Numbers 16:37
in Numbers 16“Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to remove the censers from the flames and to scatter the coals far away, because the censers are holy.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are holy,
KJV
Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed.
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This verse in Numbers 16
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Aaron as High Priest and as one of those that offered incense Num 16:17, could not be defiled by going among the dead. The censers were not to be used again for censers, nor the coals on them for kindling the incense to be offered before the Lord. Yet neither of them could fittingly be employed for common purposes. The censers therefore were beaten into plates for the altar; the coals were scattered at a distance.
This site's exposition
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying
on Numbers 16:36-38
The censers outlast the men who carried them. Having been brought before the Lord they are counted hallowed, and the metal is beaten into plates to cover the altar, so the instruments of the offence end as the surface of the place where atonement is made. Albert Barnes reads sinners against their own souls as sinners against their own lives, since the sin cost them exactly that.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest,....
Having been once put to a holy use, and that by God's own order (though only for trial), they must not return to common service; so some understand it: rather, they are devoted, they are an anathema; and therefore, as all devoted things, they must be made some way or other serviceable to the glory of God.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The censers - are hallowed - קדשו kadeshu, are consecrated, i. e., to the service of God though in this instance improperly employed.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֱמֹ֨ר | ʾemor | speak | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶלְעָזָ֜ר | ʾelazar | Eleazar | H499 → | 72 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אַהֲרֹ֣ן | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| הַכֹּהֵ֗ן | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| וְיָרֵ֤ם | veyarem | so may he take up | H7311 → | 190 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמַּחְתֹּת֙ | hamachtot | the censers | H4289 → | 22 times |
| מִבֵּ֣ין | mibein | from between | H996 → | 407 times |
| הַשְּׂרֵפָ֔ה | haserefah | the burning | H8316 → | 13 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאֵ֖שׁ | haesh | the fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| זְרֵה־ | zereh- | scatter | H2219 → | |
| הָ֑לְאָה | halah | beyond | H1973 → | 16 times |
| כִּ֖י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| קָדֵֽשׁוּ׃ | kadeshu | they are holy | H6942 → | 171 times |
אֱמֹ֨רspeak
ʾemorH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֶלְעָזָ֜רEleazar
ʾelazarH499 →72 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אַהֲרֹ֣ןAaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
הַכֹּהֵ֗ןthe priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
וְיָרֵ֤םso may he take up
veyaremH7311 →190 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַמַּחְתֹּת֙the censers
hamachtotH4289 →22 times
מִבֵּ֣יןfrom between
mibeinH996 →407 times
הַשְּׂרֵפָ֔הthe burning
haserefahH8316 →13 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הָאֵ֖שׁthe fire
haeshH784 →378 times
זְרֵה־scatter
zereh-H2219 →
הָ֑לְאָהbeyond
halahH1973 →16 times
כִּ֖יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
קָדֵֽשׁוּ׃they are holy
kadeshuH6942 →171 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
Leviticus 27:28Nothing that a man sets apart to the LORD from all he owns—whether a man, an animal, or his inherited land—can be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the LORD.
it leads to
- Joshua 6:17–19
Now the city and everything in it must be devoted to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all those with her in her house will live, because she hid the spies…
- Exodus 22:20
If anyone sacrifices to any god other than the LORD alone, he must be set apart for destruction.
- Deuteronomy 20:16–17
However, in the cities of the nations that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not leave alive anything that breathes.
- Leviticus 27:21
When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will become holy, like a field devoted to the LORD; it becomes the property of the priests.
- Deuteronomy 25:19
When the LORD your God gives you rest from the enemies around you in the land that He is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you are to blot out the memory of…
- Joshua 6:17–19
Through
Numbers 16:7and tomorrow you are to place fire and incense in them in the presence of the LORD. Then the man the LORD chooses will be the one who is holy. It is you sons…
it leads to
- Numbers 16:3
They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have taken too much upon yourselves! For everyone in the entire congregation is holy, and the LORD is in their midst. Why then…
- 2 Thessalonians 2:13
But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by…
- Numbers 16:5
Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will reveal who belongs to Him and who is holy, and He will bring that person near to Himself. The one…
- Numbers 16:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.