Numbers 19:9
in Numbers 19Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to gather up the ashes of the heifer and store them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be kept by the congregation of Israel for preparing the water of purification; this is for purification from sin.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place; and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water for impurity: it is a sin-offering.
KJV
And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin.
⋯
This verse in Numbers 19
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd again: "The water of sprinkling is a purification." Whence it appears that the sprinkling also of water prevails equally with the washing of salvation; and that when this is done in the Church, where the faith both of receiver and giver is sound, all things hold and may be consummated and perfected by the majesty of the Lord and by the truth of faith.
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
For a water - Or, to the water, that is, to be put to the water, or mixed with it. Of separation - Appointed for the cleansing of them that are in a state of separation, who for their uncleanness are separated from the congregation. It is a purification for sin - Hebrew. a sin, that is, an offering for sin, or rather a mean for expiation or cleansing of sin.
And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer,....
Now observe, (1.) That the water of purification was made so by the ashes of a heifer, whose blood was sprinkled before the sanctuary; so that which cleanses our consciences is the abiding virtue of the death of Christ; it is his blood that cleanses from all sin, 1 John i.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Water of separation - In Num 8:7, the water of purification from sin is the “water of purifying.” So that which was to remedy a state of legal separation is here called “water of separation.”
For a water of separation - That is, the ashes were to be kept, in order to be mixed with water, Num 19:17, and sprinkled on those who had contracted any legal defilement.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאָסַ֣ף׀ | veasaf | and he will gather | H622 → | 200 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| טָה֗וֹר | tahor | clean | H2889 → | 94 times |
| אֵ֚ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֵ֣פֶר | ʾefer | [the] ash[es] of | H665 → | |
| הַפָּרָ֔ה | haparah | the heifer | H6510 → | 26 times |
| וְהִנִּ֛יחַ | vehiniach | and he will deposit [them] | H5117 → | 142 times |
| מִח֥וּץ | michutz | from [the] outside | H2351 → | 164 times |
| לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֖ה | lamachaneh | of the camp | H4264 → | 215 times |
| בְּמָק֣וֹם | bemakom | in a place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| טָה֑וֹר | tahor | clean | H2889 → | 94 times |
| וְ֠הָיְתָה | vehayetah | and it will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לַעֲדַ֨ת | laadat | for [the] congregation of | H5712 → | 149 times |
| בְּנֵֽי־ | benei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֧ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לְמִשְׁמֶ֛רֶת | lemishmeret | <into> something kept | H4931 → | 78 times |
| לְמֵ֥י | lemei | to water of | H4325 → | 581 times |
| נִדָּ֖ה | nidah | impurity | H5079 → | 29 times |
| חַטָּ֥את | chatat | [is] a sin offering | H2403 → | 295 times |
| הִֽוא׃ | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
וְאָסַ֣ף׀and he will gather
veasafH622 →200 times
אִ֣ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
טָה֗וֹרclean
tahorH2889 →94 times
אֵ֚ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
אֵ֣פֶר[the] ash[es] of
ʾeferH665 →
הַפָּרָ֔הthe heifer
haparahH6510 →26 times
וְהִנִּ֛יחַand he will deposit [them]
vehiniachH5117 →142 times
מִח֥וּץfrom [the] outside
michutzH2351 →164 times
לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֖הof the camp
lamachanehH4264 →215 times
בְּמָק֣וֹםin a place
bemakomH4725 →401 times
טָה֑וֹרclean
tahorH2889 →94 times
וְ֠הָיְתָהand it will become
vehayetahH1961 →3559 times
לַעֲדַ֨תfor [the] congregation of
laadatH5712 →149 times
בְּנֵֽי־[the] people of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֧לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
לְמִשְׁמֶ֛רֶת<into> something kept
lemishmeretH4931 →78 times
לְמֵ֥יto water of
lemeiH4325 →581 times
נִדָּ֖הimpurity
nidahH5079 →29 times
חַטָּ֥את[is] a sin offering
chatatH2403 →295 times
הִֽוא׃it
hi'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
Hebrews 9:13For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean,
it leads to
- Numbers 19:2–21
“This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded: Instruct the Israelites to bring you an unblemished red heifer that has no defect and has never been placed under a yoke.
- Leviticus 16:14–16
And he is to take some of the bull’s blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the east side of the mercy seat; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger…
- Acts 15:9
He made no distinction between us and them, for He cleansed their hearts by faith.
- Numbers 19:2–21
Through
Numbers 19:13Anyone who touches a human corpse and fails to purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person must be cut off from Israel. He remains unclean, because the water of purification has…
it leads to
- Leviticus 15:31
You must keep the children of Israel separate from their uncleanness, so that they do not die by defiling My tabernacle, which is among them.
- Leviticus 22:3
Tell them that for the generations to come, if any of their descendants in a state of uncleanness approaches the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the LORD, that person must be cut…
- Leviticus 7:20
But if anyone who is unclean eats meat from the peace offering that belongs to the LORD, that person must be cut off from his people.
- Leviticus 15:31
Through
Numbers 9:13But if a man who is ceremonially clean and is not on a journey still fails to observe the Passover, he must be cut off from his people, because he did not present the…
it leads to
- Genesis 17:14
But if any male is not circumcised, he will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
- Exodus 12:15
For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you are to remove the leaven from your houses. Whoever eats anything leavened from the first day through the seventh must be…
- Genesis 17:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cyprian, Epistle LXXV.12; 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 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.