his impurity is not removed by the water of separation yet. Similarly, any object may be purified by sprinkling it with the water of purification from the ashes of the red heifer burned to death.
The same is true for people: if they become unclean by touching either a dead person or a human bone, they should sprinkle the water of purification and consider themselves ceremonially clean from the third day after contact with death. However, if a person touches a dead body and fails to sprinkle the water of purification on the next day after death, they stay unclean till the evening of the seventh day.
They should be sprinkled with the water of purification once on a third day and again on a seventh day after contact with death. After sprinkling, they should wash their clothes and bodies in running water to consider themselves clean from the evening of the seventh day after contact with death. Additionally, any person or thing that becomes unclean should be purified by the water of separation to remain clean.
The chapter narrates that if a person refuses to be purified from death, they dishonor the Lord’s tabernacle by participating in the ceremonies with their impurity. This rule applies not only to the people but also to objects that have become unclean through contact with death.
However, the one performing the sprinkling should put on clean clothes if they touch either an unclean person or an object that has become unclean through contact with the dead. The same rule applies if someone touches the water of purification; they should be considered unclean till the evening of the day they have touched an impure thing.
The instructions narrate that one may make water of purification on the morning of the first day of the year and sprinkle some of it on the tabernacle and vessels of the Lord. The water should be sprinkled on people and objects that have become unclean through contact with the dead to consider them pure.
Numbers 19 interprets death as the most detestable source of ceremonium uncleanness. The Israelites living near the tabernacle should be purified by the source of water and sprinkled with the mixture of ashes, water, and scarlet stuff. The Israelites should respect the holiness of the tabernacle by not allowing any uncleanness to disturb them while in the camp. Therefore, the chapter narrates the detailed procedure of purification from death and sprinkling the water of separation.