Numbers 9:6
in Numbers 9But there were some men who were unclean due to a dead body, so they could not observe the Passover on that day. And they came before Moses and Aaron that same day
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there were certain men, who were unclean by reason of the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day:
KJV
And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day:
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This verse in Numbers 9
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Certain men - Probably Mishael and Elizaphan, who buried their cousins, Nadab and Abihu, within a week of this Passover Lev 10:4-5.
This site's exposition
And there were certain men, who were defiled
on Numbers 9:6-7
These men come asking to be let in, which sets them apart from nearly every other approach made to Moses in this book. Leviticus 7:20 is the law that shuts them out, since the unclean man who eats of the sacrifice is cut off from his people, and the passover is the meal they are barred from. Barnes suggests they were Mishael and Elzaphan, who had carried the bodies of Nadab and Abihu out of the camp in Leviticus 10:4-5, and the text names nobody.
The record, by era
The Reformation1 voice
Hence arose a kind of discrepancy; because, whilst the unclean were not permitted to approach the sacred feast, it was sinful to neglect this exercise of religion. Even Moses confessed that he was perplexed as to this matter, since he sought for time to inquire of God.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), and they lay under that defilement seven days ( ch. xix. 11 ), and in that time might not eat of the holy things, Lev. vii. This was not their iniquity, but their infelicity: some persons must touch dead bodies, to bury them out of sight, and therefore they could, with the better grace, bring their complaint to Moses.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And there were certain men who were defiled by the dead body of a man,....
How the passage was read
On Numbers 9:1-14On Numbers 9:1-14
The make-up Passover
This passage creates something rare in the Law: a second chance at a feast. Anyone unclean or far away at Passover could keep it exactly one month later, on the 14th of the second month. Jewish tradition calls it Pesach Sheni, “Second Passover,” and it is still marked lightly today (some eat a piece of matzah on the day). Israel's kings used the provision at national scale: Hezekiah's great Passover was held in the second month on exactly this ground (2 Chronicles 30).
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Pesachim 9:1 (who keeps the Second Passover) · 2 Chronicles 30 (the provision used nationally)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֣י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אֲנָשִׁ֗ים | ʾanashim | people | H582 → | 566 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הָי֤וּ | hayu | they were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| טְמֵאִים֙ | temeim | unclean | H2931 → | 88 times |
| לְנֶ֣פֶשׁ | lenefesh | to a corpse of | H5315 → | 754 times |
| אָדָ֔ם | ʾadam | a person | H120 → | 551 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָכְל֥וּ | yakhelu | they were able | H3201 → | 194 times |
| לַעֲשֹׂת־ | laasot- | to observe | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הַפֶּ֖סַח | hapesach | the passover | H6453 → | 49 times |
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֑וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וַֽיִּקְרְב֞וּ | vaiyikrevu | and they drew near | H7126 → | 280 times |
| לִפְנֵ֥י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֛ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| וְלִפְנֵ֥י | velifnei | and <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אַהֲרֹ֖ן | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| בַּיּ֥וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַהֽוּא׃ | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
וַיְהִ֣יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
אֲנָשִׁ֗יםpeople
ʾanashimH582 →566 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הָי֤וּthey were
hayuH1961 →3559 times
טְמֵאִים֙unclean
temeimH2931 →88 times
לְנֶ֣פֶשׁto a corpse of
lenefeshH5315 →754 times
אָדָ֔םa person
ʾadamH120 →551 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָכְל֥וּthey were able
yakheluH3201 →194 times
לַעֲשֹׂת־to observe
laasot-H6213 →2628 times
הַפֶּ֖סַחthe passover
hapesachH6453 →49 times
בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֑וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
וַֽיִּקְרְב֞וּand they drew near
vaiyikrevuH7126 →280 times
לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
מֹשֶׁ֛הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
וְלִפְנֵ֥יand <to> before
velifneiH6440 →2123 times
אַהֲרֹ֖ןAaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
בַּיּ֥וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַהֽוּא׃<the> that
hahu'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
Numbers 19:11Whoever touches any dead body will be unclean for seven days.
it leads to
- Numbers 31:19
All of you who have killed a person or touched the dead are to remain outside the camp for seven days. On the third day and the seventh day you are to purify both…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 5:2
“Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone with a skin disease, anyone who has a bodily discharge, and anyone who is defiled by a dead body.
- Leviticus 21:1
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them that a priest is not to defile himself for a dead person among his people,
- Numbers 9:10
“Tell the Israelites: ‘When any one of you or your descendants is unclean because of a dead body, or is away on a journey, he may still observe the Passover to the LORD.
- Numbers 19:16
Anyone in the open field who touches someone who has been killed by the sword or has died of natural causes, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean…
- Numbers 31:19
Through
Exodus 18:19Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their causes to Him.
it leads to
- Numbers 27:5
So Moses brought their case before the LORD,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 27:5
Through
Numbers 19:16Anyone in the open field who touches someone who has been killed by the sword or has died of natural causes, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean…
it leads to
- Numbers 19:11
Whoever touches any dead body will be unclean for seven days.
- Matthew 23:27
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.
- Numbers 19:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Numbers
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.