Numbers 19:16

19:16 And whoever touches the body of someone killed with a sword in the open fields, ¹  or the body of someone who died of natural causes, ²  or a human bone, or a grave, will be unclean seven days. ³ 

Numbers 23:24

23:24 Indeed, the people will rise up like a lioness,

and like a lion raises himself up;

they will not lie down until they eat their ⁴  prey,

and drink the blood of the slain.” ⁵ 

Numbers 19:18

19:18 Then a ceremonially clean person must take hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all its furnishings, and on the people who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, or one killed, or one who died, or a grave.

Numbers 31:8

31:8 They killed the kings of Midian in addition to those slain – Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba – five Midianite kings. ⁶  They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. ⁷ 

Numbers 31:19

Purification After Battle

31:19 “Any of you who has killed anyone or touched any of the dead, remain outside the camp for seven days; purify yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day.

¹ tn The expression for “in the open field” is literally “upon the face of the field” (עַל־פְּנֵי הַשָּׂדֶה, ’al pÿne hassadeh). This ruling is in contrast now to what was contacted in the tent.

² tn Heb “a dead body”; but in contrast to the person killed with a sword, this must refer to someone who died of natural causes.

³ sn See Matt 23:27 and Acts 23:3 for application of this by the time of Jesus.

⁴ tn The pronoun “their” has been supplied for clarity; it is not present in the Hebrew text.

⁵ sn The oracle compares Israel first to a lion, or better, lioness, because she does the tracking and hunting of food while the lion moves up and down roaring and distracting the prey. But the lion is also the traditional emblem of Judah, Dan and Gad, as well as the symbol of royalty. So this also supports the motif of royalty as well as power for Israel.

⁷ sn Here again we see that there was no unified empire, but Midianite tribal groups.

⁸ sn And what was Balaam doing among the Midianites? The implication is strong. This pagan diviner had to submit to the revealed will of God in the oracles, but he nonetheless could be hired. He had been a part of the attempt to destroy Israel that failed; he then apparently became part of the plan, if not the adviser, to destroy them with sexual immorality and pagan ritual.