Numbers 15:38
in Numbers 15“Speak to the Israelites and tell them that throughout the generations to come they are to make for themselves tassels for the corners of their garments, with a blue cord on each tassel.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of each border a cord of blue:
KJV
Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue:
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This verse in Numbers 15
Commentary
8 notes on this verseIn the borders - That is, in the four borders or quarters, as it is, Deut. xxii, 12. Of their garments - Of their upper garments. This was practiced by the Pharisees in Christ's time, who are noted for making their borders larger than ordinary.
This site's exposition
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
on Numbers 15:37-41
The fringes come with their reason attached, that ye may look upon it and remember all the commandments, and Deuteronomy 22:12 repeats the command without repeating the reason. The verb behind seek not after your own heart and your own eyes in verse 39 is the verb used of the spies sent to search out the land at 13:2, which sets this rule two chapters from the search that ruined them. Matthew 9:20 has a woman touch the border of the Lord's garment and Matthew 23:5 has him charge the Pharisees with enlarging theirs. The chapter closes on the sentence that opened the ten commandments at Exodus 20:2, I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Provision had been just now made by the law for the pardon of sins of ignorance and infirmity; now here is an expedient provided for the preventing of such sins. They are ordered to make fringes upon the borders of their garments, which were to be memorandums to them of their duty, that they might not sin through forgetfulness.
Speak unto the children of Israel,....
After the repetition of some ceremonial appointments, the chapter closes with that great and fundamental law of religion, Be holy unto your God, purged from sin, and sincerely devoted to his service; and that great reason for all the commandments is again and again inculcated, I am the Lord your God.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments--These were narrow strips, in a wing-like form, wrapped over the shoulders and on various parts of the attire. "Fringe," however, is the English rendering of two distinct Hebrew words--the one meaning a narrow lappet or edging, called the "hem" or "border" (Mt 23:5;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
Bid them - make them fringes - We learn from Num 15:39 that these fringes were emblematical of the various commands of God. That there was any analogy between a fringe and a precept, it would be bold to assert; but when a thing is appointed to represent another, no matter how different, that first object be comes the regular representative or sign of the other.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
That they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue - Reader that they add to the fringes of the borders (or corners) a thread of blue (compare the marginal references). These fringes are considered to be of Egypttian origin. The ordinary outer Jewish garment was a quadrangular piece of cloth like a modern plaid, to the corners of which, in conformity with this command, a tassel was attached. Each tassel had a conspicuous thread of deep blue, this color being doubtless symbolic of the heavenly origin of the commandments of which it was to serve as a memento. Tradition determined that the other threads should be white - this color being an emblem of purity (compare Isa 1:18). The arrangement of the threads and knots, to which the Jews attached the greatest importance, was so adjusted as to set forth symbolically the 613 precepts of which the Law was believed to consist. In our Lord’s time the Pharisees enlarged their fringes Mat 23:5 in order to obtain reputation for their piety. In later times howerer, the Jews have worn the fringed garment (tālı̂̄th) of a smaller size and as an under-dress. Its use is still retained, especially at morning prayer in the Synagogue.
How the passage was read
On Numbers 15:37-41On Numbers 15:37-41
The tassels Jesus Himself wore
This passage commands tzitzit: tassels tied to the four corners of one's garment, with a thread of blue, “that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the LORD.” Observant Jews keep the command to this day on the tallit, the fringed prayer shawl worn in synagogue, and many wear a fringed undergarment daily. The Mishnah records that when the blue dye became unobtainable, the white threads alone still fulfill the command: the absence of the sky-blue “does not prevent” the white (Menachot 4:1), which is why most tassels today are all white.
Two Gospel moments turn on this passage. The woman who touched “the hem of his garment” (Matthew 9:20) took hold of the kraspedon, the tassel: she reached for the corner of Jesus' garment where the commandment hangs, which means Jesus wore tzitzit. And His woe against fringes “made long” (Matthew 23:5) targets enlarging the tassels for show; the practice itself was His own.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| דַּבֵּ֞ר | daber | speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בְּנֵ֤י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ | veamarta | and you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵהֶ֔ם | ʾalehem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וְעָשׂ֨וּ | veasu | and they will make | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָהֶ֥ם | lahem | for <the> themselves | ||
| צִיצִ֛ת | tzitzit | tassel[s] | H6734 → | 4 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כַּנְפֵ֥י | kanfei | [the] corners of | H3671 → | |
| בִגְדֵיהֶ֖ם | vigdeihem | clothes their | H899 → | 217 times |
| לְדֹרֹתָ֑ם | ledorotam | to generations their | H1755 → | 167 times |
| וְנָֽתְנ֛וּ | venatenu | and they will put | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| צִיצִ֥ת | tzitzit | [the] tassel[s] of | H6734 → | 4 times |
| הַכָּנָ֖ף | hakanaf | the corner | H3671 → | |
| פְּתִ֥יל | petil | a cord of | H6616 → | |
| תְּכֵֽלֶת׃ | tekhelet | violet stuff | H8504 → | 49 times |
דַּבֵּ֞רspeak
daberH1696 →1141 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בְּנֵ֤י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וְאָמַרְתָּ֣and you will say
veamartaH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵהֶ֔םto them
ʾalehemH413 →5510 times
וְעָשׂ֨וּand they will make
veasuH6213 →2628 times
לָהֶ֥םfor <the> themselves
lahem
צִיצִ֛תtassel[s]
tzitzitH6734 →4 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כַּנְפֵ֥י[the] corners of
kanfeiH3671 →
בִגְדֵיהֶ֖םclothes their
vigdeihemH899 →217 times
לְדֹרֹתָ֑םto generations their
ledorotamH1755 →167 times
וְנָֽתְנ֛וּand they will put
venatenuH5414 →2011 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
צִיצִ֥ת[the] tassel[s] of
tzitzitH6734 →4 times
הַכָּנָ֖ףthe corner
hakanafH3671 →
פְּתִ֥ילa cord of
petilH6616 →
תְּכֵֽלֶת׃violet stuff
tekheletH8504 →49 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 9:20Suddenly a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak.
it leads to
- Luke 8:43–56
including a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had spent all her money on physicians, but no one was able to heal her.
- Deuteronomy 22:12
You are to make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Mark 6:56
And wherever He went—villages and towns and countrysides—they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged Him just to let them touch the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were healed.
- Matthew 14:36
and begged Him just to let them touch the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were healed.
- Mark 5:25–43
And a woman was there who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years.
- Luke 8:43–56
Through
Matthew 23:5All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
it leads to
- John 12:43
For they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
- Matthew 6:1–16
“Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
- John 12:43
Through
Luke 8:44She came up behind Jesus and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
it leads to
- Mark 5:27–28
When the woman heard about Jesus, she came up through the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak.
- Mark 5:27–28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.