Numbers 5:3
in Numbers 5You must send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camp, in the midst whereof I dwell.
KJV
Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell.
⋯
This verse in Numbers 5
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Then the LORD said to Moses
on Numbers 5:1-3
Chapters 1 to 4 set the camp around the tent, and the first ruling after them names who must stay outside it. Those with a skin disease, a discharge, or defilement by a dead body are sent away. Verse 3 grounds the rule in the camp itself, “where I dwell among them”, and Deuteronomy 23:14 gives the same reason for the same rule.
This site's exposition
male and female alike
Male and female alike puts both sexes under the rule. John Wesley reads the defiled camp as a warning that uncleanness spreads from one person to those around him, and a call to keep apart from the wicked. Matthew Henry carries the rule to 1 Corinthians 5:13, where Paul tells the church to expel the wicked man from among them.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
That they defile not the camp - By which God would intimate the danger of being made guilty by other mens sins, and the duty of avoiding intimate converse with wicked men.
Both male and female shall ye put out,....
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִזָּכָ֤ר | mizakhar | from male | H2145 → | 82 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | unto | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| נְקֵבָה֙ | nekevah | female | H5347 → | |
| תְּשַׁלֵּ֔חוּ | teshalechu | you will send away | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מִח֥וּץ | michutz | from [the] outside | H2351 → | 164 times |
| לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֖ה | lamachaneh | of the camp | H4264 → | 215 times |
| תְּשַׁלְּח֑וּם | teshalechum | you will send away them | H7971 → | 845 times |
| וְלֹ֤א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְטַמְּאוּ֙ | yetameu | they will make unclean | H2930 → | 162 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַ֣חֲנֵיהֶ֔ם | machaneihem | camps their | H4264 → | 215 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֲנִ֖י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| שֹׁכֵ֥ן | shokhen | [am] dwelling | H7931 → | 129 times |
| בְּתוֹכָֽם׃ | betokham | in midst of them | H8432 → | 418 times |
מִזָּכָ֤רfrom male
mizakharH2145 →82 times
עַד־unto
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
נְקֵבָה֙female
nekevahH5347 →
תְּשַׁלֵּ֔חוּyou will send away
teshalechuH7971 →845 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מִח֥וּץfrom [the] outside
michutzH2351 →164 times
לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֖הof the camp
lamachanehH4264 →215 times
תְּשַׁלְּח֑וּםyou will send away them
teshalechumH7971 →845 times
וְלֹ֤אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יְטַמְּאוּ֙they will make unclean
yetameuH2930 →162 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מַ֣חֲנֵיהֶ֔םcamps their
machaneihemH4264 →215 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אֲנִ֖יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
שֹׁכֵ֥ן[am] dwelling
shokhenH7931 →129 times
בְּתוֹכָֽם׃in midst of them
betokhamH8432 →418 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 21:3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will…
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 6:16
What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 37:27
My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be My people.
- John 14:23
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
- Leviticus 26:11–12
And I will make My dwelling place among you, and My soul will not despise you.
- Zechariah 8:8
I will bring them back to dwell in Jerusalem, where they will be My people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God.”
- 2 Corinthians 6:16
Through
Psalms 68:18You have ascended on high; You have led captives away. You have received gifts from men, even from the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there.
it leads to
- Ephesians 4:8–10
This is why it says: “When He ascended on high, He led captives away, and gave gifts to men.”
- Ephesians 4:8–10
Through
Deuteronomy 23:14For 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…
it leads to
- Leviticus 26:12
I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people.
- Genesis 17:1
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.
- Leviticus 26:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Numbers
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.