Bible Strands
Numbers 19:10
The man who has gathered up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he will be ceremonially unclean until evening. This is a permanent statute for the Israelites and for the foreigner residing among them.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God issues this command to the Israelite congregation through Moses during the red heifer ritual instructions. The directive follows the priest’s washing in verse 7 and the gathering of the ashes in verse 9.
The words — הָ/אֹסֵף (ha./'o.Sef) translates to "the one who gathers," identifying the specific worker handling the sacred material. וְ/טָמֵא (ve./ta.Me') means "and he will be unclean," marking the immediate ritual consequence of that handling.
The thread — The requirement that native Israelites and resident foreigners share the same permanent statute appears in Exodus 12:49 and Numbers 15:15. The parallel washing command for the priest is found in Numbers 19:7.
Why it lands — The text demands that ritual workers accept ceremonial uncleanness as the necessary cost of processing holy substances. It establishes that this purity regulation binds both the native population and the foreign resident equally.
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 he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever.
Cross-references
- Exodus 12:49 The same law shall apply to both the native and the foreigner who resides among you.”
- Numbers 15:15 The assembly is to have the same statute both for you and for the foreign resident; it is a permanent statute for the generations to come. You and the foreigner shall be the same before the LORD.
- Numbers 19:7 Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may enter the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean until evening.
- Numbers 19:19 The man who is ceremonially clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third day and on the seventh day. After he purifies the unclean person on the seventh day, the one being cleansed must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and that evening he will be clean.
- Romans 3:29 Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,
- Colossians 3:11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.