But some of the men had been ceremonially defiled by touching a dead body, so they could not celebrate the Passover that day. They came to Moses and Aaron that day
Parallel translations
- WEB There were certain men, who were unclean because of the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day.
- KJV And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day:
- BSB But there were some men who were unclean due to a dead body, so they could not observe the Passover on that day. And they came before Moses and Aaron that same day
- NKJV Now there were certain men who were defiled by a human corpse, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day; and they came before Moses and Aaron that day.
- NASB But there were some men who were unclean because of contact with a dead person, so that they could not celebrate Passover on that day; and they came before Moses and Aaron on that day.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Some men, defiled by contact with a dead body, could not keep the Passover that day and brought their problem to Moses. Their dilemma raises a real question of worship and uncleanness.
Overview
Men rendered ceremonially unclean by a corpse were barred from the Passover yet still longed to obey God's command. Rather than ignore the law or despair, they sought guidance, modeling an earnest desire to worship God rightly even when hindered by uncleanness, the very condition Christ came to remove.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Exod 18:15Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God.
- Num 27:2They stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, at the door of the Tent of Meeting, saying,
- Num 19:16“Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain with a sword, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
- Num 19:11“He who touches the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.
- Num 5:2“Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, and everyone who has an issue, and whoever is unclean by the dead.
- Exod 18:19Listen now to my voice. I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You represent the people before God, and bring the causes to God.
- Num 27:5Moses brought their cause before Yahweh.
- Num 19:18A clean person shall take hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, and on him who touched the bone, or the slain, or the dead, or the grave.
- Exod 18:26They judged the people at all times. They brought the hard causes to Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
- John 18:28They led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the Praetorium. It was early, and they themselves didn’t enter into the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.
- Num 6:6–7“‘All the days that he separates himself to Yahweh he shall not go near a dead body.
- Num 15:33Those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation.
- Lev 24:11The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name, and cursed; and they brought him to Moses. His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.
- Lev 21:11He must not go in to any dead body, or defile himself for his father, or for his mother.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 9:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.