Bible Strands
Numbers 8:7
This is what you must do to cleanse them: Sprinkle them with the water of purification. Have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God instructs Moses on the ritual procedure for cleansing the Levites during their formal consecration for tabernacle service. The command addresses the immediate ceremonial requirements before the Levites can assume their duties.
The words — הַזֶּה (ha.Zeh) literally means "spatter" or "sprinkle," denoting the application of the ritual liquid. מֵי חַטָּאת (mei chatat) translates to "water of sin offering," identifying the specific purified water mandated for the cleansing.
The thread — The text aligns with Leviticus 8:6, where Moses washes Aaron and his sons, and Numbers 19:7 and 19:13, which prescribe washing clothes and bodies after corpse contamination. These passages establish a consistent biblical pattern of water application, shaving, and garment washing for ritual purification.
Why it lands — The passage requires the Levites to execute specific physical acts of shaving and washing to achieve ceremonial purity. It demands strict adherence to a prescribed ritual sequence before any sacred service can commence.
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 thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.
Cross-references
- Leviticus 8:6 Then Moses presented Aaron and his sons and washed them with water.
- 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 19:13 Anyone who touches a human corpse and fails to purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person must be cut off from Israel. He remains unclean, because the water of purification has not been sprinkled on him, and his uncleanness is still on him.
- Genesis 35:2 So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your garments.
- Exodus 19:10 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes
- Leviticus 14:7 Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the skin disease. Then he shall pronounce him clean and release the live bird into the open field.
- Leviticus 15:6 Whoever sits on furniture on which the man with the discharge was sitting must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
- Leviticus 15:10 Whoever touches anything that was under him will be unclean until evening, and whoever carries such things must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
- Leviticus 15:27 Anyone who touches these things will be unclean; he must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
- Leviticus 16:28 The one who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and afterward he may reenter the camp.