Numbers 19:5

5 And he shall burn that cow, while all men see; and he shall give as well the skin, and the flesh thereof, as the blood, and the dung, to [the] burning. (And then a man shall burn that cow, in front of Eleazar; and he shall put its skin, and flesh, and blood, and dung, in the fire.)

Numbers 19:5 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 19:5

And [one] shall burn the heifer in his sight
Another priest, as the Targum of Jonathan, Eleazar looking on, as that expresses it; the Jews say F7, that when the priest came to the mount of Olives, accompanied by the elders of Israel, before he burnt the cow, he dipped himself in a dipping place there; and the wood being laid there in order, wood of cedar, ash, fir, and fig trees, made in the form of a tower, with holes opened in it (to put in the fire, and that it might burn the quicker), and its aspect being to the west, he bound the cow, and laid her upon the pile, with her head to the south, and her face to the west; and then having slain it, and sprinkled its blood, as before related, he set fire to it by the help of some small wood: the burning of it may signify the dolorous sufferings of Christ, when the wrath of God was poured forth like fire upon him; the same was signified by roasting the passover lamb:

her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn;
which may denote the extent of Christ's sufferings, reaching to all parts of his body, skin, flesh, and blood, and the shame and reproach that attended them, signified by dung; as well as how impure and accursed he was accounted when he was made sin for his people, bore their sins and suffered for them, even not in body only, but in his soul also; for his soul as well as his body were made an offering for sin.


FOOTNOTES:

F7 Misn. Parah, c. 3. sect. 7, 8, 9.

Numbers 19:5 In-Context

3 And ye shall betake her to Eleazar, the priest, that shall offer her, led out of the tents, in the sight of all men. (And ye shall give her to Eleazar, the priest, and when she is led away from the tents, he shall offer her in the sight of all the people.)
4 And he shall dip his finger in the blood thereof, and shall sprinkle (it) seven times against the gates of the tabernacle. (And he shall dip his finger in her blood, and he shall sprinkle it seven times towards the front of the Tabernacle.)
5 And he shall burn that cow, while all men see; and he shall give as well the skin, and the flesh thereof, as the blood, and the dung, to [the] burning. (And then a man shall burn that cow, in front of Eleazar; and he shall put its skin, and flesh, and blood, and dung, in the fire.)
6 Also the priest shall put cedar wood (And the priest shall put cedar wood), and hyssop, and red thread dyed twice, into the fire, that burneth the cow.
7 And then at the last, when the priest's clothes and his body be washed, he shall enter into the tents, and he shall be defouled, or unclean, till to eventide. (And then, after the priest hath washed his clothes, and his body, he shall return to the tents, but he shall be defiled, or unclean, until the evening.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.