Bible Strands
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The priest acts immediately after placing cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool onto the burning heifer.
The words — כִּבֵּס (khi.Bes) = he will wash [H3526] and רָחַץ (ra.Chatz) = he will bathe [H7364] specify the distinct physical actions required for purification.
The thread — The pattern of washing garments or body and remaining unclean until evening repeats in Leviticus 11:25, Leviticus 15:5, and Leviticus 11:40.
Why it lands — The text mandates that ritual cleansing must precede camp reentry, and ceremonial uncleanness persists until evening.
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
Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even.
Cross-references
- Leviticus 11:25 and whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening.
- Leviticus 15:5 Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
- Leviticus 11:40 Whoever eats from the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening, and anyone who picks up the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening.
- Leviticus 14:8 The one being cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe with water; then he will be ceremonially clean. Afterward, he may enter the camp, but he must remain outside his tent for seven days.
- Leviticus 16:26 The man who released the goat as the scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may reenter the camp.
- Leviticus 22:6 the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening. He must not eat from the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water.
- Numbers 19:8 The one who burned the heifer must also wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he too 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.