Numbers 4:8

4:8 They must spread over them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of fine leather; and they must insert its poles.

Numbers 4:11

4:11 “They must spread a blue cloth on the gold altar, and cover it with a covering of fine leather; and they must insert its poles.

Numbers 8:7

8:7 And do this ¹  to them to purify them: Sprinkle water of purification ²  on them; then have them shave ³  all their body ⁴  and wash ⁵  their clothes, and so purify themselves. ⁶ 

Numbers 8:21

8:21 The Levites purified themselves ⁷  and washed their clothing; then Aaron presented them like a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to purify them.

Numbers 19:7

19:7 Then the priest must wash ⁸  his clothes and bathe himself ⁹  in water, and afterward he may come ¹⁰  into the camp, but the priest will be ceremonially unclean until evening.

Numbers 19:10

19:10 The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer must wash his clothes and be ceremonially unclean until evening. This will be a permanent ordinance both for the Israelites and the resident foreigner who lives among them.

Numbers 19:19

19:19 And the clean person must sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he must purify him, ¹¹  and then he must wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and he will be clean in the evening.

Numbers 19:21

19:21 “‘So this will be a perpetual ordinance for them: The one who sprinkles ¹²  the water of purification must wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water of purification will be unclean until evening. ¹³ 

Numbers 20:26

20:26 Remove Aaron’s priestly garments ¹⁴  and put them on Eleazar his son, and Aaron will be gathered to his ancestors ¹⁵  and will die there.”

[8:7]  ¹ tn Or, more literally, “and thus you shall do.” The verb is the imperfect tense of instruction or legislation. Here it introduces the procedures to be followed.

[8:7]  ² tn The genitive in this expression indicates the purpose of the water – it is for their purification. The expression is literally “the waters of sin.” The word “purification” is the same as for the “sin/purification offering” – חַטָּאת (khatta’at). This water seems to have been taken from the main laver and is contrasted with the complete washing of the priests in Lev 8:6.

[8:7]  ³ tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) of sequence. This verb, and those to follow, has the force of a jussive since it comes after the imperative. Here the instruction is for them to remove the hair from their bodies (“flesh”). There is no indication that this was repeated (as the Egyptian priests did every few days). It seems to have been for this special occasion only. A similar requirement was for the leper (Lev 14:7-9).

[8:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “flesh.”

[8:7]  ⁵ tn Or “let/have them wash”; the priests were given new clothes (Lev 8:13), but the Levites simply washed their own.

[8:7]  ⁶ tn The verb is a reflexive (or possibly passive) in this verse, indicating the summary of the process. The ritual steps that have been prescribed will lead to this conclusion. The verb could be treated as a final imperfect (being a perfect with vav [ו] consecutive), and so translated “that they may….” The major difference here is that the ritual made the Levites “clean,” whereas the ritual for the priests made them “holy” or “sanctified” (Lev 8:12).

[8:21]  ¹ tn The verb is the Hitpael of חָטָּא (khatta’). In this stem the meaning of the root “to sin” is likely to be connected to the noun “sin/purification” offering in a denominative sense, although some would take it as a privative usage, “to remove sin.” The idea is clear enough: They performed all the ritual in order to purify themselves ceremonially.

[19:7]  ¹ tn The sequence continues with the perfect tense and vav (ו) consecutive.

[19:7]  ² tn Heb “his flesh.”

[19:7]  ³ tn This is the imperfect of permission.

[19:19]  ¹ tn The construction uses a simple Piel of חָטָא (khata’, “to purify”) with a pronominal suffix – “he shall purify him.” Some commentators take this to mean that after he sprinkles the unclean then he must purify himself. But that would not be the most natural way to read this form.

[19:21]  ¹ tn The form has the conjunction with it: וּמַזֵּה (umazzeh). The conjunction subordinates the following as the special law. It could literally be translated “and this shall be…that the one who sprinkles.”

[19:21]  ² sn This gives the indication of the weight of the matter, for “until the evening” is the shortest period of ritual uncleanness in the Law. The problem of contamination had to be taken seriously, but this was a relatively simple matter to deal with – if one were willing to obey the Law.

[20:26]  ¹ tn The word “priestly” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[20:26]  ² tn Heb “will be gathered”; this is a truncated form of the usual expression “gathered to his ancestors,” found in v. 24. The phrase “to his ancestors” is supplied in the translation here.