Numbers 19:11

Purification from Uncleanness

19:11 “‘Whoever touches ¹  the corpse ²  of any person ³  will be ceremonially unclean ⁴  seven days.

Deuteronomy 26:14

26:14 I have not eaten anything when I was in mourning, or removed any of it while ceremonially unclean, or offered any of it to the dead; ⁵  I have obeyed you ⁶  and have done everything you have commanded me.

Nehemiah 8:9-12

8:9 Then Nehemiah the governor, ⁷  Ezra the priestly scribe, ⁸  and the Levites who were imparting understanding to the people said to all of them, ⁹  “This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping when they heard the words of the law. 8:10 He said to them, “Go and eat delicacies and drink sweet drinks and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our Lord. ¹⁰  Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

8:11 Then the Levites quieted all the people saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy. Do not grieve.” 8:12 So all the people departed to eat and drink and to share their food ¹¹  with others ¹²  and to enjoy tremendous joy, ¹³  for they had gained insight in the matters that had been made known to them.

Ezekiel 24:17

24:17 Groan in silence for the dead, ¹⁴  but do not perform mourning rites. ¹⁵  Bind on your turban ¹⁶  and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your lip ¹⁷  and do not eat food brought by others.” ¹⁸ 

Ezekiel 24:22

24:22 Then you will do as I have done: You will not cover your lip or eat food brought by others. ¹⁹ 

Malachi 2:13

2:13 You also do this: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears ²⁰  as you weep and groan, because he no longer pays any attention to the offering nor accepts it favorably from you.

[19:11]  ¹ tn The form is the participle with the article functioning as a substantive: “the one who touches.”

[19:11]  ² tn Heb “the dead.”

[19:11]  ³ tn The expression is full: לְכָל־נֶפֶשׁ אָדָם (lÿkhol-nefesh ’adam) – of any life of a man, i.e., of any person.

[19:11]  ⁴ tn The verb is a perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; it follows only the participle used as the subject, but since the case is hypothetical and therefore future, this picks up the future time. The adjective “ceremonially” is supplied in the translation as a clarification.

[26:14]  ⁵ sn These practices suggest overtones of pagan ritual, all of which the confessor denies having undertaken. In Canaan they were connected with fertility practices associated with harvest time. See E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy (NAC), 335-36.

[26:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “the Lord my God.” See note on “he” in 26:2.

[8:9]  ⁷ tc The unexpected reference to Nehemiah here has led some scholars to suspect that the phrase “Nehemiah the governor” is a later addition to the text and not original.

[8:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.”

[8:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “the people.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.

[8:10]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[8:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to send portions.”

[8:12]  ¹² tn The Hebrew text does not include the phrase “with others” but it has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “to make great joy.”

[24:17]  ¹⁴ tn Or “Groan silently. As to the dead….” Cf. M. Greenberg’s suggestion that דֹּם מֵתִים (dom metim) be taken together and דֹּם be derived from ָדּמַם (damam, “to moan, murmur”). See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:508.

[24:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “(For) the dead mourning you shall not conduct.” In the Hebrew text the word translated “dead” is plural, indicating that mourning rites are in view. Such rites would involve outward demonstrations of one’s sorrow, including wailing and weeping.

[24:17]  ¹⁶ sn The turban would normally be removed for mourning (Josh 7:6; 1 Sam 4:12).

[24:17]  ¹⁷ sn Mourning rites included covering the lower part of the face. See Lev 13:45.

[24:17]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the bread of men.” The translation follows the suggestion accepted by M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 2:509) that this refers to a meal brought by comforters to the one mourning. Some repoint the consonantal text to read “the bread of despair” (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 2:56), while others, with support from the Targum and Vulgate, emend the consonantal text to read “the bread of mourners” (see D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:784).

[24:22]  ¹⁹ tn See v. 17.

[2:13]  ²⁰ sn You cover the altar of the Lord with tears. These tears are the false tears of hypocrisy, not genuine tears of repentance. The people weep because the Lord will not hear them, not because of their sin.