Numberschapter 19

A.A red heifer burned outside the campvv. 1-10

1 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded: Instruct the Israelites to bring you an unblemished red heifer that has no defect and has never been placed under a yoke. 3 Give it to Eleazar the priest, and he will have it brought outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. 4 Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting. 5 Then the heifer must be burned in his sight. Its hide, its flesh, and its blood are to be burned, along with its dung. 6 The priest is to take cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer. 7 Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may enter the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean until evening. 8 The one who burned the heifer must also wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he too will be ceremonially unclean until evening. 9 Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to gather up the ashes of the heifer and store them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be kept by the congregation of Israel for preparing the water of purification; this is for purification from sin. 10 The man who has gathered up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he will be ceremonially unclean until evening. This is a permanent statute for the Israelites and for the foreigner residing among them.

B.Whoever touches a dead bodyvv. 11-13

11 Whoever touches any dead body will be unclean for seven days. 12 He must purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third and seventh days, he will not be clean. 13 Anyone who touches a human corpse and fails to purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person must be cut off from Israel. He remains unclean, because the water of purification has not been sprinkled on him, and his uncleanness is still on him.

C.Ashes, running water, and a sprig of hyssopvv. 14-22

14 This is the law when a person dies in a tent: Everyone who enters the tent and everyone already in the tent will be unclean for seven days, 15 and any open container without a lid fastened on it is unclean. 16 Anyone in the open field who touches someone who has been killed by the sword or has died of natural causes, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days. 17 For the purification of the unclean person, take some of the ashes of the burnt sin offering, put them in a jar, and pour fresh water over them. 18 Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle the tent, all the furnishings, and the people who were there. He is also to sprinkle the one who touched a bone, a grave, or a person who has died or been slain. 19 The man who is ceremonially clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third day and on the seventh day. After he purifies the unclean person on the seventh day, the one being cleansed must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and that evening he will be clean. 20 But if a person who is unclean does not purify himself, he will be cut off from the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean. 21 This is a permanent statute for the people: The one who sprinkles the water of purification must wash his clothes, and whoever touches the water of purification will be unclean until evening. 22 Anything the unclean person touches will become unclean, and anyone who touches it will be unclean until evening.”

Commentary on this chapter: read the Exposition

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Chapter summary

The red heifer.

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The red heifer. A heifer without blemish, whereon never came yoke; slain outside the camp; her blood sprinkled before the tabernacle; the whole animal burned. With cedar, hyssop, and scarlet. And her ashes gathered and kept in a clean place. Mixed with running water, the ashes cleanse the one defiled by a dead body. Anyone who touches a corpse is unclean seven days; the water of purification sprinkled on the third and seventh day cleanses. The chapter supplies a regular cleansing for the most common defilement in the camp. Hebrews 9:13–14 contrasts the ashes of a heifer with the blood of Christ. How much more.

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.

Context

Law · Moses — Numbers overview

A. 1–10 A red heifer burned outside the camp
B. 11–13 Whoever touches a dead body
C. 14–22 Ashes, running water, and a sprig of hyssop

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

Numbers 195 verses
- Numbers 19:8The one who burned the heifer must also wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he too will be ceremonially unclean until evening.
- Numbers 19:9Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to gather up the ashes of the heifer and store them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be kept by the congregation of Israel for preparing the water of purification; this is for purification from sin.
- Numbers 19:11Whoever touches any dead body will be unclean for seven days.
- Numbers 19:13Anyone who touches a human corpse and fails to purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person must be cut off from Israel. He remains unclean, because the water of purification has not been sprinkled on him, and his uncleanness is still on him.
- Numbers 19:20But if a person who is unclean does not purify himself, he will be cut off from the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.
- Read Numbers 19 →
Leviticus 45 verses
- Leviticus 4:6The priest is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil of the sanctuary.
- Leviticus 4:11But the hide of the bull and all its flesh, with its head and legs and its entrails and dung—
- Leviticus 4:12all the rest of the bull—he must take outside the camp to a ceremonially clean place where the ashes are poured out, and there he must burn it on a wood fire on the ash heap.
- Leviticus 4:17and he is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD in front of the veil.
- Leviticus 4:21Then he is to take the bull outside the camp and burn it, just as he burned the first bull. It is the sin offering for the assembly.
- Read Leviticus 4 →
Leviticus 144 verses
- Leviticus 14:4the priest shall order that two live clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop be brought for the one to be cleansed.
- Leviticus 14:6And he is to take the live bird together with the cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop, and dip them into the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the fresh water.
- Leviticus 14:36The priest must order that the house be cleared before he enters it to examine the mildew, so that nothing in the house will become unclean. After this, the priest shall go in to inspect the house.
- Leviticus 14:49He is to take two birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop to purify the house;
- Read Leviticus 14 →
Leviticus 113 verses
- Leviticus 11:25and whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening.
- Leviticus 11:32When one of them dies and falls on something, that article becomes unclean; any article of wood, clothing, leather, sackcloth, or any implement used for work must be rinsed with water and will remain unclean until evening; then it will be clean.
- Leviticus 11:40Whoever eats from the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening, and anyone who picks up the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening.
- Read Leviticus 11 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

Numbers 312 verses
- Numbers 31:19All of you who have killed a person or touched the dead are to remain outside the camp for seven days. On the third day and the seventh day you are to purify both yourselves and your captives.
- Numbers 31:20And purify every garment and leather good, everything made of goat’s hair, and every article of wood.”
- Read Numbers 31 →
Leviticus 152 verses
- Leviticus 15:5Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
- Leviticus 15:31You must keep the children of Israel separate from their uncleanness, so that they do not die by defiling My tabernacle, which is among them.
- Read Leviticus 15 →
Hebrews 92 verses
- Hebrews 9:13For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean,
- Hebrews 9:14how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!
- Read Hebrews 9 →
Leviticus 222 verses
- Leviticus 22:3Tell them that for the generations to come, if any of their descendants in a state of uncleanness approaches the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the LORD, that person must be cut off from My presence. I am the LORD.
- Leviticus 22:20You must not present anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.
- Read Leviticus 22 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.