Numbers 31 19

Numbers 31:19 kjv

And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day.

Numbers 31:19 nkjv

And as for you, remain outside the camp seven days; whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day.

Numbers 31:19 niv

"Anyone who has killed someone or touched someone who was killed must stay outside the camp seven days. On the third and seventh days you must purify yourselves and your captives.

Numbers 31:19 esv

Encamp outside the camp seven days. Whoever of you has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day.

Numbers 31:19 nlt

And all of you who have killed anyone or touched a dead body must stay outside the camp for seven days. You must purify yourselves and your captives on the third and seventh days.

Numbers 31 verses

Numbers 31 19 Meaning

Numbers 31:19 instructs the Israelite soldiers returning from the war against Midian, and their captives, to remain outside the camp for a specific period of seven days. During this time, they were to undergo a ritual purification process, specifically for anyone who had killed a person or touched a dead body. This command highlights the severe ritual defilement associated with death and the sanctity required to re-enter the holy camp, where God's presence dwelled.

Numbers 31 19 Context

Numbers 31:19 is part of the aftermath of Israel's divinely commanded war of vengeance against the Midianites, who had seduced Israel into idolatry and immorality at Peor (Num 25). Following the complete military victory where all Midianite males and their five kings were killed, Moses gives specific instructions concerning the spoils of war, including the women, children, and livestock. However, a crucial aspect of this post-war process is ritual purity. The soldiers had inevitably come into contact with dead bodies, making them ritually unclean. The Israelites lived under a theocratic system where God's presence dwelled within their camp (specifically, in the Tabernacle). To maintain the holiness of the camp and God's continued presence, anyone defiled by contact with death (or a killer) had to be purified before re-entry. This verse, along with the subsequent verses about cleansing articles, underscores the profound concern for holiness and separation from all that is antithetical to life, which death represented in the Law.

Numbers 31 19 Word analysis

• And (וְ): Conjunction, connecting this command to previous instructions about the war spoils, signifying a continuation of God's directive.
• you (אַתֶּם֙): Plural pronoun, directly addressing the returning Israelite soldiers.
• remain (תֵּשְׁב֛וּ / tēšĕḇū): Hebrew verb meaning "to sit, dwell, abide, stay." Here, it carries the force of a command to remain or stay outside the designated area, emphasizing temporary exclusion.
• outside (מִחוּץ֩ / mim·ḥūṫ): Preposition meaning "outside, without." This specifies the location of their temporary dwelling.
• the camp (לַמַּחֲנֶ֖ה / lam·maḥ·ănāh): The Israelite camp, which was laid out with the Tabernacle at its center, representing God's dwelling place among His people. The camp was considered holy ground (Deut 23:14), and ritual impurity required exclusion to prevent defiling God's holy space.
• seven (שִׁבְעַ֣ת / šiv·‘aṯ): The number seven, often associated with completeness and divine order in biblical numerology.
• days (יָמִ֑ים / yā·mîm): Referring to a specific period. The seven-day period is a standard duration for ritual defilement related to contact with death, as prescribed in Numbers 19:11-12.
• purify yourselves (תִּתְחַטְּא֜וּ / tit·ḥaṭ·ṭā’ū): Hebrew verb ḥāṭā (root meaning "to miss the mark," often "to sin"), but in the Hithpael stem (as here, tit·ḥaṭ·ṭā’ū), it means "to purify oneself, cleanse oneself from sin or ritual impurity." This refers to the prescribed rites, primarily the sprinkling of water of purification made with the ashes of the red heifer on the third and seventh days (Num 19). It indicates cleansing from the defilement of death.
• and (וְ): Conjunction.
• your captives (שְׁבִיכֶֽם׃ / šə·ḇî·ḵem): Literally "your capture" or "your spoils," but contextually refers to the captive women and children taken during the war. They, too, needed purification because they had been in contact with death and pagan practices.

Word-Groups analysis

• "remain outside the camp seven days": This phrase emphasizes the temporary segregation and the specified duration of impurity. It is not an exile or permanent banishment, but a mandated waiting period for ritual cleansing before reintegration into the holy community. This separation physically marked them as distinct, highlighting the profound impact of contact with death on the community's ritual purity.
• "purify yourselves": This command highlights active participation in the cleansing process. It wasn't automatic. They were responsible for performing the required rites (e.g., washing, bathing, application of the water of purification) according to the Law of Moses. This act signifies their submission to God's regulations for holiness.
• "you and your captives": This inclusion emphasizes the comprehensive nature of the command. Purity was not just for the soldiers of Israel but extended to all those brought into their immediate sphere, reflecting the pervasive nature of ritual defilement and the all-encompassing requirement for holiness in the Israelite community, irrespective of their original background, if they were to dwell among God's people.

Numbers 31 19 Bonus section

The inclusion of "your captives" in the purification command (Num 31:19) is significant. It implies that even though these women and children were spoils of war and potentially not Israelites by birth, they were subject to the purity laws upon entering the Israelite community's orbit. This demonstrated the pervasive nature of God's holiness—it extended to all within His camp. If these captives were to be integrated, they first needed to shed the defilement, both ritual (from dead bodies) and possibly ceremonial (from Midianite pagan practices), before they could be part of a community living under the Mosaic Covenant. This can be seen as an early foreshadowing of God's redemptive work reaching beyond Abraham's physical descendants, requiring purification for all who would draw near to His holy presence, a concept fulfilled in the New Covenant's call to repentance and spiritual cleansing for all nations.

Numbers 31 19 Commentary

Numbers 31:19 is a vivid demonstration of the gravity of ritual defilement, particularly from death, within ancient Israel's theological framework. In a faith where life is sacred and directly from God, death, a consequence of sin, conveyed a potent impurity. The command for soldiers and their captives to remain outside the camp for seven days underscored that contact with death, even in a righteous war, rendered individuals ritually unclean. This uncleanness prohibited immediate entry into the Israelite camp, a consecrated space where God's Tabernacle resided (Num 5:3; Deut 23:14).

The purification process, outlined more extensively in Numbers 19 with the red heifer ceremony, involved specific actions over these seven days, ensuring thorough ritual cleansing before one could partake in communal life and worship. This was not about moral guilt, but ritual status, signifying a temporary disqualification from being in God's immediate presence.

Theologically, this passage reinforces God's absolute holiness and His demand for separation from all that is unholy. It established clear boundaries, teaching Israel the vital distinction between the sacred and the profane (Lev 10:10). Such laws safeguarded the integrity of their covenant relationship with Yahweh. While these were literal commands for the physical camp, they pointed to deeper spiritual truths. Death, as the culmination of sin (Rom 6:23), represented the ultimate defilement. The Old Testament rituals for cleansing from death prefigured the perfect and ultimate cleansing provided by Jesus Christ's sacrifice, which purifies not merely ritual uncleanness but the defilement of sin from our consciences and hearts (Heb 9:13-14, 10:22).

Practically, this verse served to reinforce:

• God's Holiness: His absolute purity demands a separation from defilement.
• Seriousness of Death: It highlighted that death (and its cause, sin) brought uncleanness.
• Order and Distinction: It created a distinct identity for Israel as God's people, set apart from surrounding nations who might not observe such strict purity.