The Red Heifer
Numbers 19:1-22
Num.19.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וידבר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- משה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- אהרן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
Parallels
- Leviticus 16:1–4 (thematic): God gives Moses instructions concerning priestly handling of death and sanctuary purification (Day of Atonement); thematically parallels Numbers 19’s rules about ritual purity and procedures tied to contact with the dead.
- Leviticus 11:31–32 (thematic): Laws about uncleanness from carcasses and the need for cleansing; shares the concern with contamination and prescribed means of purification found in Numbers 19.
- Hebrews 9:13–14 (allusion): The New Testament explicitly picks up the imagery of blood/ashes and ritual purification (the effect of washed/cleansed conscience), echoing the red-heifer/ash-sprinkling motif laid out in Numbers 19.
- Psalm 51:7 (thematic): Uses cultic cleansing language ('Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean'), reflecting the same sacrificial/ritual purification imagery behind the laws introduced in Numbers 19.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
- And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying:
Num.19.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- חקת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- התורה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- צוה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויקחו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- פרה: VERB,qal,impv,2,ms
- אדמה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- תמימה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אין: PART,neg
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- מום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- עלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עליה: PREP,3,f,sg
- על: PREP
Parallels
- Numbers 19:1 (structural): Immediate context — the chapter heading and initial command introducing the red‑heifer statute; the same ritual material that verses 2ff. develop.
- Exodus 12:5 (verbal): Passover lamb must be 'without blemish'; shares the legal language and cultic concern for an unblemished animal set aside for a sacred purpose.
- Leviticus 1:3 (verbal): Burnt‑offering animals are required to be 'without blemish' (tamim); parallels the stipulation that the heifer be perfect and unblemished for ritual use.
- Deuteronomy 21:1-9 (thematic): Uses an unworked/unyoked heifer in a public atonement/cleansing rite for unsolved homicide; thematically related to employing a heifer in cultic rites addressing impurity and communal guilt.
- Hebrews 9:13-14 (allusion): The NT cites the ashes of a heifer and blood of animals as part of Jewish cleansing rites and interprets them typologically — directly alluding to the red‑heifer purification tradition for discussing Christ's atoning work.
Alternative generated candidates
- This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded: Speak to the Israelites, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which is no defect and on which never came a yoke.
- This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying: Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for you a red heifer without defect, on which there is no blemish and upon which a yoke has not come.
Num.19.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונתתם: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- אלעזר: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- הכהן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- והוציא: VERB,hif,impf,3,m,sg
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- מחוץ: PREP
- למחנה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ושחט: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- לפניו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Leviticus 16:27 (verbal): Yom Kippur sin offerings (the bull and goat) are taken 'without the camp' and burned — closely parallels the instruction to remove and burn sacrificial animals outside the camp.
- Numbers 5:2 (verbal): Commands that anyone unclean (e.g., a leper or those with bodily discharges) be 'put out' of the camp — uses the same outside‑camp logic for impurity and separation.
- Deuteronomy 23:12-14 (thematic): Commands a designated place outside the camp for human waste and stresses that the camp must be kept holy — reflects the broader concern to remove sources of defilement from the camp.
- Deuteronomy 21:22-23 (thematic): Mandates that the body of a hanged man not remain overnight but be buried outside the camp/settlement, connecting removal outside the living community with preventing defilement.
- Hebrews 13:11-12 (allusion): Explicitly links the Old Testament practice of burning sin‑offering carcasses 'outside the camp' with Jesus' suffering outside the gate — interprets the Numbers/Levitical practice christologically.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and it shall be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered before him.
- And you shall give it to Eleazar the priest; and he shall bring it outside the camp and slaughter it before him.
Num.19.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ולקח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אלעזר: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- הכהן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- מדמה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,f,sg
- באצבעו: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- והזה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- נכח: PREP
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- אהל: NOUN,m,sg,construct
- מועד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מדמה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,f,sg
- שבע: NUM,card
- פעמים: NOUN,m,du,abs
Parallels
- Leviticus 4:6 (verbal): Both describe the priest dipping his finger in blood and sprinkling it seven times before the sanctuary/veil — nearly identical ritual language for purification/atonement.
- Leviticus 16:14 (verbal): On the Day of Atonement the high priest sprinkles blood seven times on/ before the mercy seat; parallels the number seven, the sanctuary setting, and the atoning/purificatory function.
- Leviticus 8:30 (thematic): At priestly consecration Moses sprinkles blood on Aaron and his garments — shows the recurring priestly practice of sprinkling blood as sanctification and commissioning, like Elazar’s action in Num 19.
- Hebrews 9:21 (thematic): The NT recounts Moses sprinkling the tabernacle and people with blood and uses sprinkling imagery to explain purification; this treats the Mosaic sprinkling rites (as in Num 19:4) as typological of Christ’s purifying work.
Alternative generated candidates
- Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle it before the Tent of Meeting seven times.
- And Eleazar the priest shall take of its blood with his finger and sprinkle of its blood seven times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting.
Num.19.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ושרף: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הפרה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- לעיניו: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs+SUFF:3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- ערה: NOUN,f,sg,abs+SUFF:3,f,sg
- ואת: CONJ
- בשרה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+SUFF:3,f,sg
- ואת: CONJ
- דמה: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,f,sg
- על: PREP
- פרשה: NOUN,f,sg,abs+SUFF:3,f,sg
- ישרף: VERB,niphal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Numbers 19:1-10 (structural): Immediate context giving the full instructions for the red heifer ritual (selection, slaughter, and burning of the entire animal); directly parallels and elaborates on v.5's command to burn the heifer in the sight of the priest.
- Numbers 19:17-19 (thematic): Describes the use of the heifer's ashes for purification (sprinkling on the unclean), connecting the burning in v.5 to the ritual purpose of removing corpse-impurity.
- Leviticus 4:11-12 (verbal): Prescribes that certain sacrificial remains be carried outside the camp and burned on wood; parallels the practice in Num 19:5 of burning a sacrificial animal outside the camp as part of a cultic purification.
- Deuteronomy 21:22-23 (thematic): Regulates treatment of a body hung on a tree (must not remain overnight) because contact causes defilement; thematically related to Num 19's concern with corpse-defilement and procedures for purification.
- Hebrews 9:13-14 (quotation): Explicitly cites the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer (Num 19) to argue that the blood of Christ effects a far greater cleansing; a New Testament theological use of the red‑heifer rite.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight—its hide, its flesh, its blood, and its dung shall be burned.
- And the heifer shall be burned in his sight—its hide, its flesh, and its blood; with fire it shall be burned.
Num.19.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ולקח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- הכהן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- עץ: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ארז: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואזוב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ושני: CONJ+NUM,card,m,pl
- תולעת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- והשליך: VERB,hifil,perf,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- תוך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שרפת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- הפרה: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Leviticus 14:4-7 (verbal): Uses the same ritual ingredients—cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet yarn—in the purification rite for a healed leper, closely paralleling the materials and purpose of Num 19:6.
- Exodus 12:22 (verbal): Commands the use of a bunch of hyssop to apply blood for Passover protection; connects hyssop's ritual role in cleansing/marking with its use in Num 19:6.
- Psalm 51:7 (thematic): Invokes hyssop as an instrument of purification (“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean”), echoing the cleansing symbolism of the hyssop in Num 19.
- Hebrews 9:13 (allusion): Refers to the cleansing efficacy of animal ashes (including the heifer’s ashes) for purifying the unclean—an explicit New Testament reflection on the function of Num 19's ashes.
- Isaiah 1:18 (thematic): Employs scarlet/whiteness imagery for cleansing sins (“though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow”), resonating with the scarlet yarn’s symbolic role in purification rituals like Num 19:6.
Alternative generated candidates
- The priest shall take cedarwood, hyssop, and two crimson threads, and throw them into the midst of the burning heifer.
- And the priest shall take cedarwood, hyssop, and a scarlet thread, and cast them into the midst of the burning of the heifer.
Num.19.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכבס: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בגדיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- הכהן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ורחץ: CONJ+VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- בשרו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- במים: PREP
- ואחר: CONJ
- יבוא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- המחנה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- וטמא: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- הכהן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- עד: PREP
- הערב: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Leviticus 11:24-25 (verbal): Uses the same legal phrase and idea — becoming ritually unclean until evening after contact with a defiling object (touching a carcass); parallels the 'unclean until evening' timing and contact-defilement logic.
- Leviticus 16:4 (thematic): Instructs the high priest to bathe his body in water (ritual washing) before performing sacred duties; parallels the practice of washing/bathing as prerequisite to re-entering the camp/ministering.
- Leviticus 22:6-7 (verbal): Regulates priests who become defiled (e.g., by contact with the dead), requiring them to be unclean until evening and not partake of holy things until cleansed — closely parallels Numbers 19:7's rules for a defiled priest.
- Numbers 19:11-12 (structural): Immediate chapter parallel: other verses in the red‑heifer section specify ritual uncleanness durations and cleansing procedures (touching the dead or the unclean), reinforcing the same disciplinary/temporal structure.
- Exodus 30:19-21 (thematic): Commands Aaron and his sons to wash hands and feet before entering the tent of meeting; parallels the broader priestly requirement for ritual washing prior to sacred participation.
Alternative generated candidates
- The priest shall then wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he may come into the camp; but he shall be unclean until evening.
- And the priest shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he may come into the camp; and he shall be unclean until evening.
Num.19.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והשרף: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- יכבס: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בגדיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- במים: PREP
- ורחץ: CONJ+VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- בשרו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- במים: PREP
- וטמא: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- הערב: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Num.19.7 (structural): Immediate context in the same chapter: the man who burns the red heifer must wash his clothes and bathe — this verse repeats and frames that ritual requirement.
- Num.19.11-12 (structural): Same chapter’s rules on corpse‑impurity and purification (washing and timing); both passages link washing of body/clothes with uncleanness lasting until evening.
- Lev.11.24-25 (verbal): Uses the same legal formula that contact with a dead thing renders a person (and garments) unclean 'until evening' and requires purification — close verbal and legal parallel.
- Lev.22.6-7 (verbal): Prohibits touching a dead body or anyone who has touched one and states the person is unclean 'until evening' — a comparable formulation about impurity, washing, and the evening terminus.
Alternative generated candidates
- The one who burns it shall also wash his clothes in water and bathe his flesh in water, and he shall be unclean until evening.
- And he who burns the heifer shall wash his clothes in water and bathe his flesh in water; and he shall be unclean until evening.
Num.19.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואסף: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- טהור: ADJ,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- אפר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הפרה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- והניח: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- מחוץ: PREP
- למחנה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- במקום: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- טהור: ADJ,m,sg
- והיתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- לעדת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,cons
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- למשמרת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- למי: PREP,interr
- נדה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- חטאת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Numbers 19:2-4 (verbal): Immediate instructions for the red heifer ritual — taking the unblemished red heifer outside the camp, slaughtering it and burning it, directly continuing the same ceremony described in 19:9.
- Numbers 19:17-22 (verbal): Prescribes the use of the ashes mixed with water for purification from ritual impurity, explaining the purpose and effect of the ashes the priest gathers in 19:9.
- Hebrews 9:13-14 (thematic): New Testament reflection on OT purification rites — contrasts ceremonial cleansing by animal blood/ashes with the superior cleansing effected by Christ’s blood, treating the red‑heifer ritual as background.
- Hebrews 9:19-22 (allusion): Describes Moses’ sprinkling and other cleansing rites (blood and water) as typological antecedents for Christ’s atonement — resonates with the sacrificial/cleansing functions of the red heifer ashes.
- Ezekiel 36:25 (thematic): Prophetic promise to 'sprinkle clean water' and cleanse Israel — echoes the motif of divine and cultic sprinkling/cleansing found in the red‑heifer rite and its role in restoring purity.
Alternative generated candidates
- A clean man shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the Israelites for the water of cleansing; it is for impurity.
- And a clean man shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and lay them up outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the assembly of the people of Israel for the water of purification—it is for sin.
Num.19.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכבס: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- האסף: NOUN,m,sg,def
- את: PRT,acc
- אפר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הפרה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- את: PRT,acc
- בגדיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- וטמא: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- הערב: NOUN,m,sg,def
- והיתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- לבני: PREP
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולגר: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הגר: NOUN,f,sg,def,prop
- בתוכם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- לחקת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Leviticus 11:24-25 (verbal): Uses the same ritual formula: touching a corpse or carrion makes one unclean until evening and requires washing of garments — same evening/washed-clothes language as Num 19:10.
- Leviticus 15:5 (verbal): Prescribes washing of clothes and being unclean until evening for bodily impurity; parallels the procedural/temporal purity language found in Num 19:10.
- Hebrews 9:13 (allusion): Explicitly cites the ashes of a heifer and their ceremonial use to cleanse the unclean, directly alluding to the red-heifer legislation in Numbers 19.
- Ezekiel 36:25 (thematic): God’s promise to ‘sprinkle clean water’ and purify Israel echoes the cultic goal of the red-heifer ritual — ritual cleansing from impurity applied to the community.
Alternative generated candidates
- The man who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; and it shall be an everlasting statute to the Israelites and to the resident foreigner who sojourns among them.
- And the man who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the ashes shall be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the people of Israel and to the stranger who sojourns among them.
Num.19.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הנגע: PART,qal,ptcp,m,sg,def
- במת: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לכל: PREP
- נפש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וטמא: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- שבעת: NUM,card,construct
- ימים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Num.19.16 (verbal): Nearly identical wording: ‘Whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days,’ repeating the law on corpse‑contact and seven‑day impurity.
- Num.19.12 (structural): Immediate procedural follow‑up in the same chapter specifying washing on the third and seventh days and the use of purification water, showing how the seven‑day uncleanness is resolved.
- Lev.21.1-4 (thematic): Priestly regulations forbidding priests to make themselves unclean by contact with the dead (except for close kin), reflecting the same concern with corpse‑defilement and ritual purity.
- Deut.21.1-9 (thematic): A death‑related ritual in which elders wash their hands over an unatoned homicide and a heifer is used — different ritual details but a related concern with death, communal responsibility, and cleansing rites.
- Heb.9:13-14 (allusion): New Testament uses the image of sprinkling with ashes of a heifer (and blood of animals) to explain ritual purification, explicitly alluding to the red‑heifer tradition as a type pointing to Christ’s purifying work.
Alternative generated candidates
- Whoever touches a dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days.
- He who touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days.
Num.19.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- יתחטא: VERB,hitpael,impf,3,m,sg
- בו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- ביום: PREP
- השלישי: ADJ,m,sg,def
- וביום: CONJ+PREP,NOUN,m,sg,abs
- השביעי: ADJ,m,sg,def
- יטהר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ואם: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- יתחטא: VERB,hitpael,impf,3,m,sg
- ביום: PREP
- השלישי: ADJ,m,sg,def
- וביום: CONJ+PREP,NOUN,m,sg,abs
- השביעי: ADJ,m,sg,def
- לא: PART_NEG
- יטהר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Leviticus 22:4-7 (verbal): Like Num 19:12, these verses treat contact with the dead and require washing of the body before partaking of holy things; both texts use similar language about being unclean until one has washed and the timing for restoration.
- Leviticus 14:8-9 (structural): The ritual for cleansing a healed leper includes washing on the seventh day (and related actions), paralleling Numbers 19’s use of a multi-day timetable (notably the seventh day) for ritual purification.
- Leviticus 12:6-7 (thematic): The purification after childbirth prescribes a fixed sequence of days and a concluding ritual/offerings; thematically this mirrors Numbers 19’s regulated timetable (third and seventh day) for becoming clean after exposure to death.
- Ezekiel 36:25 (allusion): God promises, 'I will sprinkle clean water on you' to cleanse from uncleanness—this prophetic image echoes the purificatory function of the water mixed with the ashes of the red heifer in Numbers 19.
- Hebrews 9:13-14 (allusion): The NT contrasts and interprets sacrificial/cleansing rites: the author cites blood and cleansing rites to explain purification of conscience, alluding to Old Testament water/ash purification traditions such as Numbers 19.
Alternative generated candidates
- On the third day he shall purify himself, and on the seventh day he shall be clean; but if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean.
- He shall be unclean on the third day and on the seventh day he shall be purified; but if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he shall not be purified.
Num.19.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כל: DET
- הנגע: PART,qal,ptcp,m,sg,def
- במת: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בנפש: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- האדם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- ימות: VERB,qal,juss,3,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- יתחטא: VERB,hitp,impf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- משכן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- טמא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ונכרתה: CONJ+VERB,niphal,perf,3,f,sg
- הנפש: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- מישראל: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- נדה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- זרק: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- טמא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהיה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- עוד: ADV
- טמאתו: NOUN,f,sg,cons,3,m
- בו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Numbers 19:11-12 (verbal): Immediate parallel within the same chapter: repeats and elaborates that anyone who touches a corpse is unclean until evening and must undergo the prescribed purification, and that failure to do so defiles the sanctuary.
- Numbers 19:2-10 (structural): Contextual parallel describing the red heifer ritual and the ashes used for purification of those who touched a dead body; establishes the remedial procedure for the uncleanness named in v.13.
- Numbers 9:6-10 (thematic): Shows practical consequence of corpse-uncleanness: those unclean because of touching a dead body were barred from observing the Passover at the appointed time and were given instructions for a later observance.
- Leviticus 21:1-4 (thematic): Priestly purity regulations: priests are forbidden to defile themselves by contact with the dead (with limited family exceptions), reflecting the concern with corpse-related ritual impurity that underlies Num 19:13.
- Leviticus 22:4-6 (verbal): Prescribes that anyone unclean through contact with a dead body must not eat holy things until he is purified; parallels the prohibition and consequences in Num 19:13 regarding uncleanness affecting access to sacred space/privileges.
Alternative generated candidates
- Whoever touches the dead body of any person who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the sanctuary of the LORD; that person shall be cut off from Israel—because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on him—he is unclean.
- Whoever touches the dead body of any person who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD; that person shall be cut off from Israel, because the water of purification has not been sprinkled upon him—he is unclean; his uncleanness is upon him.
Num.19.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- התורה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- ימות: VERB,qal,juss,3,m,sg
- באהל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כל: DET
- הבא: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אל: NEG
- האהל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- אשר: PRON,rel
- באהל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יטמא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- שבעת: NUM,card,construct
- ימים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Numbers 19:11 (verbal): Directly repeats the rule that touching a corpse makes a person unclean for seven days — the same legal formulation about corpse impurity.
- Numbers 19:12 (structural): Neighboring provision specifying the required purification and the penalty for failing to purify after contact with a corpse; part of the same statutory framework.
- Leviticus 21:1 (thematic): Addresses priestly restrictions concerning defilement by the dead, reflecting the broader concern with corpse‑related ritual impurity.
- Leviticus 12:2–5 (thematic): Gives a seven‑day period of ritual impurity (in the case of childbirth); parallels the use of a seven‑day span as a cultic impurity term.
- Deuteronomy 23:12–14 (thematic): Regulates removal of impurity from the camp and concern for ritual cleanliness in the community’s midst, echoing the concern for corpse‑related contamination inside tents/camp.
Alternative generated candidates
- This is the law: A person shall die in a tent; anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in the tent shall be unclean seven days.
- This is the ordinance: if a man dies in a tent, whoever comes into the tent and everything that is in the tent shall be unclean seven days.
Num.19.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- כלי: NOUN,m,pl,const
- פתוח: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אין: PART,neg
- צמיד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- פתיל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- טמא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Leviticus 11:33 (verbal): Directly treats vessels rendered unclean by contact with a carcass (including earthen vessels) and states that whatever is in the vessel becomes unclean—closely parallels the rule about an uncovered/open vessel becoming impure.
- Numbers 19:11–16 (structural): Immediate context in the same chapter: rules about touching a dead body, becoming unclean, and the specific injunction that an open vessel without a covering is unclean (Num 19:14–15) — same ritual framework and legal formulation.
- Leviticus 15:4–8 (thematic): Laws about bodily discharges contaminating beds, vessels, and persons; items contacted by the unclean person become ritually impure—shares the principle that contact/exposure transmits impurity to objects.
- Deuteronomy 23:12–13 (thematic): Commands to bury and cover human waste outside the camp to prevent defilement; thematically linked by concern for covering/excluding contaminating substances to preserve ritual purity in the camp.
Alternative generated candidates
- Any open vessel without a covering fastened on it is unclean.
- And every open vessel which has no covering fastened upon it shall be unclean.
Num.19.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יגע: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- השדה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- בחלל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חרב: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- או: CONJ
- במת: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- או: CONJ
- בעצם: PREP
- אדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- או: CONJ
- בקבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יטמא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- שבעת: NUM,card,construct
- ימים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Numbers 19:11 (quotation): Gives the same prescription in almost identical terms: anyone who touches a corpse becomes unclean for seven days.
- Numbers 19:13 (verbal): Continues the same legal unit by specifying the consequence for failing to undergo the purification (cut off from Israel), linking touch-of-dead with required cleansing.
- Leviticus 21:1 (thematic): Addresses corpse-related impurity specifically for priests (forbidding contact with the dead except close kin), reflecting the cultic concern with death-contamination.
- Leviticus 11:39-40 (thematic): States that touching the carcass of an unclean animal makes a person unclean until evening and requires washing—parallels the principle that contact with dead matter transmits ritual impurity and mandates cleansing.
- Deuteronomy 21:22-23 (thematic): Declares that a hanged body defiles until evening and requires burial the same day so the land not be defiled—connects communal and land-purity concerns arising from exposure to the dead.
Alternative generated candidates
- And anyone in the open field who touches any slain by the sword or a dead body or a bone or a grave shall be unclean seven days.
- And whoever touches anything that lies upon the open field—of a man slain by the sword, or a dead body, or any bone of a person, or a grave—shall be unclean seven days.
Num.19.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ולקחו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לטמא: PREP+ADJ,f,sg,abs
- מעפר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שרפת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- החטאת: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ונתן: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- מים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- חיים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- אל: NEG
- כלי: NOUN,m,pl,const
Parallels
- Hebrews 9:13-14 (allusion): Explicit New Testament reference to ‘ashes of a heifer’ and their use to purify the unclean; the author contrasts this ritual ash+water purification with the superior cleansing by Christ’s blood.
- Ezekiel 36:25 (verbal): God’s promise ‘I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean’ uses the same sprinkle/sprinkling + water language for ritual cleansing and renewal found in Numbers 19.
- Leviticus 14:5-7 (thematic): The cleansing of a healed leper involves washing/bathing and the use of running (living) water—paralleling the procedural use of living water in Numbers 19’s purification rites.
- Numbers 19:18 (structural): Within the same chapter the priest is commanded to use the water mixed with the heifer’s ashes to sprinkle on people, tents, and objects to remove corpse-impurity—directly continuing the ritual described in 19:17.
- Psalm 51:7 (thematic): Personal penitential language (‘Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me…’) echoes cultic imagery of cleansing with water and ritual agents (hyssop) tied to Israelite purification practices like those in Numbers 19.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the unclean they shall take some of the ashes of the purification offering and put them in a vessel with living water.
- And for the unclean they shall take for purification from the ashes of the burnt offering and put it in a vessel with living water.
Num.19.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ולקח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אזוב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וטבל: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- במים: PREP
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- טהור: ADJ,m,sg
- והזה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- האהל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- כל: DET
- הכלים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- הנפשות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- היו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- שם: ADV
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- הנגע: PART,qal,ptcp,m,sg,def
- בעצם: PREP
- או: CONJ
- בחלל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- או: CONJ
- במת: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- או: CONJ
- בקבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 51:7 (verbal): Uses hyssop and language of cleansing — "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean" echoes the hyssop-mediated purification of Numbers 19.
- Exodus 12:22 (verbal): Hyssop is used ritually to apply a cleansing or protective substance (blood) to doorposts — parallels the cultic use of hyssop in sprinkling rites.
- Leviticus 14:4-7 (verbal): The purification ritual for a healed leper requires cedar, scarlet and hyssop with water and blood/sprinkling — closely parallels the hyssop-and-water sprinkling procedure in Numbers 19.
- Ezekiel 36:25 (verbal): God promises to "sprinkle clean water" and cleanse Israel — a prophetic/theological echo of the cleaning-by-sprinkling motif found in Numbers 19.
- Hebrews 9:13-14 (thematic): Contrasts Old Testament external purification rites (blood and water sprinkled) with the purifying efficacy of Christ's blood — interprets Israelite sprinkling rituals typologically.
Alternative generated candidates
- A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water and sprinkle upon the tent and upon all the vessels and upon the persons who were there and upon the one who touched a bone or a dead body or a grave.
- And a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water and sprinkle upon the tent and upon all the vessels and upon the persons who were there and upon the one who touched the bone or the slain or the dead or the grave.
Num.19.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והזה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- הטהר: ADJ,m,sg,def
- על: PREP
- הטמא: ADJ,m,sg,def
- ביום: PREP
- השלישי: ADJ,m,sg,def
- וביום: CONJ+PREP,NOUN,m,sg,abs
- השביעי: ADJ,m,sg,def
- וחטאו: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ביום: PREP
- השביעי: ADJ,m,sg,def
- וכבס: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בגדיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- ורחץ: CONJ+VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- במים: PREP
- וטהר: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בערב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Numbers 19:11-12 (structural): Immediate context of the red‑heifer/impurity law — repeats the same cleansing timetable and procedures (unclean by touching the dead, third and seventh‑day cleansing, washing and bathing).
- Leviticus 14:8-9 (verbal): Cleansing of the healed leper: wash clothes, shave, bathe in water and be clean on the seventh day — closely parallels the ritual actions and the seven‑day purification pattern.
- Leviticus 15:13 (verbal): Law for bodily uncleanness: 'the unclean shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water' and is unclean until the evening — shares the same washing/bathing language and the 'until evening' timing element.
- Leviticus 11:24-25 (thematic): Rules about contact with carcasses: one who touches becomes unclean and must wash garments and be unclean until evening — thematically related regulations governing corpse‑related impurity, washing, and timing of cleansing.
Alternative generated candidates
- The clean shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; then the unclean shall be purified, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and shall be clean at evening.
- And the clean shall sprinkle on 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 in water, and at evening he shall be clean.
Num.19.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואיש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יטמא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- יתחטא: VERB,hitpael,impf,3,m,sg
- ונכרתה: CONJ+VERB,niphal,perf,3,f,sg
- הנפש: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- מתוך: PREP
- הקהל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- כי: CONJ
- את: PRT,acc
- מקדש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- טמא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- נדה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- זרק: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- טמא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Numbers 19:13 (structural): Immediate context in the same chapter: earlier statutes about contact with the dead and impurity; both verses treat failure to undergo prescribed purification as defilement of the community and sanctuary.
- Numbers 9:13 (verbal): Uses the same legal formula of being 'cut off' for failing to perform a required ritual while able/clean—parallel sanction language for noncompliance with cultic obligations.
- Leviticus 7:20–21 (verbal): An unclean person who eats a sacrificial offering is declared 'cut off'—similar wording and sanction linking ritual impurity with exclusion from the community.
- Leviticus 22:3–4 (thematic): Prohibits priests and Israelites from partaking of holy things while unclean; emphasizes protection of the sanctuary and excludes those who defile sacred things—same concern as Num 19:20.
- Leviticus 15:31 (thematic): Orders Israel to remain separate from uncleanness so they do not 'die in their uncleanness' or defile God's dwelling—parallels the communal and sacred-protecting rationale behind exclusion for impurity.
Alternative generated candidates
- But the person who is unclean and does not purify himself shall be cut off from the congregation; because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD, the water of purification has not been sprinkled on him—he is unclean.
- But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself shall be cut off from among the congregation; because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD, the water of purification has not been sprinkled upon him—he is unclean.
Num.19.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- לחקת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ומזה: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- הנדה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- יכבס: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בגדיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- והנגע: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,def
- במי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- הנדה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- יטמא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- עד: PREP
- הערב: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Numbers 19:11-13 (structural): Immediate context describing uncleanness from contact with the dead and the use of the water of purification; repeats the requirements to bathe/wash and the uncleanness timing.
- Leviticus 15:5-8 (verbal): Prescribes bathing and washing garments and declares the person unclean 'until even' after certain bodily discharges—uses similar verbs and the evening time-limit.
- Leviticus 11:24-25 (thematic): Laws about contact with uncleanness that render a person unclean 'until even' and require removal/cleansing, echoing the temporary impurity formula.
- Ezekiel 36:25 (thematic): Prophetic promise of cleansing by sprinkling clean water—reworks the ritual imagery of water purification used in Numbers 19.
- Hebrews 9:13-14 (allusion): New Testament reflection on ritual purifications (goat/bull blood and the ashes of a heifer) as typological background for cleansing—draws on the red heifer tradition behind Numbers 19.
Alternative generated candidates
- This shall be a statute forever for them: and for the one who sprinkles the water of purification, he shall wash his clothes; and the one who touches the water of purification shall be unclean until evening.
- This shall be a statute forever to them: and the one who sprinkles the water of purification shall wash his clothes; and whoever touches the water of purification shall be unclean until evening.
Num.19.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יגע: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- הטמא: ADJ,m,sg,def
- יטמא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- והנפש: NOUN,f,sg,def
- הנגעת: PART,qal,ptcp,f,sg,def
- תטמא: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- עד: PREP
- הערב: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Numbers 19:11-13 (structural): Immediate context in the same chapter: contact with a corpse makes a person unclean and prescribes purification; 19:22 repeats the contagion-by-touch rule.
- Leviticus 11:24-25 (verbal): Uses the same legal formula—'whoever touches the carcass… shall be unclean until the evening'—linking impurity by contact to the same temporal limit.
- Leviticus 15:11 (verbal): On impurity from bodily discharges: 'whoever touches him shall be unclean until the evening'—same consequence and wording for contaminative contact.
- Leviticus 11:39-40 (thematic): Addressing contact/eating of dead animals: contact with a carcass renders one unclean 'until the evening,' reinforcing the general rule of temporary impurity by touch.
Alternative generated candidates
- And whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the person who is touched by the unclean shall be unclean until evening.
- And whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the person who is impure shall be unclean until evening.
And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron: saying,
This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded: Speak to the people of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which is no defect and upon which no yoke has come.
You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and he shall take it outside the camp and slaughter it before him.
Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the Tent of Meeting seven times.
Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: its hide, its flesh, and its blood shall be burned with fire.
The priest shall take cedarwood, hyssop, and a scarlet thread, and throw them into the midst of the burning of the heifer.
The priest shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water; then he may come into the camp, but he shall be unclean until evening. And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until evening.
A clean man shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and lay them up outside the camp in a clean place; they shall be kept for the congregation of the people of Israel for use in the water of purification for sin. And the man who gathers up the ashes shall wash his clothes, and he shall be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the people of Israel and to the resident alien who sojourns among them.
Whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days.
He shall be purified with the water on the third day and on the seventh day he shall be clean; but if he is not purified on the third day and on the seventh day, he shall not be clean.
Whoever touches the dead body of any person who has died and does not purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person shall be cut off from Israel; because the water for impurity was not sprinkled on him, he is unclean—his uncleanness is still on him.
This is the law: If a person dies in a tent, everyone who enters the tent and everything that is in the tent shall be unclean seven days. And every open vessel that has no covering fastened on it is unclean. And whoever in the open field touches one who has been slain with a sword, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
For the unclean, they shall take some of the ashes of the burning of the heifer of purification and put them in a vessel with living water.
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 who were there, and upon the one who touched a bone or a grave or a slain person or a dead body. And he shall sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be clean by evening. But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself shall be cut off from among the people, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD; the water of purification has not been sprinkled on him—he is unclean.
This shall be a statute forever for them: the one who is defiled by a dead body shall wash his garments, and whoever touches the water of purification shall be unclean until evening. And whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean, and the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.