Numbers 19:2
in Numbers 19“This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded: Instruct the Israelites to bring you an unblemished red heifer that has no defect and has never been placed under a yoke.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
This is the statute of the law which Jehovah hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke.
KJV
This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke:
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This verse in Numbers 19
Commentary
11 notes on this verseNow [Moses] declares that the ashes of the victims (which ought to be taken as a great mystery) are "the sprinkled ashes of a red heifer," which (as the apostle also bears witness) sanctified "those who have been defiled, so that [their] flesh is made …
This site's exposition
Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron
on Numbers 19:1-2
The victim is an unblemished red heifer never placed under a yoke. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown observe that this is the only sacrifice in the law whose colour is prescribed.
This site's exposition
has never been placed under a yoke
Matthew Henry reads the heifer that never bore a yoke as a figure of the voluntary offering of Jesus. Deuteronomy 21:3 sets the same condition on a heifer killed for an unsolved murder. The cows of 1 Samuel 6:7 had never been yoked either.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And it must be one on which never came yoke, which was not insisted on in other sacrifices, but thus was typified the voluntary offer of the Lord Jesus, when he said, Lo, I come, He was bound and held with no other cords than those of his own love.
No blemish - A fit type of Christ. Upon which never came yoke - Whereby may be signified, either that Christ in himself was free from all the yoke or obligation of God's command, till for our sakes he put himself under the law; or that Christ was not forced to undertake our burden and cross, but did voluntarily chuse it.
This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord hath commanded,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
This is the ordinance of the law--an institution of a peculiar nature ordained by law for the purification of sin, and provided at the public expense because it was for the good of the whole community. Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, &c.--This is the only case in which the color of the victim is specified.
THE true heading of all the books of Moses is to be found in the words of Jesus, "Moses wrote of Me." Take the Lord Jesus Christ with you as a key, and however difficult the riddles of Leviticus or Numbers may at first sight appear, there is not one enigma in the whole collection which will not speedily open and yield instruction. To the Israelites themselves, these rites and ceremonies must have been rather an exercise of faith, than a means of instruction.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
THE true heading of all the books of Moses is to be found in the words of Jesus, "Moses wrote of Me." Take the Lord Jesus Christ with you as a key, and however difficult the riddles of Leviticus or Numbers may at first sight appear, there is not one enigma in the whole collection which will not speedily open and yield instruction. To the Israelites themselves, these rites and ceremonies must have been rather an exercise of faith, than a means of instruction. "I cannot perfectly understand why this heifer is slain, or why yonder lamb is offered," said the pious Israelite, "but though I cannot understand, I believe there is virtue in it all and I reverently do, even to the smallest particular, that which God, through His servant Moses, has commanded me to do." To us, the types are not a dark mystery to perplex our faith, but an open vision to delight our eyes. Having believed in Christ Jesus, having received Him as the Father's Sent One and being reconciled unto God by His death, we look back to the ceremonies of the old Law as the patterns of heavenly things. We endeavor to discover some new light in which the Savior's beauties may be set and to behold Him from some different point of view, so that we may love Him the better and may trust Him more. Now, the particular point to which the red heifer referred, concerning Christ and His work, is just this—the provision which is made in Christ Jesus for the daily sins and failings of Believers. In order to bring out our point clearly, we shall remark, first, that even true Israelites are in daily danger of defilement. Secondly, that there is a provision made in the Covenant of Grace for the removal of the daily defilement of sin.
Speak unto the children of Israel that they bring thee, etc. - The ordinance of the red heifer was a sacrifice of general application. All the people were to have an interest in it, and therefore the people at large are to provide the sacrifice.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A red heifer - Red, in order to shadow forth man’s earthly body, even as the name Adam bears allusion to the red earth of which man’s body was fashioned. Without spot, wherein is no blemish - As with sin-offerings generally Lev 4:3. Upon which never came yoke - So here and elsewhere (see the marginal references), in the case of female victims.
The words behind it
25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זֹ֚את | zot | this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| חֻקַּ֣ת | chukat | [is] [the] statute of | H2708 → | 104 times |
| הַתּוֹרָ֔ה | hatorah | the law | H8451 → | 219 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| צִוָּ֥ה | tzivah | he has commanded | H6680 → | 494 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לֵאמֹ֑ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| דַּבֵּ֣ר׀ | daber | speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וְיִקְח֣וּ | veyikchu | so they may bring | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֵלֶיךָ֩ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| פָרָ֨ה | farah | a heifer | H6510 → | 26 times |
| אֲדֻמָּ֜ה | ʾadumah | red | H122 → | |
| תְּמִימָ֗ה | temimah | unblemished | H8549 → | 91 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֵֽין־ | ʾein- | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| בָּהּ֙ | bah | in <the> it | ||
| מ֔וּם | mum | [is] a blemish | H3971 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֛ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עָלָ֥ה | ʾalah | it has gone up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| עָלֶ֖יהָ | ʾaleiha | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עֹֽל׃ | ʾol | a yoke | H5923 → |
זֹ֚אתthis
zotH2063 →603 times
חֻקַּ֣ת[is] [the] statute of
chukatH2708 →104 times
הַתּוֹרָ֔הthe law
hatorahH8451 →219 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
צִוָּ֥הhe has commanded
tzivahH6680 →494 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
דַּבֵּ֣ר׀speak
daberH1696 →1141 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וְיִקְח֣וּso they may bring
veyikchuH3947 →966 times
אֵלֶיךָ֩to you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
פָרָ֨הa heifer
farahH6510 →26 times
אֲדֻמָּ֜הred
ʾadumahH122 →
תְּמִימָ֗הunblemished
temimahH8549 →91 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אֵֽין־there not
ʾein-H369 →789 times
בָּהּ֙in <the> it
bah
מ֔וּם[is] a blemish
mumH3971 →
אֲשֶׁ֛רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
עָלָ֥הit has gone up
ʾalahH5927 →890 times
עָלֶ֖יהָon it
ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 times
עֹֽל׃a yoke
ʾolH5923 →
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
1 Peter 1:19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.
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.
- 1 Peter 2:22–24
“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.”
- John 1:29
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
- Hebrews 9:12–14
He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.
- Revelation 5:9
And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and…
- 1 John 1:7
Through
1 Samuel 6:7Now, therefore, prepare one new cart with two milk cows that have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 6:3
They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new…
- 1 Chronicles 13:7
So they carried the ark of God from the house of Abinadab on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding the cart.
- 2 Samuel 6:3
Through
Deuteronomy 21:3Then the elders of the city nearest the victim shall take a heifer that has never been yoked or used for work,
it leads to
- Matthew 11:28–30
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
- Matthew 11:28–30
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, On the Tabernacle 2.11; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 527: “The Red Heifer” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.