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
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Numbers 19
Commentary on Numbers 19 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 19
Nu 19:1-22. The Water of Separation.
2. 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. It has been supposed the ordinance was designed in opposition to the superstitious notions of the Egyptians. That people never offered a vow but they sacrificed a red bull, the greatest care being taken by their priests in examining whether it possessed the requisite characteristics, and it was an annual offering to Typhon, their evil being. By the choice, both of the sex and the color, provision was made for eradicating from the minds of the Israelites a favorite Egyptian superstition regarding two objects of their animal worship.
3-6. ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest that he may bring her forth without the camp—He was the second or deputy high priest, and he was selected for this duty because the execution of it entailed temporary defilement, from which the acting high priest was to be preserved with the greatest care. It was led "forth without the camp," in accordance with the law regarding victims laden with the sins of the people, and thus typical of Christ (Heb 13:12; also Le 24:14). The priest was to sprinkle the blood "seven times" before—literally, "towards" or "near" the tabernacle, a description which seems to imply either that he carried a portion of the blood in a basin to the door of the tabernacle (Le 4:17), or that in the act of sprinkling he turned his face towards the sacred edifice, being disqualified through the defiling influence of this operation from approaching close to it. By this attitude he indicated that he was presenting an expiatory sacrifice, for the acceptance of which he hoped, in the grace of God, by looking to the mercy seat. Every part of it was consumed by fire except the blood used in sprinkling, and the ingredients mixed with the ashes were the same as those employed in the sprinkling of lepers (Le 14:4-7). It was a water of separation—that is, of "sanctification" for the people of Israel.
7. the priest shall be unclean until the even—The ceremonies prescribed show the imperfection of the Levitical priesthood, while they typify the condition of Christ when expiating our sins (2Co 5:21).
11-22. He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean—This law is noticed here to show the uses to which the water of separation [Nu 19:9] was applied. The case of a death is one; and as in every family which sustained a bereavement the members of the household became defiled, so in an immense population, where instances of mortality and other cases of uncleanness would be daily occurring, the water of separation must have been in constant requisition. To afford the necessary supply of the cleansing mixture, the Jewish writers say that a red heifer was sacrificed every year, and that the ashes, mingled with the sprinkling ingredients, were distributed through all the cities and towns of Israel.
12. He shall purify himself … the third day—The necessity of applying the water on the third day is inexplicable on any natural or moral ground; and, therefore, the regulation has been generally supposed to have had a typical reference to the resurrection, on that day, of Christ, by whom His people are sanctified; while the process of ceremonial purification being extended over seven days, was intended to show that sanctification is progressive and incomplete till the arrival of the eternal Sabbath. Every one knowingly and presumptuously neglecting to have himself sprinkled with this water was guilty of an offense which was punished by excommunication.
14. when a man dieth in a tent, &c.—The instances adduced appear very minute and trivial; but important ends, both of a religious and of a sanitary nature, were promoted by carrying the idea of pollution from contact with dead bodies to so great an extent. While it would effectually prevent that Egyptianized race of Israelites imitating the superstitious custom of the Egyptians, who kept in their houses the mummied remains of their ancestors, it ensured a speedy interment to all, thus not only keeping burial places at a distance, but removing from the habitations of the living the corpses of persons who died from infectious disorders, and from the open field the unburied remains of strangers and foreigners who fell in battle.
21. he that sprinkleth … ; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even—The opposite effects ascribed to the water of separation—of cleansing one person and defiling another—are very singular, and not capable of very satisfactory explanation. One important lesson, however, was thus taught, that its purifying efficacy was not inherent in itself, but arose from the divine appointment, as in other ordinances of religion, which are effectual means of salvation, not from any virtue in them, or in him that administers them, but solely through the grace of God communicated thereby.