10 And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever.
11 He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.
12 He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.
13 Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.
14 This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.
15 And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean.
16 And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
17 And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel:
18 And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:
19 And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.
20 But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the LORD: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.
21 And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even.
22 And whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even.
10 And he that gathereth H622 the ashes H665 of the heifer H6510 shall wash H3526 his clothes, H899 and be unclean H2930 until the even: H6153 and it shall be unto the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 and unto the stranger H1616 that sojourneth H1481 among H8432 them, for a statute H2708 for ever. H5769
11 He that toucheth H5060 the dead H4191 body H5315 of any man H120 shall be unclean H2930 seven H7651 days. H3117
12 He shall purify H2398 himself with it on the third H7992 day, H3117 and on the seventh H7637 day H3117 he shall be clean: H2891 but if he purify H2398 not himself the third H7992 day, H3117 then the seventh H7637 day H3117 he shall not be clean. H2891
13 Whosoever toucheth H5060 the dead H4191 body H5315 of any man H120 that is dead, H4191 and purifieth H2398 not himself, defileth H2930 the tabernacle H4908 of the LORD; H3068 and that soul H5315 shall be cut off H3772 from Israel: H3478 because the water H4325 of separation H5079 was not sprinkled H2236 upon him, he shall be unclean; H2931 his uncleanness H2932 is yet upon him.
14 This is the law, H8451 when a man H120 dieth H4191 in a tent: H168 all that come H935 into the tent, H168 and all that is in the tent, H168 shall be unclean H2930 seven H7651 days. H3117
15 And every open H6605 vessel, H3627 which hath no covering H6781 bound H6616 upon it, is unclean. H2931
16 And whosoever toucheth H5060 one that is slain H2491 with a sword H2719 in the open H6440 fields, H7704 or a dead body, H4191 or a bone H6106 of a man, H120 or a grave, H6913 shall be unclean H2930 seven H7651 days. H3117
17 And for an unclean H2931 person they shall take H3947 of the ashes H6083 of the burnt heifer H8316 of purification for sin, H2403 and running H2416 water H4325 shall be put H5414 thereto in a vessel: H3627
18 And a clean H2889 person H376 shall take H3947 hyssop, H231 and dip H2881 it in the water, H4325 and sprinkle H5137 it upon the tent, H168 and upon all the vessels, H3627 and upon the persons H5315 that were there, and upon him that touched H5060 a bone, H6106 or one slain, H2491 or one dead, H4191 or a grave: H6913
19 And the clean H2889 person shall sprinkle H5137 upon the unclean H2931 on the third H7992 day, H3117 and on the seventh H7637 day: H3117 and on the seventh H7637 day H3117 he shall purify H2398 himself, and wash H3526 his clothes, H899 and bathe H7364 himself in water, H4325 and shall be clean H2891 at even. H6153
20 But the man H376 that shall be unclean, H2930 and shall not purify H2398 himself, that soul H5315 shall be cut off H3772 from among H8432 the congregation, H6951 because he hath defiled H2930 the sanctuary H4720 of the LORD: H3068 the water H4325 of separation H5079 hath not been sprinkled H2236 upon him; he is unclean. H2931
21 And it shall be a perpetual H5769 statute H2708 unto them, that he that sprinkleth H5137 the water H4325 of separation H5079 shall wash H3526 his clothes; H899 and he that toucheth H5060 the water H4325 of separation H5079 shall be unclean H2930 until even. H6153
22 And whatsoever the unclean H2931 person toucheth H5060 shall be unclean; H2930 and the soul H5315 that toucheth H5060 it shall be unclean H2930 until even. H6153
10 And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever.
11 He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days:
12 the same shall purify himself therewith on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.
13 Whosoever toucheth a dead person, the body of a man that hath died, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of Jehovah; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water for impurity was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.
14 This is the law when a man dieth in a tent: every one that cometh into the tent, and every one that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.
15 And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean.
16 And whosoever in the open field toucheth one that is slain with a sword, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
17 And for the unclean they shall take of the ashes of the burning of the sin-offering; and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel:
18 and a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched the bone, or the slain, or the dead, or the grave:
19 and the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify him; and he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.
20 But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of Jehovah: the water for impurity hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.
21 And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them: and he that sprinkleth the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he that toucheth the water for impurity shall be unclean until even.
22 And whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even.
10 and he who is gathering the ashes of the heifer hath washed his garments, and is unclean till the evening; and it hath been to the sons of Israel, and to the sojourner who is sojourning in their midst, for a statute age-during.
11 `He who is coming against the dead body of any man -- is unclean seven days;
12 he doth cleanse himself for it on the third day, and on the seventh day he is clean; and if he cleanse not himself on the third day, then on the seventh day he is not clean.
13 Any one who is coming against the dead, against the body of man who dieth, and cleanseth not himself -- the tabernacle of Jehovah he hath defiled, and that person hath been cut off from Israel, for water of separation is not sprinkled upon him; he is unclean; his uncleanness `is' still upon him.
14 `This `is' the law, when a man dieth in a tent: every one who is coming in unto the tent, and all that `is' in the tent, is unclean seven days;
15 and every open vessel which hath no covering of thread upon it is unclean.
16 `And every one who cometh, on the face of the field, against the pierced of a sword, or against the dead, or against a bone of man, or against a grave, is unclean seven days;
17 and they have taken for the unclean person of the ashes of the burning of the `cleansing', and he hath put upon it running water unto a vessel;
18 and a clean person hath taken hyssop, and hath dipped `it' in water, and hath sprinkled on the tent, and on all the vessels, and on the persons who have been there, and on him who is coming against a bone, or against one pierced, or against the dead, or against a grave.
19 `And the clean hath sprinkled `it' on the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day, and hath cleansed him on the seventh day, and he hath washed his garments, and hath bathed with water, and hath been clean in the evening.
20 `And the man who is unclean, and doth not cleanse himself, even that person hath been cut off from the midst of the assembly; for the sanctuary of Jehovah he hath defiled; water of separation is not sprinkled upon him; he `is' unclean.
21 `And it hath been to them for a statute age-during, that he who is sprinkling the water of separation doth wash his garments, and he who is coming against the water of separation is unclean till the evening,
22 and all against which the unclean person cometh is unclean, and the person who is coming against `it' is unclean till the evening.'
10 And he that hath gathered the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even. And it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, an everlasting statute.
11 He that toucheth a dead person, any dead body of a man, shall be unclean seven days.
12 He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean; but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.
13 Whoever toucheth a dead person, the dead body of a man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of Jehovah; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel; for the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him: he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.
14 This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: every one that cometh into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.
15 And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, shall be unclean.
16 And every one that toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead person, or the bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
17 And they shall take for the unclean of the ashes of the purification-offering that hath been burned, and shall put running water thereon in a vessel;
18 and a clean man shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, and upon all the utensils, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that hath touched the bone, or the one slain, or the dead person, or the grave;
19 and the clean shall sprinkle it on the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day; and he shall purify him on the seventh day; and he shall wash his garments, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.
20 And the man that is unclean, and doth not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from the midst of the congregation, for he hath defiled the sanctuary of Jehovah: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled on him: he is unclean.
21 And it shall be an everlasting statute unto them. And he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his garments, and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even.
22 And whatever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even.
10 He who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be to the children of Israel, and to the stranger who lives as a foreigner among them, for a statute forever.
11 He who touches the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days:
12 the same shall purify himself therewith on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he doesn't purify himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.
13 Whoever touches a dead person, the body of a man who has died, and doesn't purifies himself, defiles the tent of Yahweh; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water for impurity was not sprinkled on him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet on him.
14 This is the law when a man dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent, and everyone who is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.
15 Every open vessel, which has no covering bound on it, is unclean.
16 Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain with a sword, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
17 For the unclean they shall take of the ashes of the burning of the sin-offering; and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel:
18 and a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, and on all the vessels, and on the persons who were there, and on him who touched the bone, or the slain, or the dead, or the grave:
19 and the clean person shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify him; and he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.
20 But the man who shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of Yahweh: the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.
21 It shall be a perpetual statute to them: and he who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until even.
22 Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the soul that touches it shall be unclean until even.
10 And he who takes up the dust of the burned cow is to have his clothing washed with water and be unclean till evening: this is to be a law for ever, for the children of Israel as well as for the man from another country who is living among them.
11 Anyone touching a dead body will be unclean for seven days:
12 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.
13 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.
14 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.
15 And every open vessel without a cover fixed on it will be unclean.
16 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.
17 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:
18 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.
19 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.
20 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.
21 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.
22 Anything touched by the unclean person will be unclean; and any person touching it will be unclean till evening.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 19
Commentary on Numbers 19 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
In order that a consciousness of the continuance of the covenant relation might be kept alive during the dying out of the race that had fallen under the judgment of God, after the severe stroke with which the Lord had visited the whole nation in consequence of the rebellion of the company of Korah, He gave the law concerning purification from the uncleanness of death, in which first of all the preparation of a sprinkling water is commanded for the removal of this uncleanness ( Numbers 19:1-10 ); and then, secondly, the use of this purifying water enjoined as an eternal statute ( Numbers 19:10-22). The thought that death, and the putrefaction of death, as being the embodiment of sin, defiled and excluded from fellowship with the holy God, was a view of the fall and its consequences which had been handed down from the primeval age, and which was not only shared by the Israelites with many of the nations of antiquity,
(Note: Vid., Bähr, Symbolik, ii. pp. 466ff.; Sommer, bibl. Abhdll. pp. 271ff.; Knobel on this chapter, and Leyrer in Herzog's Cyclopaedia.)
but presupposed by the laws given on Sinai as a truth well known in Israel; and at the same time confirmed, both in the prohibition of the priests from defiling themselves with the dead, except in the case of their nearest blood-relations (Leviticus 21:1-6, Leviticus 21:10-12), and in the command, that every one who was defiled by a corpse should be removed out of the camp ( Numbers 5:2-4). Now, so long as the mortality within the congregation did not exceed the natural limits, the traditional modes of purification would be quite sufficient. But when it prevailed to a hitherto unheard-of extent, in consequence of the sentence pronounced by God, the defilements would necessarily be so crowded together, that the whole congregation would be in danger of being infected with the defilement of death, and of forfeiting its vocation to be the holy nation of Jehovah, unless God provided it with the means of cleansing itself from this uncleanness, without losing the fellowship of His covenant of grace. The law which follows furnished the means. In Numbers 19:2 this law is called התּורה חקּת , a “ statute of instruction, ” or law-statute. This combination of the two words commonly used for law and statute, which is only met with again in Numbers 31:21, and there, as here, in connection with a rule relating to purification from the uncleanness of death, is probably intended to give emphasis to the design of the law about to be given, to point it out as one of great importance, but not as decretum absque ulla ratione , a decree without any reason, as the Rabbins suppose.
Preparation of the Purifying Water. - As water is the ordinary means by which all kinds of uncleanness are removed, it was also to be employed in the removal of the uncleanness of death. But as this uncleanness was the strongest of all religious defilements, fresh water alone was not sufficient to remove it; and consequently a certain kind of sprinkling-water was appointed, which was strengthened by the ashes of a sin-offering, and thus formed into a holy alkali. The main point in the law which follows, therefore, was the preparation of the ashes, and these had to be obtained by the sacrifice of a red heifer .
(Note: On this sacrifice, which is so rich in symbolical allusions, but the details of which are so difficult to explain, compare the rabbinical statutes in the talmudical tractate Para ( Mishnah, v. Surenh. vi. pp. 269ff.); Maimonides de vacca rufa; and Lundius jüd. Heiligth . pp. 680ff. Among modern treatises on this subject, are Bähr's Symbolik, ii. pp. 493ff.; Hengstenberg, Egypt and the Books of Moses , pp. 173ff.; Leyrer in Herzog's Cycl.; Kurtz in the Theol. Studien und Kritiken, 1846, pp. 629ff. (also Sacrificial Worship of the Old Testament, pp. 422ff., Eng. transl., Tr.); and my Archäologie , i. p. 58.)
Numbers 19:2
The sons of Israel were to bring to Moses a red heifer, entirely without blemish, and to give it to Eleazar the priest, that he might have it slaughtered in his presence outside the camp. פּרה is not a cow generally, but a young cow, a heifer, הב́לבכיע (lxx), juvenca , between the calf and the full-grown cow. אדמּה , of a red colour, is not to be connected with תמימה in the sense of “quite red,” as the Rabbins interpret it; but תמימה , integra , is to be taken by itself, and the words which follow, “ wherein is no blemish, ” to be regarded as defining it still more precisely (see Leviticus 22:19-20). The slaying of this heifer is called חטּאת , a sin-offering, in Numbers 19:9 and Numbers 19:17. To remind the congregation that death was the wages of sin, the antidote to the defilement of death was to be taken from a sin-offering. But as the object was not to remove and wipe away sin as such, but simply to cleanse the congregation from the uncleanness which proceeded from death, the curse of sin, it was necessary that the sin-offering should be modified in a peculiar manner to accord with this special design. The sacrificial animal was not to be a bullock, as in the case of the ordinary sin-offerings of the congregation (Leviticus 4:14), but a female, because the female sex is the bearer of life (Genesis 3:20), a פּרה , i.e., lit., the fruit-bringing; and of a red colour, not because the blood-red colour points to sin (as Hengstenberg follows the Rabbins and earlier theologians in supposing), but as the colour of the most “intensive life,” which has its seat in the blood, and shows itself in the red colour of the face (the cheeks and lips); and one “upon which no yoke had ever come,” i.e., whose vital energy had not yet been crippled by labour under the yoke. Lastly, like all the sacrificial animals, it was to be uninjured, and free from faults, inasmuch as the idea of representation, which lay at the foundation of all the sacrifices, but more especially of the sin-offerings, demanded natural sinlessness and original purity, quite as much as imputed sin and transferred uncleanness. Whilst the last-mentioned prerequisite showed that the victim was well fitted for bearing sin, the other attributes indicated the fulness of life and power in their highest forms, and qualified it to form a powerful antidote to death. As thus appointed to furnish a reagent against death and mortal corruption, the sacrificial animal was to possess throughout, viz., in colour, in sex, and in the character of its body, the fulness of life in its greatest freshness and vigour.
Numbers 19:3-4
The sacrifice itself was to be superintended by Eleazar the priest, the eldest son of the high priest, and his presumptive successor in office; because Aaron, or the high priest, whose duty it was to present the sin-offerings for the congregation (Leviticus 4:16), could not, according to his official position, which required him to avoid all uncleanness of death ( Leviticus 21:11-12), perform such an act as this, which stood in the closest relation to death and the uncleanness of death, and for that very reason had to be performed outside the camp. The subject, to “ bring her forth ” and “ slay her, ” is indefinite; since it was not the duty of the priest to slay the sacrificial animal, but of the offerer himself, or in the case before us, of the congregation, which would appoint one of its own number for the purpose. All that the priest had to do was to sprinkle the blood; at the same time the slaying was to take place לפניו , before him, i.e., before his eyes. Eleazar was to sprinkle some of the blood seven times “ towards the opposite,” i.e., toward the front of the tabernacle ( seven times, as in Leviticus 4:17). Through this sprinkling of the blood the slaying became a sacrifice, being brought thereby into relation to Jehovah and the sanctuary; whilst the life, which was sacrificed for the sin of the congregation, was given up to the Lord, and offered up in the only way in which a sacrifice, prepared like this, outside the sanctuary, could possibly be offered.
Numbers 19:5-6
After this (Numbers 19:5, Numbers 19:6), they were to burn the cow, with the skin, flesh, blood, and dung, before his (Eleazar's) eyes, and he was to throw cedar-wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool into the fire. The burning of the sacrificial animal outside the camp took place in the case of every sin-offering for the whole congregation, for the reasons expounded on Leviticus 4:11-12. But in the case before us, the whole of the sacrificial act had to be performed outside the camp, i.e., outside the sphere of the theocracy; because the design of this sin-offering was not that the congregation might thereby be received through the expiation of its sin into the fellowship of the God and Lord who was present at the altar and in the sanctuary, but simply that an antidote to the infection of death might be provided for the congregation, which had become infected through fellowship with death; and consequently, the victim was to represent, not the living congregation as still associated with the God who was present in His earthly kingdom, but those members of the congregation who had fallen victims to temporal death as the wages of sin, and, as such, were separated from the earthly theocracy (see my Archaeology , i. p. 283). In this sacrifice, the blood, which was generally poured out at the foot of the altar, was burned along with the rest, and the ashes to be obtained were impregnated with the substance thereof. But in order still further to increase the strength of these ashes, which were already well fitted to serve as a powerful antidote to the corruption of death, as being the incorruptible residuum of the sin-offering which had not been destroyed by the fire, cedar-wood was thrown into the fire, as the symbol of the incorruptible continuance of life; and hyssop, as the symbol of purification from the corruption of death; and scarlet wool, the deep red of which shadowed forth the strongest vital energy (see at Leviticus 14:6), - so that the ashes might be regarded “as the quintessence of all that purified and strengthened life, refined and sublimated by the fire” ( Leyrer ).
Numbers 19:7-10
The persons who took part in this - viz., the priest, the man who attended to the burning, and the clean man who gathered the ashes together, and deposited them in a clean place for subsequent use - became unclean till the evening in consequence; not from the fact that they had officiated for unclean persons, and, in a certain sense, had participated in their uncleanness ( Knobel ), but through the uncleanness of sin and death, which had passed over to the sin-offering; just as the man who led into the wilderness the goat which had been rendered unclean through the imposition of sin, became himself unclean in consequence (Leviticus 16:26). Even the sprinkling water prepared from the ashes defiled every one who touched it (Numbers 19:21). But when the ashes were regarded in relation to their appointment as the means of purification, they were to be treated as clean. Not only were they to be collected together by a clean man; but they were to be kept for use in a clean place, just as the ashes of the sacrifices that were taken away from the altar were to be carried to a clean place outside the camp (Leviticus 6:4). These defilements, like every other which only lasted till the evening, were to be removed by washing. The ashes thus collected were to serve the congregation נדּה למי , i.e., literally as water of uncleanness; in other words, as water by which uncleanness was to be removed. “ Water of uncleanness ” is analogous to “ water of sin ” in Numbers 8:7.
Use of the Water of Purification . - The words in Numbers 19:10 , “ And it shall be to the children of Israel, and to the stranger in the midst of them, for an everlasting statute, ” relate to the preparation and application of the sprinkling water, and connect the foregoing instructions with those which follow. - Numbers 19:1-13 contain the general rules for the use of the water; Numbers 19:14-22 a more detailed description of the execution of those rules.
Numbers 19:11-13
Whoever touched a corpse, “ with regard to all the souls of men, ” i.e., the corpse of a person, of whatever age or sex, was unclean for seven days, and on the third and seventh day he was to cleanse himself ( התחטּא , as in Numbers 8:21) with the water ( בּו refers, so far as the sense is concerned, to the water of purification). If he neglected this cleansing, he did not become clean, and he defiled the dwelling of Jehovah (see at Leviticus 15:31). Such a man was to be cut off from Israel (vid., at Genesis 17:14).
Numbers 19:14-16
Special instructions concerning the defilement. If a man died in a tent, every one who entered it, or who was there at the time, became unclean for seven days. So also did every “ open vessel upon which there was not a covering, a string, ” i.e., that had not a covering fastened by a string, to prevent the smell of the corpse from penetrating it. פּתיל , a string, is in apposition to צמיד , a band, or binding (see Ges. §113; Ewald , §287, e.). This also applied to any one in the open field, who touched a man who had either been slain by the sword or had died a natural death, or even a bone (skeleton), or a grave.
Numbers 19:17-20
Ceremony of purification . They were to take for the unclean person some of the dust of the burning of the cow, i.e., some of the ashes obtained by burning the cow, and put living, i.e., fresh water (see Leviticus 14:5), upon it in a vessel. A clean man was then to take a bunch of hyssop (see Exodus 12:22), on account of its inherent purifying power, and dip it in the water, on the third and seventh day after the defilement had taken place, and to sprinkle the tent, with the vessels and persons in it, as well as every one who had touched a corpse, whether a person slain, or one who had died a natural death, or a grave; after which the persons were to wash their clothes and bathe, that they might be clean in the evening. As the uncleanness in question is held up as the highest grade of uncleanness, by its duration being fixed at seven days, i.e., an entire week, so the appointment of a double purification with the sprinkling water shows the force of the uncleanness to be removed; whilst the selection of the third and seventh days was simply determined by the significance of the numbers themselves. In Numbers 19:20, the threat of punishment for the neglect of purification is repeated from Numbers 19:13, for the purpose of making it most emphatic.
Numbers 19:21-22
This also was to be an everlasting statute, that he who sprinkled the water of purification, or even touched it (see at Numbers 19:7.), and he who was touched by a person defiled (by a corpse), and also the person who touched him, should be unclean till the evening, - a rule which also applied to other forms of uncleanness.