Numbers 19:3

3 Give the cow to Eleazar the priest; he will take it outside the camp and kill it.

Numbers 19:3 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 19:3

And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest
The son of Aaron; the Sagan of the priests, as the Targum of Jonathan calls him, the second or deputy priest; it was not to be given to Aaron, that he might not be defiled, though but for a small time, that so he might not be hindered in his office at all; but to Eleazar, to inure him to his office, and to confirm him in it:

that he may bring her forth without the camp;
without the camp of Israel; Jarchi says, without the three camps, as afterwards without Jerusalem; it used in later times to be burnt on the mount of Olives; it was brought forth as impure, and was a type of Christ, having the sins of his people on him, and who in conformity to this type suffered without the gates of Jerusalem, see ( Hebrews 13:11-13 ) ;

and [one] shall slay her before his face;
the Targum of Jonathan says, another priest; but it was not necessary that it should be slain by a priest, any man might do it. Jarchi says, a stranger slew, and Eleazar looked on; though it was not slain by him, yet it was slain before him, that it might look like a sacrifice, though not offered on the altar; and slaying of it denotes the putting of Christ to death, which was done in the presence, and with the approbation, of the priests and elders of the people.

Numbers 19:3 In-Context

1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

2 "These are the teachings that the Lord commanded. Tell the Israelites to get a young red cow that does not have anything wrong with it and that has never been worked.

3 Give the cow to Eleazar the priest; he will take it outside the camp and kill it.

4 Then Eleazar the priest must put some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Meeting Tent.

5 The whole cow must be burned while he watches; the skin, the meat, the blood, and the intestines must all be burned.