Bible Strands
Numbers 9:6
But there were some men who were unclean due to a dead body, so they could not observe the Passover on that day. And they came before Moses and Aaron that same day
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Unnamed men who contracted ritual impurity through contact with a corpse approach Moses and Aaron on the fourteenth day of the first month in the Wilderness of Sinai. They arrive immediately after the initial Passover observance is recorded in the preceding verse.
The words — The Hebrew phrase טְמֵאִים לְנֶפֶשׁ אָדָם (te.me.'Im le./Ne.fesh 'a.Dam) literally renders as "unclean to/for a corpse of a person." The verb הָי֤וּ (ha.Yu) establishes their ongoing state of impurity at that specific moment.
The thread — This incident of ritual impurity blocking covenant participation recurs in Numbers 27:2, where individuals stand before Moses and the leaders to present a legal claim. The pattern of bringing ceremonial or legal questions directly to Moses appears in Exodus 18:15.
Why it lands — The text records a procedural gap in the law that requires direct intervention from the leadership. It demands a reader recognize that covenant participation is conditional on ritual status and that unresolved legal questions must be brought to the appointed authorities.
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 there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day:
Cross-references
- Exodus 18:15 “Because the people come to me to inquire of God,” Moses replied.
- Numbers 27:2 the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and the whole congregation, and said,
- Exodus 18:19 Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their causes to Him.
- Numbers 5:2 “Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone with a skin disease, anyone who has a bodily discharge, and anyone who is defiled by a dead body.
- Numbers 19:11 Whoever touches any dead body will be unclean for seven days.
- Numbers 19:16 Anyone in the open field who touches someone who has been killed by the sword or has died of natural causes, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.
- Exodus 18:26 And they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult cases to Moses, but any minor issue they would judge themselves.
- Numbers 19:18 Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle the tent, all the furnishings, and the people who were there. He is also to sprinkle the one who touched a bone, a grave, or a person who has died or been slain.
- Numbers 27:5 So Moses brought their case before the LORD,
- John 18:28 Then they led Jesus away from Caiaphas into the Praetorium. By now it was early morning, and the Jews did not enter the Praetorium, to avoid being defiled and unable to eat the Passover.