Numbers Chapter 19 deals with the rules of purification, especially the rules for purifying those who have become unclean due to corpses. This chapter specifically describes the ashes from the burning of the red heifer and the water for purification ceremonies. The main points are as follows:
1. Ordinance of the red heifer (Numbers 19:1-10)
Prepare the red heifer:
- God commands Moses and Aaron to prepare a red heifer for a purification ceremony for the children of Israel.
- This heifer must be without blemish and has not yet been yoked.
- Eleazar the priest goes out of the camp, slaughters the heifer, dips his finger in the blood, and sprinkles it seven times in front of the Tent of Meeting.
Incineration of the heifer:
- Afterwards, the heifer is burned completely before the priest. This includes skin, meat, blood, and internal organs.
- During the burning, the priest throws cedar, hyssop, and scarlet thread to be burned together.
Ashes for purification ceremony:
- After carrying the heifer, the priest washes his clothes, bathes himself in water, and returns to the camp. The priest remains unclean until evening.
- The burnt ashes are collected by a clean person and stored in a clean place outside the camp, where they are used in a purification ceremony for the congregation of the children of Israel.
2. Purification Ceremony (Numbers 19:11-22)
Those who have become unclean due to a corpse:
- Anyone who touches the corpse becomes unclean for seven days.
- You must wash with water of purification on the third and seventh days, and become purified on the seventh day.
- If he does not purify himself on the third and seventh days, he will be cut off from Israel.
Prepare the water of purification:
- The water of purification is made by mixing the ashes of the red heifer with running water.
- A clean person soaks hyssop in water and sprinkles it on the person who has become unclean and on everything he touches.
Spread of uncleanness:
- Anyone who touches the dead body, enters the tent containing the dead body, or is inside the tent is unclean for seven days.
- Open vessels are also unclean.
- Additionally, if a person who touches a corpse does not purify it with water, his uncleanness spreads to everything he touches, making anyone who touches it also unclean.
summary
Chapter 19 of Numbers explains in detail the regulations for purifying those who have become unclean by touching a corpse. This ordinance is implemented using ashes made from burning a red heifer and water of purification mixed with the ashes. Anyone who touches a corpse must be unclean for seven days and wash with water of purification on the third and seventh days. These regulations play an important role in helping the children of Israel avoid uncleanness and live pure before God.