_Purification by the ashes of a red cow_ The chapter is an isolated section of priestly writing, having no connexion with the narrative of Korah and the privileges of priests and Levites (16 18), nor with the following narrative of the events at Kadesh (20). The regulations fall into two parts: (1)... [ Continue Reading ]
_a red heifer a red_ COW. The Heb. word is that ordinarily used for the full-grown animal (e.g. Genesis 41:2-4; 1 Samuel 6:7). The reason for the particular colour is not known. The red animal and the scarlet thread may both, perhaps, have had reference to blood as an instrument of purification. _w... [ Continue Reading ]
_and_ ONE _shall bring her forth_ Probably the person who is to kill her; not Eleazar.... [ Continue Reading ]
_cedar wood, and hyssop_ The former, perhaps, for its durability, the latter for its cleansing qualities. It is doubtful, however, if -hyssop" is the true rendering of the Heb. _"çzôbh_, since the hyssop is not native to Palestine. The -cape" and the -marjoram" have been suggested. In the purificat... [ Continue Reading ]
_it shall be kept_ i.e. the ashes, for which the Heb. word is singular, not plural. _a water of_ IMPURITY] i.e. a water for the removal of impurity. Cf. -water of sin" (Numbers 8:7). The word _niddâh_, -impurity," signifies something loathsome or abominable. _it is a sin-offering_ The cow (not the... [ Continue Reading ]
_therewith_ with the -water of impurity." It is clear that the writer of Numbers 19:19 understood the sprinkling to have been performed _twice_. But in this verse, according to R.V., it is performed only on the third day. R.V. marg. is probably, therefore, to be preferred in both its renderings; an... [ Continue Reading ]
A second use of the -water of impurity." Mere presence under the same roof as the dead, without actual contact, causes defilement.... [ Continue Reading ]
_or a grave_ The thought of defilement from unwitting contact with a grave underlies our Lord's denunciation of the Pharisees in Luke 11:44.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the sin-offering_ The word is used in the same sense as in Numbers 19:9. _running water_ Water fresh from a running stream. This is more explicit than the former account, in which (Numbers 19:9) the mixing of water with the ashes is taken for granted.... [ Continue Reading ]
The _"çzôbh_(-hyssop") is not mentioned in this section as being burnt; it is here used as an instrument for sprinkling: see Numbers 19:6.... [ Continue Reading ]
_he shall wash his clothes_&c. The defiled person must do this after having been sprinkled. This is absent from the law in Numbers 19:12.... [ Continue Reading ]
The man who sprinkles the sacred water becomes -unclean"; and in the next clause it is stated more generally that the man who touches it becomes unclean. The uncleanness in this case is slight; it lasts until the evening and can be removed by simply washing the clothes. Gray cites a Buddhist paralle... [ Continue Reading ]