Numbers 8:7
in Numbers 8This is what you must do to cleanse them: Sprinkle them with the water of purification. Have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of expiation upon them, and let them cause a razor to pass over all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and cleanse themselves.
KJV
And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.
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This verse in Numbers 8
Commentary
7 notes on this verseSprinkle water of purifying - מי חטאת mey chattath, water of sin, or water of the sin-offering. As this purifying water was made by the ashes of the red heifer, cedar-wood, hyssop, and scarlet; and the heifer herself was sacrificed, and her blood sprinkled seven times before the tabernacle, Num 19:3-6; she may be considered as a proper sacrifice for sin, and consequently the water thus prepared be termed the water of the sin-offering.
This site's exposition
Take the Levites from among the Israelites
on Numbers 8:6-8
The Levites are cleansed, where Leviticus 8 consecrated the priests with blood and anointing oil, and Albert Barnes marks the difference as deliberate. Shaving and washing the clothes is what a cleansed leper does at Leviticus 14:8-9.
This site's exposition
Sprinkle them with the water of purification
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown call the Levites' rite much simpler than the priests', lacking the bathing, the anointing and the robes of the priests' ordination. John Wesley reads the shaving as cutting off the desire for earthly things. Moses does the sprinkling himself.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Hairs of the flesh mean whatever human corruption is left. Hairs of the flesh are the thoughts of the old life, which we so expel from our minds that no grief at their loss fatigues us. Levite means "one taken up." So all Levites should …
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
PateriusExposition of the Old and New Testament, Numbers 3 · Written before 606.
proposed
Hairs of the flesh mean whatever human corruption is left. Hairs of the flesh are the thoughts of the old life, which we so expel from our minds that no grief at their loss fatigues us. Levite means "one taken up." So all Levites should …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Of purifying - Hebrew. of sin, that is, for the expiation of sin. This water was mixed with the ashes of a red heifer, chap. xix, 9, which therefore may seem to have been prescribed before, though it be mentioned after; such kind of transplacings of passages being frequent in scripture.
And thus shall thou do unto them, to cleanse them,....
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכֹֽה־ | vekhoh- | and thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| תַעֲשֶׂ֤ה | taaseh | you will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָהֶם֙ | lahem | to <the> them | ||
| לְטַֽהֲרָ֔ם | letaharam | to purify them | H2891 → | 94 times |
| הַזֵּ֥ה | hazeh | spatter | H5137 → | 24 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מֵ֣י | mei | water of | H4325 → | 581 times |
| חַטָּ֑את | chatat | sin offering | H2403 → | 295 times |
| וְהֶעֱבִ֤ירוּ | veheeviru | and they will cause to pass | H5674 → | 556 times |
| תַ֙עַר֙ | taar | a razor | H8593 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בְּשָׂרָ֔ם | besaram | body their | H1320 → | 270 times |
| וְכִבְּס֥וּ | vekhibesu | and they will wash | H3526 → | 51 times |
| בִגְדֵיהֶ֖ם | vigdeihem | clothes their | H899 → | 217 times |
| וְהִטֶּהָֽרוּ׃ | vehiteharu | and they will purify themselves | H2891 → | 94 times |
וְכֹֽה־and thus
vekhoh-H3541 →577 times
תַעֲשֶׂ֤הyou will do
taasehH6213 →2628 times
לָהֶם֙to <the> them
lahem
לְטַֽהֲרָ֔םto purify them
letaharamH2891 →94 times
הַזֵּ֥הspatter
hazehH5137 →24 times
עֲלֵיהֶ֖םon them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
מֵ֣יwater of
meiH4325 →581 times
חַטָּ֑אתsin offering
chatatH2403 →295 times
וְהֶעֱבִ֤ירוּand they will cause to pass
veheeviruH5674 →556 times
תַ֙עַר֙a razor
taarH8593 →
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
בְּשָׂרָ֔םbody their
besaramH1320 →270 times
וְכִבְּס֥וּand they will wash
vekhibesuH3526 →51 times
בִגְדֵיהֶ֖םclothes their
vigdeihemH899 →217 times
וְהִטֶּהָֽרוּ׃and they will purify themselves
vehiteharuH2891 →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
Isaiah 52:15so He will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths because of Him. For they will see what they have not been told, and they will understand what they have not heard.
it leads to
- Romans 15:20–21
In this way I have aspired to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation.
- 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 49:7
Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, to Him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the Servant of rulers: “Kings will see You and rise, and princes…
- Psalms 72:9–11
May the nomads bow before him, and his enemies lick the dust.
- Isaiah 55:5
Surely you will summon a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you will run to you. For the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, has bestowed glory…
- Romans 15:20–21
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 15:31
Through
Leviticus 8:6Then Moses presented Aaron and his sons and washed them with water.
it leads to
- Exodus 29:4
Then present Aaron and his sons at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.
- Exodus 29:4
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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Pacian of Barcelona, Commentary (church-history corpus) and Paterius, Exposition of the Old and New Testament, Numbers 3.