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Numbers 8:21

in Numbers 8

The 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

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

And 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

So Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel

on Numbers 8:20-23

Adam Clarke observes that men so solemnly given to God still could not come near until “Aaron also made atonement for them”. The order has held since verse 6: cleansing, presenting, sacrifice, then service.

This site's exposition

The Levites purified themselves

Verse 21 records the orders of verse 7 as carried out. John Gill ties the purifying to the water of purification sprinkled on them. Matthew Henry reads that sprinkling as a picture of Christ's blood cleansing the conscience to serve the living God, the language of Hebrews 9:14.

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 words

Every 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.

  • 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.

Related verses

9 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Exodus 19:10Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes7 worksNumbers 8:7This 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.6 worksNumbers 8:15After you have cleansed them and presented them as a wave offering, they may come to serve at the Tent of Meeting.3 worksNumbers 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 cleansed must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and that evening he will be clean.3 worksNumbers 8:11–13Aaron 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.3 worksNumbers 8:13You are to have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons and then present them before the LORD as a wave offering.3 works
The other 3 cross-references, with their words ▾
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,2 worksNumbers 19:12He 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, he will not be clean.2 worksLeviticus 14:11The priest who performs the cleansing shall present the one to be cleansed, together with these offerings, before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 19:19

    The 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,…

  • 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.

  • Through

    Numbers 8:15

    After 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.

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies2

About Numbers

The Brazen Serpent, Anthony van Dyck, 1618 to 1620. Public domain.
The Brazen Serpent, Anthony van Dyck, 1618 to 1620. Public domain.
Numbers: the study guide →Read Numbers 8 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Numbers 8 →