Numbers 8:21
in Numbers 8The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes, and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the LORD. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the Levites purified themselves from sin, and they washed their clothes: and Aaron offered them for a wave-offering before Jehovah; and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them.
KJV
And the Levites were purified, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as an offering before the Lord; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them.
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This verse in Numbers 8
Commentary
3 notes on this verseAnd Aaron made an atonement for them - Though the Levites had been most solemnly consecrated to the Lord’s service, and though all legal washings and purifications were duly performed on the occasion, yet they could not approach God till an atonement had been made for them. How strange is it, after all these significations, of the will and purpose of God relative to man, that any priest or any people will attempt to draw nigh to God without an atonement!
This site's exposition
Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation
on Numbers 8:20-23
The doing is written out in the words of the command, and the last clause of verse 20 names the congregation as the doers, so did the children of Israel unto them. Verse 21 calls the result purified, and Adam Clarke observes that men so solemnly given to God still could not come near until an atonement had been made for them. Verse 22 lets them in to their work at last, and the order has not moved since verse 6, cleansing first, then presenting, then sacrifice, then the service. Verse 23 opens a further word, and it settles how long that service lasts.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the Levites were purified,.... From sin, by the sprinkling of the sin water, or water of purification on them, Num 8:7, and they washed their clothes; that they might have no defilement about them, neither in their bodies, nor in their garments: and Aaron offered them as an offering before the Lord; a wave offering, as in Num 8:11, and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them; by offering the sacrifices for them, Num 8:12.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּֽתְחַטְּא֣וּ | vaiyitchateu | and they purified themselves | H2398 → | 238 times |
| הַלְוִיִּ֗ם | halviyim | the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
| וַֽיְכַבְּסוּ֙ | vaykhabesu | and they washed | H3526 → | 51 times |
| בִּגְדֵיהֶ֔ם | bigdeihem | clothes their | H899 → | 217 times |
| וַיָּ֨נֶף | vaiyanef | and he waved | H5130 → | 37 times |
| אַהֲרֹ֥ן | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| אֹתָ֛ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| תְּנוּפָ֖ה | tenufah | a wave-offering | H8573 → | 30 times |
| לִפְנֵ֣י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיְכַפֵּ֧ר | vaykhaper | and he made atonement | H3722 → | 102 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶ֛ם | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אַהֲרֹ֖ן | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| לְטַהֲרָֽם׃ | letaharam | to purify them | H2891 → | 94 times |
וַיִּֽתְחַטְּא֣וּand they purified themselves
vaiyitchateuH2398 →238 times
הַלְוִיִּ֗םthe Levites
halviyimH3881 →291 times
וַֽיְכַבְּסוּ֙and they washed
vaykhabesuH3526 →51 times
בִּגְדֵיהֶ֔םclothes their
bigdeihemH899 →217 times
וַיָּ֨נֶףand he waved
vaiyanefH5130 →37 times
אַהֲרֹ֥ןAaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
אֹתָ֛ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
תְּנוּפָ֖הa wave-offering
tenufahH8573 →30 times
לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיְכַפֵּ֧רand he made atonement
vaykhaperH3722 →102 times
עֲלֵיהֶ֛םon them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
אַהֲרֹ֖ןAaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
לְטַהֲרָֽם׃to purify them
letaharamH2891 →94 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
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.
- Ephesians 5:25–27
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her
- Numbers 19:12
He must purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third and seventh days,…
- 1 John 1:7
Through
Numbers 3:12“Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb. The Levites belong to Me,
it leads to
- Numbers 8:16
For the Levites have been wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself in place of all who come first from the womb, the firstborn of…
- Numbers 18:6
Behold, I Myself have selected your fellow Levites from the Israelites as a gift to you, dedicated to the LORD to perform the service for the Tent of Meeting.
- Numbers 8:16
Through
Numbers 8:15After you have cleansed them and presented them as a wave offering, they may come to serve at the Tent of Meeting.
it leads to
- Numbers 8:11
Aaron is to present the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the sons of Israel, so that they may perform the service of the LORD.
- Numbers 8:11
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).