Numbers 19:11 kjv
He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.
Numbers 19:11 nkjv
'He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean seven days.
Numbers 19:11 niv
"Whoever touches a human corpse will be unclean for seven days.
Numbers 19:11 esv
"Whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days.
Numbers 19:11 nlt
"All those who touch a dead human body will be ceremonially unclean for seven days.
Numbers 19 11 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Num 5:2 | "Command the Israelites to send out of the camp everyone... unclean by a dead body." | Remove defiled from camp. |
| Num 6:6-7 | "All the days that he separates himself to the Lord, he shall not go near a dead body... defiled by father, mother..." | Nazarite's strict avoidance of defilement. |
| Num 19:12-13 | "...shall purify himself... if he does not, he will not be clean... that person shall be cut off from Israel." | Penalty for unpurified defilement. |
| Num 19:22 | "Whatever the unclean person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it also becomes unclean..." | Uncleanness spreads through contact. |
| Num 31:19-20 | "...remain outside the camp seven days... purify yourselves... on the third day and on the seventh day..." | Purification for contact in warfare. |
| Lev 5:2-3 | "...touches any unclean thing, whether a carcass... of an unclean animal... defiled without knowing it..." | General principle of unwitting defilement. |
| Lev 11:39-40 | "If any animal... dies, whoever touches its carcass will be unclean until evening." | Dead animal defilement (less severe). |
| Lev 21:1, 11 | "...not make themselves unclean for any dead person among their people... priest... shall not make himself unclean for any dead person." | Priestly standard of holiness and defilement. |
| Deut 21:22-23 | "If someone guilty of a capital offense is put to death and you hang them on a tree, you must not leave the body on the tree overnight... a dead body pollutes the land..." | Land defiled by unburied body. |
| Hag 2:13 | "...If one who is unclean by touching a corpse touches any of these, does it become unclean?” “Yes,” they replied, “it becomes unclean.” | Uncleanness is highly transmissible. |
| Isa 1:16 | "Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before My eyes; cease to do evil..." | Call to spiritual cleansing from sin. |
| Ezek 43:7-9 | "...They defiled my holy name by their detestable practices and by the dead bodies of their kings in their high places..." | Idolatry and dead bodies defiling the sanctuary. |
| Matt 23:27 | "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones..." | Spiritual defilement and hypocrisy. |
| Mark 7:20-23 | "What comes out of a person is what defiles him... for from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts..." | Inward source of spiritual defilement. |
| Luke 11:44 | "Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.” | Hidden spiritual defilement. |
| Rom 6:23 | "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." | Sin as the ultimate source of spiritual death. |
| Eph 2:1 | "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins..." | Spiritual death due to sin. |
| Col 2:13 | "And you, who were dead in your trespasses... God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses..." | Made alive from spiritual death by Christ. |
| Heb 9:13-14 | "For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ... purify our conscience..." | Red heifer as foreshadowing Christ's ultimate cleansing. |
| Heb 10:1-4 | "For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form... it can never, by the same sacrifices... make perfect those who draw near." | Old Covenant purification was symbolic and temporary. |
| 1 Jn 1:7 | "But if we walk in the light... the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin." | Christ's blood provides full cleansing. |
| 1 Jn 1:9 | "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." | Confession for spiritual purification. |
| Rev 21:27 | "But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life." | Ultimate purity required for new heaven/earth. |
Numbers 19 verses
Numbers 19 11 Meaning
Numbers 19:11 states that anyone who touches the dead body of a human being will be ritually unclean for seven days. This verse establishes a fundamental principle within the purity laws of ancient Israel, emphasizing the profound defilement associated with death, which necessitates a period of ritual separation and purification before one could re-enter the holy camp and worship God. It highlights death as the ultimate source of ritual impurity.
Numbers 19 11 Context
Numbers 19 outlines the specific ritual for purification from contact with a dead body, commonly known as the Red Heifer purification. This elaborate process involved the sacrifice of a flawless red heifer outside the camp, its complete burning, and the collection of its ashes. These ashes were then mixed with running water to create the "water of purification" (Hebrew: mei niddah). The defilement by a corpse was considered the most severe ritual impurity, and this chapter provides the sole prescribed method for its purification. The duration of seven days signifies a full cycle of separation, repentance, and preparation for re-entry into the clean state. This entire system reinforced the holiness of the Israelite camp, symbolizing God's dwelling place, and emphasized that death, a result of sin, was antithetical to God's life-giving presence and therefore produced the highest defilement. This law distinguished Israel from surrounding nations that often venerated or performed necromancy with the dead.
Numbers 19 11 Word analysis
- He that toucheth: From the Hebrew מַגִּיעַ (maggīaʿ), meaning "to touch," "to come near," or "to reach." This word implies not necessarily an intentional act, but any physical contact, whether direct or indirect (e.g., touching an object that touched a corpse). The defilement is automatic upon contact.
- the dead body: From the Hebrew נֶפֶשׁ מֵת (nephesh met). Nephesh literally means "soul" or "living being," but in this context refers to the whole person, and when combined with met (dead), it means "a dead person" or "corpse." This specific phrasing highlights that it's contact with a deceased human that causes this severe level of defilement, distinct from the lesser defilement of an animal carcass. The connection between nephesh and life underscores death as the undoing of life, and therefore the ultimate impurity against a life-giving God.
- of any man: From the Hebrew אָדָם (adam), meaning "man" or "humankind." This clarifies that the law applies universally to contact with any human corpse, regardless of identity or social status, further emphasizing the profound defilement that death represents for all humanity.
- shall be unclean: From the Hebrew יִטְמָא (yitmaʾ), meaning "to be defiled," "to become unclean," "to be ritually impure." This is a key cultic term. It does not imply moral impurity, but a state of ritual separation from the community and worship. This state prevented the individual from entering the sanctuary or participating in sacred rites until purified. It signified that contact with death made one incompatible with the Holy God's presence.
- seven days: שִׁבְעַת יָמִים (shiv'at yamim). The number seven often signifies completion or perfection in the Bible (e.g., creation week). Here, it denotes the full period required for the ritual purification process to run its course. It emphasizes that contact with death required a significant and prolonged cleansing, underscoring the severity of the impurity.
- He that toucheth the dead body of any man: This phrase highlights the automatic and inescapable nature of this particular defilement. Any contact with death, which is the antithesis of life and purity, renders a person ritually unacceptable in the holy camp of God. It underlines God's extreme holiness and separation from anything associated with the outcome of sin.
- shall be unclean seven days: This specifies the mandatory duration of defilement, pointing to a necessary period for separation and ritual completion, before a prescribed purification could take place. The defilement was not removed immediately upon ritual washing but required an appointed duration and procedure. This sustained state of uncleanness visually reinforced the seriousness of defilement by death.
Numbers 19 11 Bonus section
The severity of defilement by a corpse is further emphasized by the fact that if the unclean person failed to be purified with the water of purification, they were to be "cut off from Israel" (Num 19:13). This expulsion from the community highlighted the absolute necessity of purification for maintaining a relationship with the holy God. Furthermore, the impurity was transferable; anyone or anything an unclean person touched also became unclean (Num 19:22), demonstrating how sin, symbolized by death-induced defilement, contaminates everything it touches. This also foreshadows the efficacy of Christ's blood, which does not spread uncleanness but transfers His perfect holiness, making those who believe perfectly clean and acceptable before God (Heb 10:10). The entire Red Heifer ritual and its associated laws in Numbers 19 stand as one of the Old Testament's most profound typological prophecies of the ultimate purification by Christ.
Numbers 19 11 Commentary
Numbers 19:11 articulates the strict divine requirement for ritual purity, specifically regarding contact with death. The verse is foundational to understanding the gravity with which God viewed anything associated with death, as it represented the ultimate consequence of sin and stood in direct opposition to His life-giving holiness. The mandated seven-day uncleanness for touching a corpse, more severe than other forms of ritual impurity, visually communicated the profound spiritual reality that sin brings death, and death inherently defiles. This law ensured a clear demarcation between the consecrated people and practices of Israel and the surrounding pagan cultures which often mingled with death in their religious rites. While these purity laws were physical and ceremonial, they served as a shadow (Heb 10:1) pointing to a deeper truth: humanity, inherently defiled by spiritual death through sin (Eph 2:1), needs a perfect, divine cleansing that only the Messiah could provide (Heb 9:14; 1 Jn 1:7). The rigid adherence to these temporary ritual cleanings prefigured the one-time, comprehensive spiritual purification achieved through Christ's death and resurrection, making fellowship with God truly possible.