Numbers 5 2

Numbers 5:2 kjv

Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead:

Numbers 5:2 nkjv

"Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse.

Numbers 5:2 niv

"Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone who has a defiling skin disease or a discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body.

Numbers 5:2 esv

"Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead.

Numbers 5:2 nlt

"Command the people of Israel to remove from the camp anyone who has a skin disease or a discharge, or who has become ceremonially unclean by touching a dead person.

Numbers 5 verses

Numbers 5 2 Meaning

This verse contains a direct divine command from the LORD through Moses to the people of Israel concerning the maintenance of ritual purity within their camp. It mandates the expulsion of anyone who is a leper, has a bodily discharge, or is unclean due to contact with a dead body. The core purpose is to preserve the sanctity and holiness of the Israelite community, specifically because God's Tabernacle, representing His divine presence, dwells in their midst. These laws are not primarily about public health but about ritual and spiritual purity necessary for dwelling with a holy God.

Numbers 5 2 Context

Numbers chapter 5 marks a transition from the organization and census of the Israelite camp in chapters 1-4, moving into specific laws for maintaining the sanctity and purity within that ordered community. Having established the divine structure of the camp with the Tabernacle at its center and the tribes meticulously arranged around it, the text now addresses the necessity of a pure and holy people dwelling in God's presence. Verses 1-4 of chapter 5 are directly connected, providing foundational instructions for dealing with uncleanness. These regulations underscore that while God had chosen to dwell among Israel, His holy presence required a corresponding state of ritual cleanliness and separation from defilement within the community to avoid bringing divine displeasure upon them. This command to expel the unclean thus emphasizes the grave importance of holiness in the wilderness journey and foreshadows the high standards God expects from His people.

Numbers 5 2 Word analysis

• "Command" (`צו`, _tzav_): This is a strong, authoritative verb implying a direct, divine imperative from God through Moses. It's not a suggestion but an absolute order. It emphasizes the unyielding nature of God's holy requirements.
• "people of Israel" (`בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל`, _bene Yisra'el_): This refers to the entire Israelite community, stressing that the command applies universally to every individual within the nation, signifying collective responsibility for communal holiness.
• "put out" (`וְשַׁלְּחוּ`, _wəshalleḥu_): Implies separation and exclusion. The removal is not permanent banishment but a temporary isolation from the consecrated camp. The aim is not punishment but preventing the defilement of the sacred space where God resides.
• "of the camp" (`מִן הַֽמַּחֲנֶה`, _min ha-machaneh_): The "camp" is a central concept in Numbers, representing the consecrated living space where the Tabernacle, God's dwelling place, is located. Its purity reflects the holiness of God within it. Being "outside the camp" symbolizes ritual impurity and temporary separation from the community's holy presence.
• "everyone who is a leper" (`כָּל־צָרוּעַ`, _kol-tzarua_): This refers to individuals afflicted with `tzara'at`, a range of severe and often divinely-sent skin diseases, as detailed extensively in Leviticus 13-14. It carried significant ritual uncleanness, not merely a medical condition.
• "or has a discharge" (`וְזָב`, _wəzav_): Refers to a person experiencing any irregular, ongoing bodily discharge (e.g., seminal or urinary, blood), as defined in Leviticus 15. Such discharges were considered ritually polluting and required temporary isolation and specific purification rituals.
• "and everyone who is unclean through contact with a dead body" (`וְכֹל טְמֵא־נֶפֶשׁ`, _wəkol tmey-nephesh_): Contact with a corpse (`nephesh`, often translated 'soul' or 'life', used here as a metonym for a dead person) resulted in the highest level of ritual uncleanness, as it represented the antithesis of life, associated with sin and the fallen state. This defilement typically required a seven-day purification process, including ritual washing and being sprinkled with the water of purification (Num 19).

• "Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp": This phrase emphasizes the corporate responsibility of the community to enforce God's purity laws. It's not just the individual's burden to self-isolate but a collective obligation to maintain the integrity of the camp's holiness. This strict policy highlights the seriousness of defilement in the immediate vicinity of God's Tabernacle.
• "leper or has a discharge, and everyone who is unclean through contact with a dead body": This grouping lists three primary sources of ritual uncleanness that necessitate expulsion. While differing in severity and duration of impurity, they all shared the common characteristic of disrupting the state of ritual purity essential for living in proximity to the Holy God. They are physical manifestations that symbolize an antithetical state to the life and purity God represents.

Numbers 5 2 Bonus section

This command reveals a multi-layered theological framework:

• Proximity to Holiness: The stricter the proximity to God's presence (represented by the Tabernacle in the camp), the stricter the purity requirements. This typifies how closer fellowship with God demands greater consecration.
• Symbolic Defilement: The specified conditions (leprosy, discharges, dead bodies) were not moral sins but ritual defilements. They served as visible representations of human imperfection and the pervasive impact of sin and death in a fallen world, emphasizing the necessity of atonement and purification to stand before a perfect God.
• Proto-Health Aspects: While primarily ritual, these laws undoubtedly had incidental public health benefits, especially in a dense camp environment, limiting the spread of infectious diseases.
• Corporate Responsibility: The directive "Command the people of Israel that they put out" implies communal enforcement, highlighting that the spiritual health and purity of the individual were inseparable from that of the entire community, reflecting the unity of the body of Christ in the New Covenant.

Numbers 5 2 Commentary

Numbers 5:2 sets forth a crucial divine regulation demonstrating God's meticulous concern for the ritual purity of the Israelite camp. These seemingly physical purifications underscore profound spiritual truths: God's absolute holiness cannot coexist with defilement, whether symbolic or actual, in His immediate presence. The camp was the Tabernacle's dwelling place, thereby becoming a sacred zone requiring careful preservation from impurity. The expulsion was not punitive in a retributive sense, but prophylactic—it prevented defilement from spreading and provoking God's wrath upon the entire community. It illustrates that access to and communion with God necessitate separation from anything that mars purity, reinforcing the idea that "holiness belongs to the LORD." This principle anticipates the New Testament call for believers, who are now God's spiritual temple, to pursue spiritual holiness and abstain from impurity, symbolizing that nothing unclean can ultimately abide in God's presence.