Bible Strands
Ezekiel 44:26
and after he is cleansed, he must count off seven days for himself.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Lord GOD issues temple service regulations to the prophet Ezekiel within a visionary reconstruction of Israel's worship. The instruction follows a prior directive permitting priests to approach the corpses of immediate family members.
The words — The phrase שִבְעַת יָמִים (shiv'at yamim) literally means "seven days." The verb יִסְפְּרוּ (yisp'ru) indicates a deliberate counting or reckoning of that period by the priest.
The thread — Numbers 19:11 establishes a seven-day defilement period for anyone who contacts a dead body. Numbers 6:10 specifies that on the eighth day of a Nazirite's purification cycle, the individual must bring two birds to the priest at the Tent of Meeting.
Why it lands — The text mandates a fixed seven-day interval between ritual cleansing and the resumption of sanctuary duties. Readers must acknowledge that the procedure requires measured preparation before holy service resumes.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days.
Cross-references
- Numbers 6:10 On the eighth day he must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
- Numbers 19:11 Whoever touches any dead body will be unclean for seven days.
- Hebrews 9:13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean,