Numbers 15:39
in Numbers 15These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all the commandments of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by following your own heart and your own eyes.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of Jehovah, and do them; and that ye follow not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to play the harlot;
KJV
And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:
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This verse in Numbers 15
Commentary
3 notes on this verseFor a fringe - That is, the ribband, shall be unto you, shall serve you for a fringe, to render it more visible by its distinct colour, whereas the fringe without this was of the same piece and colour with the garment, and therefore less observeable.
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 Awakening1 voice
And it shall be unto you for a fringe,....
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
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָ֣ה | vehayah | and it will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָכֶם֮ | lakhem | for <the> you | ||
| לְצִיצִת֒ | letzitzit | <into> tassel[s] | H6734 → | 4 times |
| וּרְאִיתֶ֣ם | ureitem | and you will see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֹת֗וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> it | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וּזְכַרְתֶּם֙ | uzekhartem | and you will remember | H2142 → | 230 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מִצְוֹ֣ת | mitzvot | [the] commandments of | H4687 → | 181 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם | vaasitem | and you will observe | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֹתָ֑ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תָתֻ֜רוּ | taturu | you will go about | H8446 → | 24 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֤י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| לְבַבְכֶם֙ | levavkhem | own heart your | H3824 → | |
| וְאַחֲרֵ֣י | veacharei | and after | H310 → | 715 times |
| עֵֽינֵיכֶ֔ם | ʾeineikhem | own eyes your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אַתֶּ֥ם | ʾatem | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| זֹנִ֖ים | zonim | [are] acting as prostitutes | H2181 → | |
| אַחֲרֵיהֶֽם׃ | ʾachareihem | after them | H310 → | 715 times |
וְהָיָ֣הand it will become
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
לָכֶם֮for <the> you
lakhem
לְצִיצִת֒<into> tassel[s]
letzitzitH6734 →4 times
וּרְאִיתֶ֣םand you will see
ureitemH7200 →1300 times
אֹת֗וֹ<obj.> it
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
וּזְכַרְתֶּם֙and you will remember
uzekhartemH2142 →230 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
מִצְוֹ֣ת[the] commandments of
mitzvotH4687 →181 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖םand you will observe
vaasitemH6213 →2628 times
אֹתָ֑ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
תָתֻ֜רוּyou will go about
taturuH8446 →24 times
אַחֲרֵ֤יafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
לְבַבְכֶם֙own heart your
levavkhemH3824 →
וְאַחֲרֵ֣יand after
veachareiH310 →715 times
עֵֽינֵיכֶ֔םown eyes your
ʾeineikhemH5869 →887 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
אַתֶּ֥םyou
ʾatemH859 →1094 times
זֹנִ֖ים[are] acting as prostitutes
zonimH2181 →
אַחֲרֵיהֶֽם׃after them
ʾachareihemH310 →715 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
Proverbs 28:26He who trusts in himself is a fool, but one who walks in wisdom will be safe.
it leads to
- Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
- Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
- Job 28:28
And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
- Romans 8:7
because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.
- James 1:5
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
- Proverbs 3:5
Through
Psalms 73:27Those far from You will surely perish; You destroy all who are unfaithful to You.
it leads to
- James 4:4
You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.
- James 4:4
Through
Ezekiel 6:9Then in the nations to which they have been carried captive, your survivors will remember Me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts that turned away from Me, and by their eyes that…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 20:43
There you will remember your ways and all the deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evils you have done.
- Isaiah 7:13
Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God as well?
- Ezekiel 20:43
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.