Numbers 19:1

The Red Heifer

1 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

Numbers 19:1 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 19:1

And the Lord spake unto Moses, and unto Aaron
Not at this time, after the business of the spies, and the affair of Korah, but before the children of Israel departed from Sinai; and so Aben Ezra observes, that this was spoken in the wilderness of Sinai, when the Lord commanded to put unclean persons out of the camp, and when some were defiled with a dead body, and unfit for the passover, ( Numbers 5:2 ) ( 9:6 ) ; and mention is made of the "water of purifying", ( Numbers 8:7 ) ;

saying;
as follows.

Numbers 19:1 In-Context

1 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

2 “This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded: Instruct the Israelites to bring you an unblemished red heifer that has no defect and has never been placed under a yoke.

3 Give it to Eleazar the priest, and he will have it brought outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence.

4 Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting.

5 Then the heifer must be burned in his sight. Its hide, its flesh, and its blood are to be burned, along with its dung.