Bamidbar 5:3

3 Both zakhar and nekevah shall ye put out, without the machaneh shall ye put them; that they defile not their machanot, in the midst whereof I dwell.

Bamidbar 5:3 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 5:3

Both male and female shall ye put out
Whether leprous, or profluvious, or defiled by touching a dead carcass: by this law, Miriam, when leprous, was put out of the camp, ( Numbers 12:14 Numbers 12:15 ) ;

without the camp shall ye put them;
which is repeated that it might be taken notice of, and punctually observed:

that they defile not their camps;
of which there were four, the camps of Judah, Reuben, Ephraim, and Dan:

in the midst whereof I dwell;
for the tabernacle, which was the dwelling place of the Lord, was in the midst of the camps of Israel; they were pitched on the four quarters of it; and this is a reason why impure persons were not suffered to be in the camp of Israel, because of the presence of God in the tabernacle so near them, to whom all, impurity is loathsome, and not to be permitted in his sight; and though this was ceremonial, it was typical of the uncleanness of sin, which is abominable to him, and renders persons unfit for communion with him, and with his people.

Bamidbar 5:3 In-Context

1 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,
2 Command the Bnei Yisroel, that they put out of the machaneh every tzaru’a, and every one that hath a discharge, and whosoever is tameh lanefesh (unclean, defiled by reason of contact with a corpse),
3 Both zakhar and nekevah shall ye put out, without the machaneh shall ye put them; that they defile not their machanot, in the midst whereof I dwell.
4 And the Bnei Yisroel did so, and put them outside the machaneh; just as Hashem spoke unto Moshe, so did the Bnei Yisroel.
5 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.