Num 5:1-4 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Num 5:1-31: 5:1–10:10 These legal matters were to ensure the purity of the Israelites, their priesthood, and the Tabernacle. Such regulations drew constant attention to ancient Israel’s identity as a theocracy of which Moses was the primary spokesman. Summary for Num 5:1-31: 5:1-31 These laws concern purity, restitution, and marital faithfulness. Summary for Num 5:1-4: 5:1-4 Modern Westerners find the need for ceremonial or ritual purity difficult to understand. Westerners view skin diseases, bodily discharge, and contact with corpses as concerns of health and hygiene, but the primary issue in the Old Testament is guarding God’s holiness against ceremonial uncleanness (see Lev 11–15 ). The community had to safeguard the holiness of the camp so that unclean things or people did not ceremonially defile things associated with the Lord (Num 5:2-3 ). The community had to choose between having God in the camp or letting a defiled person remain in the camp, because both could not remain (5:3 ). • The importance of purity extends from Leviticus and Numbers to the book of Revelation: All that is ceremonially unclean will be forbidden to enter the New Jerusalem where God resides (see study note on Rev 21:27). In the New Testament, however, impurity is limited to what is morally impure (Acts 10:28 ; Eph 5:5 ; 1 Thes 2:3 ; 4:7 ).

a5:1–10:10►

b5:1-31►

c5:1-4►

dLev 11–15►

eNum 5:2-3►

f5:3►

gActs 10:28►

hEph 5:5►

i1 Thes 2:3►

j4:7►

k5:2►

lLev 13–14►

mLev 15►

nLuke 8:43-48►

oNum 6:6-11►

p19:11►

‏ Numbers 5:1-4

Summary for Num 5:1-31: 5:1–10:10 ^a These legal matters were to ensure the purity of the Israelites, their priesthood, and the Tabernacle. Such regulations drew constant attention to ancient Israel’s identity as a theocracy of which Moses was the primary spokesman.
Summary for Num 5:1-31: 5:1-31 ^b These laws concern purity, restitution, and marital faithfulness.
Summary for Num 5:1-4: 5:1-4 ^c Modern Westerners find the need for ceremonial or ritual purity difficult to understand. Westerners view skin diseases, bodily discharge, and contact with corpses as concerns of health and hygiene, but the primary issue in the Old Testament is guarding God’s holiness against ceremonial uncleanness (see Lev 11–15 ^d). The community had to safeguard the holiness of the camp so that unclean things or people did not ceremonially defile things associated with the Lord (Num 5:2-3 ^e). The community had to choose between having God in the camp or letting a defiled person remain in the camp, because both could not remain (5:3 ^f).

• The importance of purity extends from Leviticus and Numbers to the book of Revelation: All that is ceremonially unclean will be forbidden to enter the New Jerusalem where God resides (see study note on Rev 21:27). In the New Testament, however, impurity is limited to what is morally impure (Acts 10:28 ^g; Eph 5:5 ^h; 1 Thes 2:3 ⁱ; 4:7 ^j).
5:2 ^k skin disease: The Hebrew word used here describes various skin diseases that were regarded as contagious (cp. Lev 13–14 ^l).

• Discharge refers to fluids associated with sexual organs (Lev 15 ^m; cp. Luke 8:43-48 ⁿ).

• touching a dead person: See Num 6:6-11 ^o; 19:11 ^p.