Numbers 19-21
Complete Jewish Bible
Parashah 39: Hukkat (Regulation) 19:1–22:1
[In regular years read with Parashah 40, in leap years read separately]
19 Adonai said to Moshe and Aharon, 2 “This is the regulation from the Torah which Adonai has commanded. Tell the people of Isra’el to bring you a young red female cow without fault or defect and which has never borne a yoke. 3 You are to give it to El‘azar the cohen; it is to be brought outside the camp and slaughtered in front of him. 4 El‘azar the cohen is to take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle this blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. 5 The heifer is to be burned to ashes before his eyes — its skin, meat, blood and dung is to be burned to ashes. 6 The cohen is to take cedar-wood, hyssop and scarlet yarn and throw them onto the heifer as it is burning up. 7 Then the cohen is to wash his clothes and himself in water, after which he may re-enter the camp; but the cohen will remain unclean until evening. 8 The person who burned up the heifer is to wash his clothes and himself in water, but he will remain unclean until evening. 9 A man who is clean is to collect the ashes of the heifer and store them outside the camp in a clean place. They are to be kept for the community of the people of Isra’el to prepare water for purification from sin. 10 The one who collected the ashes of the heifer is to wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. For the people of Isra’el and for the foreigner staying with them this will be a permanent regulation.
11 “Anyone who touches a corpse, no matter whose dead body it is, will be unclean for seven days. 12 He must purify himself with [these ashes] on the third and seventh days; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself the third and seventh days, he will not be clean. 13 Anyone who touches a corpse, no matter whose dead body it is, and does not purify himself has defiled the tabernacle of Adonai. That person will be cut off from Isra’el, because the water for purification was not sprinkled on him. He will be unclean; his uncleanness is still on him.
14 “This is the law: when a person dies in a tent, everyone who enters the tent and everything in the tent will be unclean for seven days. 15 Every open container without a cover closely attached is unclean. 16 Also whoever is in an open field and touches a corpse, whether of someone killed by a weapon or of someone who died naturally, or the bone of a person, or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.
17 “For the unclean person they are to take some of the ashes of the animal burned up as a purification from sin and add them to fresh water in a container. (LY: ii) 18 A clean person is to take a bunch of hyssop leaves, dip it in the water and sprinkle it on the tent, on all the containers, on the people who were there, and on the person who touched the bone or the person killed or the one who died naturally or the grave. 19 The clean person will sprinkle the unclean person on the third and seventh days. On the seventh day he will purify him; then he will wash his clothes and himself in water; and he will be clean at evening. 20 The person who remains unclean and does not purify himself will be cut off from the community because he has defiled the sanctuary of Adonai. The water for purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean. 21 This is to be a permanent regulation for them. The person who sprinkles the water for purification is to wash his clothes. Whoever touches the water for purification will be unclean until evening. 22 Anything the unclean person touches will be unclean, and anyone who touches him will be unclean until evening.”
20 The people of Isra’el, the whole community, entered the Tzin Desert in the first month, and they stayed in Kadesh. There Miryam died, and there she was buried.
2 Because the community had no water, they assembled themselves against Moshe and Aharon. 3 The people quarreled with Moshe and said, “We wish we had died when our brothers died before Adonai. 4 Why did you bring Adonai’s community into this desert? To die there, we and our livestock? 5 Why did you make us leave Egypt? To bring us to this terrible place without seed, figs, grapevines, pomegranates or even water to drink?” 6 Moshe and Aharon left the assembly, went to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces; and the glory of Adonai appeared to them.
(RY: ii, LY: iii) 7 Adonai said to Moshe, 8 “Take the staff, assemble the community, you and Aharon your brother; and before their eyes, tell the rock to produce its water. You will bring them water out of the rock and thus enable the community and their livestock to drink.” 9 Moshe took the staff from the presence of Adonai, as he had ordered him. 10 But after Moshe and Aharon had assembled the community in front of the rock, he said to them, “Listen here, you rebels! Are we supposed to bring you water from this rock?” 11 Then Moshe raised his hand and hit the rock twice with his staff. Water flowed out in abundance, and the community and their livestock drank.
12 But Adonai said to Moshe and Aharon, “Because you did not trust in me, so as to cause me to be regarded as holy by the people of Isra’el, you will not bring this community into the land I have given them.” 13 This is M’rivah Spring [Disputation Spring], where the people of Isra’el disputed with Adonai, and he was caused to be regarded as holy by them.
(LY: iv) 14 Moshe sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: “This is what your brother Isra’el says: you know all the troubles we have gone through — 15 that our ancestors went down into Egypt, we lived in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our ancestors badly. 16 But when we cried out to Adonai, he heard us, sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. Now here we are in Kadesh, a city at the edge of your territory. 17 Please let us pass through your land. We will not go through fields or vineyards, and we won’t drink any water from the wells. We will go along the King’s Highway, not turning aside either to the right or to the left until we have left your territory.”
18 But Edom answered, “You are not to pass through my land; if you do, I will come out against you with the sword.” 19 The people of Isra’el replied, “We will keep to the highway; if we do drink the water, either we or our livestock, we will pay for it. Just let us pass through on foot — it’s nothing.” 20 But he said, “You are not to pass through”; and Edom came out against them with many people and much force. 21 Thus Edom refused to allow Isra’el passage through its territory, so Isra’el turned away.
(RY: iii, LY: v) 22 They traveled on from Kadesh; and the people of Isra’el, the whole community, arrived at Mount Hor. 23 At Mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom, Adonai said to Moshe and Aharon, 24 “Aharon is about to be gathered to his people, because he is not to enter the land I have given to the people of Isra’el, inasmuch as you rebelled against what I said at the M’rivah Spring. 25 Take Aharon and El‘azar his son, bring them up to Mount Hor, 26 remove the garments from Aharon and put them on El‘azar his son. Aharon will be gathered to his people — he will die there.”
27 Moshe did as Adonai had ordered. They went up onto Mount Hor before the eyes of the whole community. 28 Moshe removed the garments from Aharon, and put them on El‘azar his son, and Aharon died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moshe and El‘azar came down the mountain. 29 When the entire community saw that Aharon was dead, they mourned Aharon thirty days, the whole house of Isra’el.
21 Then the king of ‘Arad, a Kena‘ani who lived in the Negev, heard that Isra’el was approaching by way of Atarim, so he attacked Isra’el and took some of them captive. 2 Isra’el made a vow to Adonai, “If you will hand this people over to me, I will completely destroy their cities.” 3 Adonai listened to what Isra’el said and handed over the Kena‘anim, so they completely destroyed them and their cities and named the place Hormah [complete destruction].
4 Then they traveled from Mount Hor on the road toward the Sea of Suf in order to go around the land of Edom; but the people’s tempers grew short because of the detour. 5 The people spoke against God and against Moshe: “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt? To die in the desert? There’s no real food, there’s no water, and we’re sick of this miserable stuff we’re eating!”
(LY: vi) 6 In response, Adonai sent poisonous snakes among the people; they bit the people, and many of Isra’el’s people died. 7 The people came to Moshe and said, “We sinned by speaking against Adonai and against you. Pray to Adonai that he rid us of these snakes.” Moshe prayed for the people, 8 and Adonai answered Moshe: “Make a poisonous snake and put it on a pole. When anyone who has been bitten sees it, he will live.” 9 Moshe made a bronze snake and put it on the pole; if a snake had bitten someone, then, when he looked toward the bronze snake, he stayed alive.
10 The people of Isra’el traveled on and camped at Ovot. 11 From Ovot they traveled and camped at ‘Iyei-Ha‘avarim, in the desert fronting Mo’av on the east. 12 From there they traveled and camped in Vadi Zered. 13 From there they traveled and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the desert; this river comes out of the territory of the Emori; for the Arnon is the boundary between Mo’av and the Emori. 14 This is why it says, in the Book of the Wars of Adonai, “. . . Vahev at Sufah, the vadis of Arnon, 15 and the slope of the vadis extending as far as the site of ‘Ar, which lie next to the territory of Mo’av.”
16 From there they went on to Be’er [well]; that is the well about which Adonai said to Moshe, “Assemble the people, and I will give them water.” 17 Then Isra’el sang this song:
“Spring up, oh well!
Sing to the well
18 sunk by the princes,
dug by the people’s leaders
with the scepter,
with their staffs!”
From the desert they went to Mattanah, 19 from Mattanah to Nachali’el, from Nachali’el to Bamot, 20 and from Bamot to the valley by the plain of Mo’av at the start of the Pisgah range, where it overlooks the desert.
(RY: iv, LY: vii) 21 Isra’el sent messengers to Sichon, king of the Emori, with this message: 22 “Let me pass through your land. We won’t turn aside into fields or vineyards, and we won’t drink any water from the wells. We will go along the King’s Highway until we have left your territory.” 23 But Sichon would not allow Isra’el to pass through his territory. Instead, Sichon mustered all his people and went out into the desert to fight Isra’el. On reaching Yachatz, he fought Isra’el. 24 Isra’el defeated him by force of arms and took control of his land from the Arnon to the Yabok River, but only as far as the people of ‘Amon, because the territory of the people of ‘Amon was well defended. 25 Isra’el took all these cities — Isra’el lived in all the cities of the Emori, in Heshbon and all its surrounding towns. 26 Heshbon was the city of Sichon, the king of the Emori, who had fought against the former king of Mo’av and conquered all his land up to the Arnon. 27 This is why the storytellers say,
“Come to Heshbon! Let it be rebuilt!
Let Sichon’s city be restored!
28 “For fire burst out of Heshbon,
a flame from the city of Sichon.
It consumed ‘Ar of Mo’av,
the lords of Arnon’s high places.
29 “Woe to you, Mo’av!
You are destroyed, people of K’mosh!
He let his sons be fugitives and his daughters captives
of Sichon, king of the Emori.
30 “We shot them down; Heshbon is destroyed,
all the way to Divon.
We even laid waste to Nofach,
which extends as far as Meidva.”
31 Thus Isra’el lived in the land of the Emori.
32 Moshe sent men to reconnoiter Ya‘zer; they captured its towns and drove out the Emori who were there.
33 Then they turned and went up along the road to Bashan; and ‘Og, the king of Bashan, marched out against them, he with all his people, to fight at Edre‘i. (LY: Maftir) 34 Adonai said to Moshe, “Don’t be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you with all his people and his land. You will treat him just as you did Sichon, king of the Emori, who lived at Heshbon.” 35 So they struck him down, with his sons and all his people, until there was no one left alive; and then they took control of his land.
Bamidbar 19-21
Orthodox Jewish Bible
19 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe and unto Aharon, saying,
2 This is the chukkat hatorah which Hashem hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the Bnei Yisroel, that they bring thee a completely red female cow [that has not produced a calf], wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came ol (yoke):
3 And ye shall give her unto Eleazar HaKohen, that he may bring her forth outside the machaneh, and one shall slaughter (shachat) her before his face;
4 And Eleazar HaKohen shall take of her dahm with his finger, and sprinkle of her dahm directly before the Ohel Mo’ed seven times;
5 And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her hide, and her basar, and her dahm, with her dung, shall he burn;
6 And the kohen shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and crimson thread, and cast it into the midst of the burning heifer.
7 Then the kohen shall wash his clothes, and he shall immerse his basar in mayim, and afterward he shall come into the machaneh, and the kohen shall be tamei until the erev.
8 And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in mayim, and immerse his basar in mayim, and shall be tamei until the erev.
9 And a man that is tahor shall gather up the ashes of the cow, and lay them up outside the machaneh in a makom tahor, and it shall be in safekeeping for HaEdah Bnei Yisroel for water of sprinkling; it is for sinpurification.
10 And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be tamei until the erev; and it shall be unto the Bnei Yisroel, and unto the ger that sojourneth among them, for a chukkat olam.
11 He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be tamei shivat yamim.
12 He shall make himself tahor with it on the Yom HaShelishi, and on the seventh day he shall be tahor; but if he does not make himself tahor on the Yom HaShelishi, then the seventh day he shall not be tahor.
13 Whosoever toucheth the body of any man that is dead, and maketh not himself tahor, makes tamei the Mishkan Hashem; and that nefesh shall be cut off from Yisroel; because the water of sprinkling was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be tamei; his tumah is yet upon him.
14 This is the torah, when a man dieth in an ohel, all that come into the ohel, and all that is in the ohel, shall be tamei seven days.
15 And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is tamei.
16 And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a cherev in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a kever, shall be tamei seven days.
17 And for one who is tamei they shall take of the ashes of the burning of the purification [animal], and running mayim shall be put thereto in a vessel;
18 And an ish tahor shall take hyssop, and dip it in the mayim, and sprinkle it upon the ohel, and upon all the vessels, and upon the nefashot that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a kever;
19 And the tahor (clean person) shall sprinkle upon the tamei on the Yom HaShelishi, and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall make himself tahor, and wash his clothes, and immerse himself in mayim, and shall be tahor at erev [T.N. On the messianic mikveh see Co 2:11-12].
20 But the man that shall be tamei, and shall not purify himself, that nefesh shall be cut off from among the Kahal, because he hath contaminated the Mikdash Hashem; the water of sprinkling hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is tamei.
21 And it shall be a chukkat olam unto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of sprinkling shall immerse his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of sprinkling shall be tamei until erev.
22 And whatsoever the tamei person toucheth shall be tamei; and the nefesh that toucheth it shall be tamei until erev.
20 Then came the Bnei Yisroel, even the kol HaEdah into the Midbar of Tzin in the first month; and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miryam died there, and was buried there.
2 And there was no mayim for the Edah; and they gathered themselves together against Moshe and against Aharon.
3 And the people contended with Moshe, and spoke, saying, If only we had died when our brethren died before Hashem!
4 And why have ye brought up the Kahal Hashem into this midbar, that we and our livestock should die here?
5 And why have ye made us to come up out of Mitzrayim, to bring us in unto this evil place? It is no place of zera (grain), or of te’enah (fig), or of gefen (grapevine), or of pomegranates; neither is there any mayim to drink.
6 And Moshe and Aharon went from the presence of the Kahal unto the entrance of the Ohel Mo’ed, and they fell upon their faces; and the kavod Hashem appeared unto them.
7 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,
8 Take the rod and gather thou the Edah together, thou and Aharon thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth its mayim, and thou shalt bring forth to them mayim out of the rock; so thou shalt give the Edah and their beasts drink.
9 And Moshe took the rod from before Hashem, just as He commanded him.
10 And Moshe and Aharon gathered the Kahal together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye morim (rebels, contentious ones); must we fetch you mayim out of this rock?
11 And Moshe lifted up his hand, and with his rod he struck the rock twice; and the mayim came out abundantly, and the Edah drank, and their beasts also.
12 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe and Aharon, Because ye believed Me not, to honor Me as kadosh in the eyes of the Bnei Yisroel, therefore ye shall not bring this Kahal into HaAretz which I have given them.
13 These were the Waters of Merivah (Quarreling); because the Bnei Yisroel quarreled with Hashem, and He showed Himself kadosh among them.
14 And Moshe sent messengers from Kadesh unto the melech of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Yisroel, Thou knowest all the hardship that hath befallen us:
15 How Avoteinu went down into Mitzrayim, and we have dwelt in Mitzrayim a long time; and the Egyptians did evil to us, and Avoteinu;
16 And when we cried unto Hashem, He heard our voice, and sent a malach, and hath brought us forth out of Mitzrayim; and, hinei, we are in Kadesh, a town in the edge of thy border;
17 Let us pass, please, through thy country; we will not pass through the fields, or through the kerem (vineyards), neither will we drink of the mayim of the wells; we will go by the Derech HaMelech; we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left until we have passed through thy territory.
18 And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass through me, lest I come out against thee with the cherev.
19 And the Bnei Yisroel said unto him, We will go by the main road; and if I and my livestock drink of thy mayim, then I will pay for it; I will only, without doing anything else, pass through on my feet.
20 And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with a large army, and with a yad chazakah.
21 Thus Edom refused to give Yisroel passage through his border; wherefore Yisroel turned away from him.
22 And the Bnei Yisroel, even Kol HaEdah, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto Mt Hor.
23 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe and Aharon in Mt Hor, by the border of Eretz Edom, saying,
24 Aharon shall be gathered unto his people; for he shall not enter into HaAretz which I have given unto the Bnei Yisroel, because ye rebelled against My word at the Waters of Merivah.
25 Take Aharon and Eleazar bno, and bring them up unto Mt Hor;
26 And strip Aharon of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar bno; and Aharon shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there.
27 And Moshe did as Hashem commanded; and they went up into Mt Hor in the sight of Kol HaEdah.
28 And Moshe stripped Aharon of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar bno; and Aharon died there on the top of the mount; and Moshe and Eleazar came down from the mount.
29 And when Kol HaEdah saw that Aharon was dead, they mourned for Aharon shloshim yom, even Kol Bais Yisroel.
21 And when melech of Arad the Kena’ani, which dwelt in the Negev, heard that Yisroel came by the Derech HaAtarim; then he fought against Yisroel, and took some of them prisoners.
2 And Yisroel vowed a neder unto Hashem, and said, If Thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.
3 And Hashem paid heed to the kol Yisroel, and delivered up the Kena’ani; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities; and the place was named Chormah (Utter Destruction).
4 And they journeyed from Mt Hor by the way of the Yam Suf, to go around Eretz Edom; and the nefesh haAm was much impatient because of the way.
5 And the people spoke against Elohim, and against Moshe, Why have ye brought us up out of Mitzrayim to die in the midbar? For there is no lechem, neither is there any mayim; and our nefesh loatheth this wretched lechem.
6 And Hashem sent fiery nechashim among the people, and they bit the people; and Am rav miYisroel died.
7 Therefore HaAm came to Moshe, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against Hashem, and against thee; pray unto Hashem that He take away the Nachash from us. And Moshe davened for the people.
8 And Hashem said unto Moshe, Make thee a fiery serpent, set it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
9 And Moshe made a nachash of nechoshet, put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a nachash had bitten any man, when he beheld the nachash hanechoshet, then he lived [see Yn 3:14-15].
10 And the Bnei Yisroel set out, and encamped in Ovot.
11 And they journeyed from Ovot, and encamped at Iyei-HaAvarim, in the midbar which is before Moav, toward the mizrach hashemesh.
12 From thence they removed, and encamped in the Wadi Zered.
13 From thence they removed, and encamped on the other side of Arnon, which is in the midbar encroaching the Emori; for Arnon is the border of Moav, between Moav and the Emori.
14 Wherefore it is said in the Sefer Michamot Hashem, Vahev v’sufah and in the Vadis Arnon,
15 And at the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the site of Ar, and lieth upon the border of Moav.
16 And from thence they went to Beer; that is the Well whereof Hashem spoke unto Moshe, Gather the people together, and I will give them mayim.
17 Then Yisroel sang this shirah (song), Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it.
18 The sarim (princes) dug the well, the nobles of the people dug it, by the direction of the Mechokek (Lawgiver), with their rods. And from the midbar they went to Mattanah;
19 And from Mattanah to Nachaliel; and from Nachaliel to Bamot;
20 And from Bamot in the valley, that is in the country of Moav, to the top of Pisgah, overlooking the surface of the wasteland.
21 And Yisroel sent messengers unto Sichon Melech HaEmori, saying,
22 Let me pass through thy land; we will not turn into the fields, or into the kerem (vineyards); we will not drink of the waters of the well, but we will go along by the Derech HaMelech until we be past thy borders [Yn 14:6].
23 And Sichon would not suffer Yisroel to pass through his border; but Sichon gathered all his army together, and went out against Yisroel into the midbar; and he came to Yachatz and fought against Yisroel.
24 And Yisroel struck down him with the edge of the cherev, and possessed his land from Arnon unto Yabbok, even unto the Bnei Ammon; for the border of the Bnei Ammon was fortified.
25 And Yisroel took all these cities; Yisroel dwelt in all the cities of the Emori, in Cheshbon, and in all the villages thereof.
26 For Chesbon was the city of Sichon Melech HaEmori, who had fought against the former king of Moav, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon.
27 Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into Cheshbon, let the city of Sichon be built and prepared;
28 For there is a fire gone out of Cheshbon, a flame from the city of Sichon; it hath consumed Ar of Moav, and citizens of the heights of Arnon.
29 Woe to thee, Moav! Thou art undone, O people of Kemosh; he hath given his banim as fugitives, and his banot, captives unto Sichon Melech Emori.
30 Down they have been cast; Chesbon is perished even unto Divon, and we have laid them waste even unto Nophach, which reacheth unto Meidva.
31 Thus Yisroel dwelt in Eretz HaEmori.
32 And Moshe sent to spy out Yazer, and they took the villages thereof, and drove out HaEmori that were there.
33 And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan; and Og Melech HaBashan went out against them, he, and all his army, to the battle at Edrei.
34 And Hashem said unto Moshe, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, all his army, his land; thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sichon Melech HaEmori, which dwelt at Chesbon.
35 So they struck him down, and his banim, and all his army, until there was none alive left to him: and they possessed his land.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
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