6 All the time he is separate he may not come near any dead body.
You may not make cuts in your flesh in respect for the dead, or have marks printed on your bodies: I am the Lord.
And the Lord said to Moses, Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron, Let no man make himself unclean for the dead among his people; But only for his near relations, for his mother or his father, his son or his daughter, and his brother; And for his sister, a virgin, for she is his near relation and has had no husband, he may make himself unclean.
Anyone touching a dead body will be unclean for seven days: On the third day and on the seventh day he is to make himself clean with the water, and so he will be clean: but if he does not do this on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. Anyone touching the body of a dead man without making himself clean in this way, makes the House of the Lord unclean; and that man will be cut off from Israel: because the water was not put on him, he will be unclean; his unclean condition is unchanged. This is the law when death comes to a man in his tent: everyone who comes into the tent, and everyone who is in the tent, will be unclean for seven days. And every open vessel without a cover fixed on it will be unclean. And anyone touching one who has been put to death with the sword in the open country, or the body of one who has come to his end by a natural death, or a man's bone, or the resting-place of a dead body, will be unclean for seven days. And for the unclean, they are to take the dust of the burning of the sin-offering, and put flowing water on it in a vessel: And a clean person is to take hyssop and put it in the water, shaking it over the tent, and all the vessels, and the people who were there, and over him by whom the bone, or the body of one who has been put to death with the sword, or the body of one who has come to his end by a natural death, or the resting-place was touched. Let the clean person do this to the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he is to make him clean; and after washing his clothing and bathing himself in water, he will be clean in the evening. But the man who, being unclean, does not make himself clean in this way, will be cut off from the meeting of the people, because he has made the holy place of the Lord unclean: the water has not been put on him, he is unclean. This is to be a law for them for ever: he who puts the water on the unclean person is to have his clothing washed; and anyone touching the water will be unclean till evening. Anything touched by the unclean person will be unclean; and any person touching it will be unclean till evening.
For this is what the Lord has said: Do not go into the house of sorrow, do not go to make weeping or songs of grief for them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, says the Lord, even mercy and pity. Death will overtake great as well as small in the land: their bodies will not be put in a resting-place, and no one will be weeping for them or wounding themselves or cutting off their hair for them:
Son of man, see, I am taking away the desire of your eyes by disease: but let there be no sorrow or weeping or drops running from your eyes. Let there be no sound of sorrow; make no weeping for your dead, put on your head-dress and your shoes on your feet, let not your lips be covered, and do not take the food of those in grief. So in the morning I was teaching the people and in the evening death took my wife; and in the morning I did what I had been ordered to do.
And another of the disciples said to him, Lord, let me first go and give the last honours to my father. But Jesus said to him, Come after me; and let the dead take care of their dead.
And he said to another, Come after me. But he said, Lord, let me first go and give the last honours to my father. But he said to him, Let the dead take care of their dead; it is for you to go and give news of the kingdom of God.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 6
Commentary on Numbers 6 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 6
In this chapter we have,
Num 6:1-21
After the law for the discovery and shame of those that by sin had made themselves vile, fitly follows this for the direction and encouragement of those who by their eminent piety and devotion had made themselves honourable, and distinguished themselves from their neighbours. It is very probable that there were those before the making of this law who went under the character of Nazarites, and were celebrated by that title as persons professing greater strictness and zeal in religion than other people; for the vow of a Nazarite is spoken of here as a thing already well known, but the obligation of it is reduced to a greater certainty than hitherto it had been. Joseph is called a Nazarite among his brethren (Gen. 49:26), not only because separate from them, but because eminent among them. Observe,
Num 6:22-27
Here,