Leviticus 14:50

14:50 and he is to slaughter one bird into a clay vessel over fresh water. ¹ 

Numbers 5:17

5:17 The priest will then take holy water ²  in a pottery jar, and take some ³  of the dust ⁴  that is on the floor of the tabernacle, and put it into the water.

Numbers 5:2

5:2 “Command the Israelites to expel ⁵  from the camp every leper, ⁶  everyone who has a discharge, ⁷  and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse. ⁸ 

Colossians 4:7

Personal Greetings and Instructions

4:7 Tychicus, a dear brother, faithful minister, and fellow slave ⁹  in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. ¹⁰ 

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹¹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:4

1:4 since ¹²  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.

Hebrews 2:14

2:14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in ¹³  their humanity, ¹⁴  so that through death he could destroy ¹⁵  the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil),

[14:50]  ¹ tn See the note on v. 5 above.

[5:17]  ² tn This is probably water taken from the large bronze basin in the courtyard. It is water set apart for sacred service. “Clean water” (so NEB) does not capture the sense very well, but it does have the support of the Greek that has “pure running water.” That pure water would no doubt be from the bronze basin anyway.

[5:17]  ³ tn Heb “from.” The preposition is used here with a partitive sense.

[5:17]  ⁴ sn The dust may have come from the sanctuary floor, but it is still dust, and therefore would have all the pollutants in it.

[5:2]  ³ tn The construction uses the Piel imperative followed by this Piel imperfect/jussive form; it is here subordinated to the preceding volitive, providing the content of the command. The verb שָׁלַח (shalakh) in this verbal stem is a strong word, meaning “expel, put out, send away, or release” (as in “let my people go”).

[5:2]  ⁴ sn The word צָרוּעַ (tsarua’), although translated “leper,” does not primarily refer to leprosy proper (i.e., Hansen’s disease). The RSV and the NASB continued the KJV tradition of using “leper” and “leprosy.” More recent studies have concluded that the Hebrew word is a generic term covering all infectious skin diseases (including leprosy when that actually showed up). True leprosy was known and feared certainly by the time of Amos (ca. 760 b.c.). There is evidence that the disease was known in Egypt by 1500 b.c. So this term would include that disease in all probability. But in view of the diagnosis and healing described in Leviticus 13 and 14, the term must be broader. The whole basis for the laws of separation may be found in the book of Leviticus. The holiness of the Lord who dwelt among his people meant that a high standard was imposed on them for their living arrangements as well as access to the sanctuary. Anything that was corrupted, diseased, dying, or contaminated was simply not compatible with the holiness of God and was therefore excluded. This is not to say that it was treated as sin, or the afflicted as sinners. It simply was revealing – and safeguarding – the holiness of the Lord. It thus provided a revelation for all time that in the world to come nothing unclean will enter into the heavenly sanctuary. As the Apostle Paul says, we will all be changed from this corruptible body into one that is incorruptible (1 Cor 15:53). So while the laws of purity and holiness were practical for the immediate audience, they have far-reaching implications for theology. The purity regulations have been done away with in Christ – the problem is dealt with differently in the new covenant. There is no earthly temple, and so the separation laws are not in force. Wisdom would instruct someone with an infectious disease to isolate, however. But just because the procedure is fulfilled in Christ does not mean that believers today are fit for glory just as they are. On the contrary, they must be changed before going into his presence. In like manner the sacrifices have been done away in Christ – not what they covered. Sin is still sin, even though it is dealt with differently on this side of the cross. But the ritual and the regulations of the old covenant at Sinai have been fulfilled in Christ.

[5:2]  ⁵ sn The rules of discharge (Lev 12 and 15) include everything from menstruation to chronic diseases (see G. Wyper, ISBE 1:947, as well as R. K. Harrison, Leviticus (TOTC), 158-66, and G. J. Wenham, Leviticus (NICOT), 217-25.

[5:2]  ⁶ tn The word is נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh), which usually simply means “[whole] life,” i.e., the soul in the body, the person. But here it must mean the corpse, the dead person, since that is what will defile (although it was also possible to become unclean by touching certain diseased people, such as a leper).

[4:7]  ⁴ tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

[4:7]  ⁵ tn Grk “all things according to me.”

[1:1]  ⁵ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:4]  ⁶ tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).

[2:14]  ⁷ tn Or “partook of” (this is a different word than the one in v. 14a).

[2:14]  ⁸ tn Grk “the same.”

[2:14]  ⁹ tn Or “break the power of,” “reduce to nothing.”