Numbers 9:7
in Numbers 9and said to Moses, “We are unclean because of a dead body, but why should we be excluded from presenting the LORD’s offering with the other Israelites at the appointed time?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and those men said unto him, We are unclean by reason of the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer the oblation of Jehovah in its appointed season among the children of Israel?
KJV
And those men said unto him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the Lord in his appointed season among the children of Israel?
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This verse in Numbers 9
Commentary
4 notes on this verseWe are defiled by the dead body of a man - It is probable that the defilement mentioned here was occasioned by assisting at the burial of some person - a work both of necessity and mercy. This circumstance however gave rise to the ordinance delivered in Num 9:10-14, so that on particular occasions the passover might be twice celebrated: 1. At its regular time, the 14th of the first month; 2. An extra time, the 14th of the second month.
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 Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And those men said unto him,.... To Moses, who was the chief magistrate, though Aaron was the high priest.
Note, It is people's wisdom, in difficult cases concerning sin and duty, to consult with their ministers whom God has set over them, and to ask the law at their mouth, Mal. ii. These means we must use in pursuance of our prayers to God to lead us in a plain path.
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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַ֠יֹּאמְרוּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הָאֲנָשִׁ֤ים | haanashim | the people | H582 → | 566 times |
| הָהֵ֙מָּה֙ | hahemah | <the> those | H1992 → | 553 times |
| אֵלָ֔יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֲנַ֥חְנוּ | ʾanachnu | we | H587 → | 120 times |
| טְמֵאִ֖ים | temeim | [are] unclean | H2931 → | 88 times |
| לְנֶ֣פֶשׁ | lenefesh | to a corpse of | H5315 → | 754 times |
| אָדָ֑ם | ʾadam | a person | H120 → | 551 times |
| לָ֣מָּה | lamah | <to> why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| נִגָּרַ֗ע | nigara' | are we restrained | H1639 → | 22 times |
| לְבִלְתִּ֨י | levilti | to not | H1115 → | 112 times |
| הַקְרִ֜ב | hakriv | to bring near | H7126 → | 280 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| קָרְבַּ֤ן | kareban | [the] offering of | H7133 → | 82 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בְּמֹ֣עֲד֔וֹ | bemoado | at appointed time its | H4150 → | 223 times |
| בְּת֖וֹךְ | betokh | in among | H8432 → | 418 times |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וַ֠יֹּאמְרוּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
הָאֲנָשִׁ֤יםthe people
haanashimH582 →566 times
הָהֵ֙מָּה֙<the> those
hahemahH1992 →553 times
אֵלָ֔יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
אֲנַ֥חְנוּwe
ʾanachnuH587 →120 times
טְמֵאִ֖ים[are] unclean
temeimH2931 →88 times
לְנֶ֣פֶשׁto a corpse of
lenefeshH5315 →754 times
אָדָ֑םa person
ʾadamH120 →551 times
לָ֣מָּה<to> why?
lamahH4100 →752 times
נִגָּרַ֗עare we restrained
nigara'H1639 →22 times
לְבִלְתִּ֨יto not
leviltiH1115 →112 times
הַקְרִ֜בto bring near
hakrivH7126 →280 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
קָרְבַּ֤ן[the] offering of
karebanH7133 →82 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בְּמֹ֣עֲד֔וֹat appointed time its
bemoadoH4150 →223 times
בְּת֖וֹךְin among
betokhH8432 →418 times
בְּנֵ֥י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
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
Deuteronomy 16:2You are to offer to the LORD your God the Passover sacrifice from the herd or flock in the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for His Name.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 5:7
Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 12:5
Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.
- Deuteronomy 12:26
But you are to take your holy things and your vow offerings and go to the place the LORD will choose.
- 1 Corinthians 5:7
Through
Numbers 9:2“The Israelites are to observe the Passover at its appointed time.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 5:7–8
Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
- Deuteronomy 16:1–2
Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God, because in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night.
- Leviticus 23:5
The Passover to the LORD begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.
- 1 Corinthians 5:7–8
Through
Exodus 12:27you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck down the Egyptians and spared our homes.’” Then the…
it leads to
- Exodus 4:31
and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD had attended to the Israelites and had seen their affliction, they bowed down and worshiped.
- Exodus 12:11
This is how you are to eat it: You must be fully dressed for travel, with your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. You are to eat in haste; it…
- Exodus 4:31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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; 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 Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.