Numbers Chapter 19 — The Law of the Red Heifer
Numbers 19 describes the ritual sacrifice of a red heifer to create ashes for purification water. It outlines the laws for cleansing individuals who have come into contact with death.
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Notable Verses
Numbers 19:2
““This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded. Tell the children of Israel to bring you a red heifer without spot, in which is no defect, and which was never yoked.””
This verse introduces the unique requirement of a red heifer, which is the central element of the chapter's purification laws.
Numbers 19:11
““He who touches the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.””
This verse establishes the specific duration and cause of ritual uncleanness addressed by the red heifer ritual.
Numbers 19:17
““For the unclean, they shall take of the ashes of the burning of the sin offering; and running water shall be poured on them in a vessel.””
This verse describes the practical application of the heifer's ashes in the purification process.
Chapter Summary
Numbers 19 provides specific instructions for the ritual of the red heifer. God instructs Moses and Aaron to have the Israelites provide a red heifer without defect that has never been yoked. The animal is slaughtered outside the camp and burned entirely along with cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet. A ritually clean person collects the ashes, which are then stored to be mixed with running water, creating the "water for impurity." This mixture is essential for the ritual cleansing of anyone who has touched a dead body, a bone, or a grave. The law states that contact with death results in seven days of uncleanness, requiring sprinkling with the purification water on the third and seventh days. Failure to complete this purification process results in the person being cut off from the assembly for defiling the sanctuary. The chapter concludes by establishing these purification procedures as a perpetual statute for the Israelites and the foreigners living among them.
Frequently Asked Questions
The red heifer was sacrificed and burned to produce ashes used for the 'water for impurity.' This water was required to ritually cleanse people or objects that had come into contact with death.
According to Numbers 19, any person who touched a dead body, a human bone, or a grave was considered ritually unclean for seven days and required specific purification steps.
The water for impurity was created by mixing running water with the ashes of a completely burned red heifer, which had been burned along with cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool.
The text states that anyone who remained unclean and did not purify themselves defiled the sanctuary of the LORD and would be 'cut off' from the assembly of Israel.
Study Note
The use of hyssop and cedar wood in the burning of the heifer mirrors the materials used in the purification ritual for those healed of skin diseases in the book of Leviticus.
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