Numbers 19:10
in Numbers 19The 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever.
KJV
And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever.
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This verse in Numbers 19
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
He that gathered the ashes became equally unclean with the others. For the defilement of the people, previously transferred to the heifer, was regarded as concentrated in the ashes.
This site's exposition
a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes
on Numbers 19:9-10
A clean man gathers the ash and lays it up outside the camp in a clean place, kept for the congregation, so one animal supplies a nation for years at a time. Hebrews 9:13 names this by name when it speaks of the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, which puts the link to Christ in the New Testament's own words rather than in a reading laid on the text. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown pass on the report of Jewish writers that a heifer was burned yearly, while the Mishnah tractate Parah, compiled about AD 200, preserves a dispute over whether seven or nine were ever burned from Moses onward. The gatherer is defiled like the rest, and the statute binds the stranger living among them as much as the Israelite.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
But (says bishop Patrick) it is not strange to those who consider that all the sacrifices which were offered for sin were therefore looked upon as impure, because the sins of men were laid upon them, as all our sins were upon Christ, who therefore is said to be made sin for us, 2 Cor. v. 21 .
); so there is virtue enough in the blood of Christ for all that repent and believe the gospel, for every Israelite, and not for their sins only, but for the sins of the whole world, 1 John ii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes,....
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְ֠כִבֶּס | vekhibes | and he will wash | H3526 → | 51 times |
| הָאֹסֵ֨ף | haosef | the [one who] gathers | H622 → | 200 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֵ֤פֶר | ʾefer | [the] ash[es] of | H665 → | |
| הַפָּרָה֙ | haparah | the heifer | H6510 → | 26 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּגָדָ֔יו | begadav | clothes his | H899 → | 217 times |
| וְטָמֵ֖א | vetame' | and he will be unclean | H2930 → | 162 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הָעָ֑רֶב | haarev | the evening | H6153 → | 134 times |
| וְֽהָיְתָ֞ה | vehayetah | and it will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לִבְנֵ֣י | livnei | for [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וְלַגֵּ֛ר | velager | and for the sojourner | H1616 → | 92 times |
| הַגָּ֥ר | hagar | who sojourns | H1481 → | 97 times |
| בְּתוֹכָ֖ם | betokham | in midst of them | H8432 → | 418 times |
| לְחֻקַּ֥ת | lechukat | <into> a statute of | H2708 → | 104 times |
| עוֹלָֽם׃ | olam | perpetuity | H5769 → | 438 times |
וְ֠כִבֶּסand he will wash
vekhibesH3526 →51 times
הָאֹסֵ֨ףthe [one who] gathers
haosefH622 →200 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֵ֤פֶר[the] ash[es] of
ʾeferH665 →
הַפָּרָה֙the heifer
haparahH6510 →26 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּגָדָ֔יוclothes his
begadavH899 →217 times
וְטָמֵ֖אand he will be unclean
vetame'H2930 →162 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
הָעָ֑רֶבthe evening
haarevH6153 →134 times
וְֽהָיְתָ֞הand it will become
vehayetahH1961 →3559 times
לִבְנֵ֣יfor [the] people of
livneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וְלַגֵּ֛רand for the sojourner
velagerH1616 →92 times
הַגָּ֥רwho sojourns
hagarH1481 →97 times
בְּתוֹכָ֖םin midst of them
betokhamH8432 →418 times
לְחֻקַּ֥ת<into> a statute of
lechukatH2708 →104 times
עוֹלָֽם׃perpetuity
olamH5769 →438 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
Colossians 3:11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.
it leads to
- Galatians 3:28–29
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
- 1 Corinthians 12:13
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink.
- Romans 10:12
For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him,
- Ephesians 3:6
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.
- Ephesians 1:23
which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
- Galatians 3:28–29
Through
Numbers 19:19The 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…
it leads to
- 1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
- Hebrews 10:22
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
- Ezekiel 36:25
I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
- 1 John 1:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Numbers

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
