Numbers 19:15
in Numbers 19and any open container without a lid fastened on it is unclean.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean.
KJV
And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean.
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This verse in Numbers 19
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd every open vessel,.... An earthen one, as the Targum of Jonathan; and so Jarchi interprets it; and Maimonides (r) observes, that this is only to be understood of an earthen vessel: which hath no covering bound upon it; a linen or a woollen cloth wrapped and tied about it: is unclean; the air of the house getting into it by its being uncovered. (r) In Misn. Cholin, c. 1. sect. 6.
This site's exposition
every open vessel, which hath no covering
on Numbers 19:15-16
An open vessel with no covering bound on it is unclean, and Gill records the older Jewish reading, in the Targum of Jonathan, in Rashi and in Maimonides, that this holds of earthen vessels, which soak up what touches them and are broken rather than scoured at Leviticus 11:33. Verse 16 gives the reach of the law in open country, a man slain with a sword, a dead body, a bone, or a grave. Marking graves followed from this, so that no one picked up defilement unawares, and Luke 11:44 turns the practice into a charge when Jesus calls the scribes and Pharisees as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The cover of a vessel, or a seal, is the control of discipline. Discipline keeps a man from being overwhelmed, as if he were an unclean or polluted vessel that is rejected. For a vessel without a cover or a seal is spoiled, like as …
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
PateriusEXPOSITION OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT, NUMBERS 15 · Written before 606.
proposed
The cover of a vessel, or a seal, is the control of discipline. Discipline keeps a man from being overwhelmed, as if he were an unclean or polluted vessel that is rejected. For a vessel without a cover or a seal is spoiled, like as …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Then, and then only, we may with comfort apply Christ's merit to our souls, when we have forsaken sin, and cease all fellowship with the unfruitful works of death and darkness. The repetition of the sprinkling teaches us often to renew the actings of repentance and faith, wash as Naaman, seven times; we need to do that often which is so necessary to be well done.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
To afford the necessary supply of the cleansing mixture, the Jewish writers say that a red heifer was sacrificed every year, and that the ashes, mingled with the sprinkling ingredients, were distributed through all the cities and towns of Israel.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
“Our Rabbis have said that this includes the upper board and the side board [of a coffin, when found in the open field]. And the plain meaning [of the verse] is: in the open field where there are no tents, a corpse conveys uncleanness [only] by contact.
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.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכֹל֙ | vekhol | and every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| כְּלִ֣י | keli | vessel | H3627 → | 325 times |
| פָת֔וּחַ | fatuach | open | H6605 → | 144 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֛ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֵין־ | ʾein- | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| צָמִ֥יד | tzamid | [is] a cover of | H6781 → | |
| פָּתִ֖יל | patil | a cord | H6616 → | |
| עָלָ֑יו | ʾalav | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| טָמֵ֖א | tame' | [is] unclean | H2931 → | 88 times |
| הֽוּא׃ | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
וְכֹל֙and every
vekholH3605 →5413 times
כְּלִ֣יvessel
keliH3627 →325 times
פָת֔וּחַopen
fatuachH6605 →144 times
אֲשֶׁ֛רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אֵין־there not
ʾein-H369 →789 times
צָמִ֥יד[is] a cover of
tzamidH6781 →
פָּתִ֖ילa cord
patilH6616 →
עָלָ֑יוon it
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
טָמֵ֖א[is] unclean
tame'H2931 →88 times
הֽוּא׃it
hu'H1931 →1879 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 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…
it leads to
- Leviticus 15:12
Any clay pot that the man with the discharge touches must be broken, and any wooden utensil must be rinsed with water.
- Titus 3:5
He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
- Leviticus 6:28
The clay pot in which the sin offering is boiled must be broken; if it is boiled in a bronze pot, the pot must be scoured and rinsed with water.
- Titus 2:14
He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
- Leviticus 15:12
Through
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…
it leads to
- Hebrews 12:15
See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God, and that no root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and defile many.
- 1 Corinthians 15:33
Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
- Revelation 18:4
Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.
- 2 Timothy 2:17–18
and the talk of such men will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,
- Hebrews 12:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Pacian of Barcelona, Commentary (church-history corpus) and Paterius, EXPOSITION OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT, NUMBERS 15.