Bible Strands
Numbers 5:4
So the Israelites did this, sending such people outside the camp. They did just as the LORD had instructed Moses.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports the Israelites executing a command previously delivered to Moses by the LORD. This occurs immediately after the directive to remove defiling individuals from the camp to preserve its holiness.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיַּעֲשׂוּ (va.ya.asu) translates as "and they did," marking the completion of the action. The adverb כֵן (ken) means "so" or "thus," confirming the execution matched the divine instruction exactly.
The thread — This structural marker of obedience closes the preceding command unit and opens the next legal section in Numbers 5. It parallels the formulaic completion seen in Exodus 40:33 and Leviticus 13:46, where ritual directives conclude with identical phrasing.
Why it lands — The text states that the community physically separated impure individuals from the camp. It requires the reader to acknowledge that maintaining God's dwelling among them depends on strict adherence to prescribed boundaries.
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 the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp: as the Lord spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel.