literally one officiating · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
take
וְלָקַ֣חve.la.Kach
H3947
to take (in the widest variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
cedar
אֶ֛רֶז'E.rez
H730
a cedar tree (from the tenacity of its roots) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
wood
עֵ֥ץ'etz
H6086
a tree (from its firmness) · noun, common masculine singular construct
hyssop
וְאֵז֖וֹבve.'e.Zov
H231
hyssop · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
scarlet
תוֹלָ֑עַתto.La.'at
H8438
the crimson-grub · noun, common feminine singular absolute
cast
וְהִשְׁלִ֕יךְve.hish.Likh
H7993
to throw out · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
midst
תּ֖וֹךְTokh
H8432
a bisection · noun, common masculine singular construct
burning
שְׂרֵפַ֥תse.re.Fat
H8316
cremation · noun, common feminine singular construct
heifer
הַפָּרָֽהha.pa.Rah
H6510
a heifer · definite article + noun, common feminine 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 14:4 Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:
Leviticus 14:6 As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the…
Leviticus 14:49 And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:
Psalms 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red lik…
Hebrews 9:19-23 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and sc…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Numbers 19:1-10
We have here the divine appointment concerning the solemn burning of a red heifer to ashes, and the preserving of the ashes, that of them might be made, not a beautifying, but a purifying, water, for that was the utmost the law reached to; it offered not to adorn as the gospel does, but to cleanse only. This burning of the heifer, though it was not properly a sacrifice of expiation, being not performed at the altar, yet was typical of the death and sufferings of Christ, by which he intended, not only to satisfy God's justice, but to purify and pacify our consciences, that we may have peace with God and also peace in our own bosoms, to prepare for which Christ died, not only like the bulls an…
ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest that he may bring her forth without the camp--He was the second or deputy high priest, and he was selected for this duty because the execution of it entailed temporary defilement, from which the acting high priest was to be preserved with the greatest care. It was led "forth without the camp," in accordance with the law regarding victims laden with the sins of the people, and thus typical of Christ (Heb 13:12; also Lev 24:14). The priest was to sprinkle the blood "seven times" before--literally, "towards" or "near" the tabernacle, a description which seems to imply either that he carried a portion of the blood in a basin to the door of the tabernacle…
And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet,.... Another priest, according to the Targum of Jonathan; but it seems to design Eleazar the priest, and so, in later times, the same priest that burnt the cow took these things; the Jews say (h), when he took them he said, is this cedar wood? is this hyssop? is this scarlet? so he said three times for everyone of them, and he was answered, yes, three times to each of them: these were the same that were used at the cleansing of the leper, Leviticus 14:4,
and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer; these were rolled or bound up together, as the Jews say (i), and made one bundle of, that they might the more easily be c…
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.…
Colour — The subject of colours holds an important place in the Scriptures. White occurs as the translation of various Hebrew words. It is applied to milk (Gen. 49:12), manna (Ex. 16:31), snow (Isa. 1:18),…
Heifer — Heb. ‘eglah, (Deut. 21:4, 6; Jer. 46:20). Untrained to the yoke (Hos. 10:11); giving milk (Isa. 7:21); ploughing (Judg. 14:18); treading out grain (Jer. 50:11); unsubdued to the yoke an emblem of…
Hyssop — (Heb. ‘ezob; LXX. hyssopos), first mentioned in Ex. 12:22 in connection with the institution of the Passover. We find it afterwards mentioned in Lev. 14:4, 6, 52; Num. 19:6, 18; Heb. 9:19. It is…
Law of Moses — Is the whole body of the Mosaic legislation (1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 23:25; Ezra 3:2). It is called by way of eminence simply “the Law” (Heb. Torah, Deut. 1:5; 4:8, 44; 17:18, 19; 27:3, 8). As a written…
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).
Cedar · .In purifi — .In purifi
Cedar, The · Used in: Preparing the water of separation — Used in: Preparing the water of separation
And the priest shall take cedar-wood. That the sprinkling of the blood might be conjoined with that of the water, the cedar-wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, thread, with which the sprinkling was wont to be made, were cast into the fire; for, unless the Israelites had been admonished by this visible sign, they would not have so clearly known that they were not only washed with the water, but that by the offering of the sacrifice also their uncleanness was removed. But it was not enough that the blood should be poured forth, unless, as has been already seen, they were purified by its aspersion. But, for as much as the scent of cedar-wood is precious, and in hyssop there is a cleansing property,…
Preparation of the Purifying Water. - As water is the ordinary means by which all kinds of uncleanness are removed, it was also to be employed in the removal of the uncleanness of death. But as this uncleanness was the strongest of all religious defilements, fresh water alone was not sufficient to remove it; and consequently a certain kind of sprinkling-water was appointed, which was strengthened by the ashes of a sin-offering, and thus formed into a holy alkali. The main point in the law which follows, therefore, was the preparation of the ashes, and these had to be obtained by the sacrifice of a red heifer.
(Note: On this sacrifice, which is so rich in symbolical allusions, but the details…
The only other passage where a stick of cedar, a hyssop branch, and some scarlet yarn occur together is Lev 14, which describes another ceremony (also “outside the camp”) that brought about ceremonial purification. Some scholars suggest that Eleazar added cedarwood and hyssop to produce an aroma. Hyssop is associated with purification (Exod 12:22; Ps 51:7; cp. Heb 9:19), and the scarlet yarn, like the red heifer, probably symbolized blood. Taken together, the cedarwood, hyssop, and scarlet symbolize cleansing.
Rashi on Numbers 19:4
אל נכח פני אהל מועד [HE SHALL SPRINKLE THE BLOOD] TOWARDS THE FRONT SIDE OF THE APPOINTED TENT He stands at the East of Jerusalem and must direct his gaze straight towards the entrance of the Hechal at the time of sprinkling the blood (Sifrei Bamidbar 123:2; Yoma 68a).
· furnishing, and priestly vestments and functions, as types and shadows of the atonement
— furnishing, and priestly vestments and functions, as types and shadows of the atonement
Hyssop · Used in the sacrifices of separation — Used in the sacrifices of separation
Priests · Special laws respecting: While unclean could not perform any service — Special laws respecting: While unclean could not perform any service
Red Heifer, The · Cedar, hyssop, burned with — Cedar, hyssop, burned with
Types · .The red heifer — .The red heifer
Types Of Christ · Red heifer — Red heifer
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).
