Ezekiel 39:14

39:14 They will designate men to scout continually ¹  through the land, burying those who remain on the surface of the ground, ²  in order to cleanse it. They will search for seven full months.

Ezekiel 39:16

39:16 (A city by the name of Hamonah ³  will also be there.) They will cleanse the land.’

Numbers 19:16

19:16 And whoever touches the body of someone killed with a sword in the open fields, ⁴  or the body of someone who died of natural causes, ⁵  or a human bone, or a grave, will be unclean seven days. ⁶ 

Deuteronomy 21:23

21:23 his body must not remain all night on the tree; instead you must make certain you bury ⁷  him that same day, for the one who is left exposed ⁸  on a tree is cursed by God. ⁹  You must not defile your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

[39:14]  ¹ tn Heb “men of perpetuity.”

[39:14]  ² tn Heb “and bury the travelers and those who remain on the surface of the ground.” The reference to “travelers” seems odd and is omitted in the LXX. It is probably an accidental duplication (see v. 11).

[39:16]  ³ tn This name appears to be a feminine form of the word “horde,” used in the name Hamon-Gog.

[19:16]  ⁴ 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.

[19:16]  ⁵ 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.

[19:16]  ⁶ sn See Matt 23:27 and Acts 23:3 for application of this by the time of Jesus.

[21:23]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates by “make certain.”

[21:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “hung,” but this could convey the wrong image in English (hanging with a rope as a means of execution). Cf. NCV “anyone whose body is displayed on a tree.”

[21:23]  ⁹ sn The idea behind the phrase cursed by God seems to be not that the person was impaled because he was cursed but that to leave him exposed there was to invite the curse of God upon the whole land. Why this would be so is not clear, though the rabbinic idea that even a criminal is created in the image of God may give some clue (thus J. H. Tigay, Deuteronomy [JPSTC], 198). Paul cites this text (see Gal 3:13) to make the point that Christ, suspended from a cross, thereby took upon himself the curse associated with such a display of divine wrath and judgment (T. George, Galatians [NAC], 238-39).