Numbers 19:15

And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
open	פָת֔וּחַ fa.Tu.ach	H6605	to open wide (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal passive participle, masculine singular absolute
vessel	כְּלִ֣י ke.Li	H3627	something prepared · noun, common masculine singular absolute
covering	צָמִ֥יד tza.Mid	H6781	a bracelet or arm-clasp · noun, common masculine singular construct
bound	פָּתִ֖יל pa.Til	H6616	twine · noun, common masculine singular absolute
unclean	טָמֵ֖א ta.Me'	H2931	foul in a religious sense · adjective, masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Leviticus 11:32 And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin,…
Leviticus 14:36 Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest go into it to see the plague, that all that is in the house be no…
Numbers 31:20 And purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 19:11–end

Directions are here given concerning the use and application of the ashes which were prepared for purification. they were laid up to be laid out; and therefore, though now one place would serve to keep them in, while all Israel lay so closely encamped, yet it is probable that afterwards, when they came to Canaan, some of these ashes were kept in every town, for there would be daily use for them. Observe, I. In what cases there needed a purification with these ashes. No other is mentioned here than the ceremonial uncleanness that was contracted by the touch of a dead body, or of the bone or grave of a dead man, or being in the tent or house where a dead body lay, Num 19:11, Num 19:14-16. This…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 19:14

when a man dieth in a tent, &c.--The instances adduced appear very minute and trivial; but important ends, both of a religious and of a sanitary nature, were promoted by carrying the idea of pollution from contact with dead bodies to so great an extent. While it would effectually prevent that Egyptianized race of Israelites imitating the superstitious custom of the Egyptians, who kept in their houses the mummied remains of their ancestors, it ensured a speedy interment to all, thus not only keeping burial places at a distance, but removing from the habitations of the living the corpses of persons who died from infectious disorders, and from the open field the unburied remains of strangers an…

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John Gill on Numbers 19:15

And every open vessel,.... An earthen one, as the Targum of Jonathan; and so Jarchi interprets it; and Maimonides (r) observes, that this is only to be understood of an earthen vessel: which hath no covering bound upon it; a linen or a woollen cloth wrapped and tied about it: is unclean; the air of the house getting into it by its being uncovered. (r) In Misn. Cholin, c. 1. sect. 6.

John Calvin on Numbers 19:13-21

The Church Fathers

The cover of a vessel, or a seal, is the control of discipline. Discipline keeps a man from being overwhelmed, as if he were an unclean or polluted vessel that is rejected. For a vessel without a cover or a seal is spoiled, like as in the case of one who devotes himself to ostentation and is not covered by any veil of silence.
— Paterius, EXPOSITION OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT, NUMBERS 15

The cover of a vessel, or a seal, is the control of discipline. Discipline keeps a man from being overwhelmed, as if he were an unclean or polluted vessel that is rejected. For a vessel without a cover or a seal is spoiled, like as in the case of one who devotes himself to ostentation and is not covered by any veil of silence. Exposition of the Old and New Testament, Numbers
— Pacian of Barcelona,

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Ashes — The ashes of a red heifer burned entire (Num. 19:5) when sprinkled on the unclean made them ceremonially clean (Heb. 9:13). To cover the head with ashes was a token of self-abhorrence and humiliation…
Bath, Bathing — This was a prescribed part of the Jewish ritual of purification in cases of accident, or of leprous or ordinary uncleanness, (Leviticus 15; 16:28; 22:6; Numbers 19:7; 19; 2 Samuel 11:2,4; 2 Kings…
Clean — The various forms of uncleanness according to the Mosaic law are enumerated in Lev. 11-15; Num. 19. The division of animals into clean and unclean was probably founded on the practice of sacrifice.…
Uncleanness — The distinctive idea attached to ceremonial uncleanness among the Hebrews was that it cut a person off for the time from social privileges, and left his citizenship among God’s people for the while…
Water of separation — Used along with the ashes of a red heifer for the ceremonial cleansing of persons defiled by contact with a dead body (Num. 19).
Dead, The · In a house rendered it unclean — In a house rendered it unclean
Defilement · .Touching the — .Touching the
Red Heifer, The · Ashes of, collected and mixed with water for purification — Ashes of, collected and mixed with water for purification
Sanitation · CONTAGION — CONTAGION
Water · Of separation — Of separation

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Numbers 19:15

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 19:11–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 19:14

John Gill on Numbers 19:15

John Calvin on Numbers 19:13-21

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Numbers 19:15

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 19:11–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 19:14

John Gill on Numbers 19:15

John Calvin on Numbers 19:13-21

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Numbers 19:10–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Numbers 19:14-16

Rashi on Numbers 19:15