Numbers 35:34
in Numbers 35Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell. For I, the LORD, dwell among the Israelites.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou shalt not defile the land which ye inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell: for I, Jehovah, dwell in the midst of the children of Israel.
KJV
Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the Lord dwell among the children of Israel.
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This verse in Numbers 35
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For I the Lord dwell ... - An emphatic protest against all enactment or relaxation of laws by men for their own private convenience.
This site's exposition
for blood it defileth the land
on Numbers 35:33-34
Blood defileth the land, and the land cannot be cleansed of it but by the blood of him that shed it, which is Genesis 9:6 stated as a property of the ground itself. Genesis 4:10-11 had already put it that way, the ground opening its mouth to receive Abel's blood and the blood crying out of it. Verse 34 gives the reason for the whole chapter in one clause, wherein I dwell, so the law rests on who lives in the country rather than on public order. Deuteronomy 21:1-9 takes up the case this verse leaves standing, a body found and the killer unknown, and gives a rite for a land that cannot reach the man.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inherit,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations--The law of the blood-avenger, as thus established by divine authority, was a vast improvement on the ancient practice of Goelism.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹ֧א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תְטַמֵּ֣א | tetame' | you will make unclean | H2930 → | 162 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָ֗רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אַתֶּם֙ | ʾatem | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| יֹשְׁבִ֣ים | yoshevim | [are] dwelling | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בָּ֔הּ | bah | in <the> it | ||
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֲנִ֖י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| שֹׁכֵ֣ן | shokhen | [am] dwelling | H7931 → | 129 times |
| בְּתוֹכָ֑הּ | betokhah | in [the] midst of it | H8432 → | 418 times |
| כִּ֚י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֲנִ֣י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| שֹׁכֵ֕ן | shokhen | [am] dwelling | H7931 → | 129 times |
| בְּת֖וֹךְ | betokh | in among | H8432 → | 418 times |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ פ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וְלֹ֧אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
תְטַמֵּ֣אyou will make unclean
tetame'H2930 →162 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאָ֗רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אַתֶּם֙you
ʾatemH859 →1094 times
יֹשְׁבִ֣ים[are] dwelling
yoshevimH3427 →1079 times
בָּ֔הּin <the> it
bah
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אֲנִ֖יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
שֹׁכֵ֣ן[am] dwelling
shokhenH7931 →129 times
בְּתוֹכָ֑הּin [the] midst of it
betokhahH8432 →418 times
כִּ֚יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֲנִ֣יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
שֹׁכֵ֕ן[am] dwelling
shokhenH7931 →129 times
בְּת֖וֹךְin among
betokhH8432 →418 times
בְּנֵ֥י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ פIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 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
Revelation 21:27But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
it leads to
- Revelation 22:14–15
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by its gates.
- Isaiah 52:1
Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength, O Zion! Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, holy city! For the uncircumcised and unclean will no longer enter you.
- Revelation 20:15
And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
- Revelation 3:5
Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His…
- Isaiah 35:8
And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it.
- Revelation 22:14–15
Through
Numbers 5:3You must send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 23:14
For the LORD your God walks throughout your camp to protect you and deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, lest He see anything unclean among you and turn away from…
- Deuteronomy 23:14
Through
Psalms 135:21Blessed be the LORD from Zion— He who dwells in Jerusalem. Hallelujah!
it leads to
- Psalms 134:3
May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.
- Psalms 132:13–14
For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His home:
- Psalms 134:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.