Parashat Chukat

Red Heifer and Cleansing Water

19 Adonai spoke to Moses and Aaron saying, ² “This is the statute of the Torah which Adonai commanded saying: Speak to Bnei-Yisrael that they bring to you a flawless red heifer on which there is no blemish and on which has never been a yoke. ³ Give her to Eleazar the kohen. He will take her outside the camp and slaughter her in his presence. ⁴ Then Eleazar the kohen is to take some of the blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting.

⁵ “While watching, he is to burn the heifer, her hide, flesh, blood and refuse. ⁶ The kohen is to take some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool, and cast them into the midst of the burning heifer.

⁷ “Afterward, the kohen is to wash his clothes and bathe his flesh with the water, and afterward he may come back into the camp. Still the kohen will be unclean until evening. ⁸ Also the one burning it is to wash his clothes and bathe his flesh with the water, and he will be unclean until evening.

⁹ “A clean man is to gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a clean place outside the camp. They are to be for the community of Bnei-Yisrael to use as water of purification from sin.

¹⁰ “The one who gathers the heifer’s ashes is also to wash his clothes as well as be unclean until evening. It will be a permanent statute for Bnei-Yisrael and for the outsider living among them.

¹¹ “Whoever touches any dead body will be unclean for seven days. ¹² He is to purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day. Then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third and seventh days, he will not be clean. ¹³ Anyone touching the dead body of any man, who does not purify himself, defiles Adonai’s Tabernacle, and that person will be cut off from Israel. Because the cleansing water was not sprinkled on him, he is unclean and his uncleanness will remain on him.

¹⁴ “This is the Torah for whenever a person dies in a tent. Anyone entering the tent or anyone inside the tent will be unclean seven days. ¹⁵ Any open container not having a lid fastened on it will also be unclean. ¹⁶ Anyone out in the open field who touches a dead body, whether killed by a sword or was killed by a natural cause, or touches a human bone or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.

¹⁷ “For the unclean one, they are to take some of the ash of the burnt purification offering, and pour some fresh water into a jar. ¹⁸ Then a clean person will take some hyssop, dip it into the water, and, sprinkle it on the tent, all of the furnishings, and the people who were there, as well as the one touching the bone, the one killed, the corpse or the grave.

¹⁹ The clean person will sprinkle the unclean one on the third and seventh days. He is to purify himself on the seventh day, and on the seventh day he is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and at evening he will be clean.

²⁰ However, that man who is unclean but does not purify himself will be cut off from the community. He has defiled the Sanctuary of Adonai, since the cleansing water was not sprinkled on him. He is unclean. ²¹ This will be a permanent ordinance for them. The one sprinkling the cleansing water is also to wash his clothes, and anyone touching the cleansing water will be unclean until evening. ²² Anything touched by an unclean person becomes unclean, and anyone touching it will be unclean until evening.”

Water from the Rock

20 In the first month, the entire community of Bnei-Yisrael arrived at the wilderness of Zin. The people stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.

² Now there was no water for the community, so they assembled against Moses and Aaron. ³ The people quarreled with Moses saying, “If only we had died when our brothers died before Adonai! ⁴ Now why have you brought the community of Adonai into this wilderness, for us and our livestock to die here? ⁵ Why have you brought us from Egypt to bring us to this evil place—a place without grain, fig, grapevine or pomegranate—and there’s no water to drink!”

⁶ So Moses and Aaron went from before the assembly to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and fell on their faces.

Then the glory of Adonai appeared to them. ⁷ Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ⁸ “Take the staff and gather the assembly, you and your brother Aaron. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will give out its water.^[a] You will bring out water from the rock, and you will give the community something to drink, along with their livestock.”

⁹ So Moses took the staff from before the presence of Adonai, just as He had commanded him.

¹⁰ Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly in front of the rock. He said, “Listen now, you rebels! Must we bring you water from this rock?”

¹¹ Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with the staff. Water gushed out and the community and its livestock drank.

¹² But Adonai said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in Me so as to esteem Me as holy in the eyes of Bnei-Yisrael, therefore you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given to them.”

¹³ These are the waters of Meribah where Bnei-Yisrael contended with Moses, and where Adonai showed Himself holy among them.

Edom Denies Passage

¹⁴ Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. “Thus says your brother, Israel:

‘You know all the hardship that came on us. ¹⁵ Our forefathers went down to Egypt, so we lived there for a very long time. The Egyptians mistreated us, and our fathers. ¹⁶ But we cried out to Adonai, He heard our cry, sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. See now, we are at Kadesh, a town on the frontier of your territory. ¹⁷ Permit us to pass through your territory. We will not cross through any field or vineyard or drink water of any well. But we will travel on the king’s highway. We will not deviate to the right or left until we will have passed through your territory.’”

¹⁸ But Edom said to him, “You may not pass through me—or I will march out against you with the sword.”

¹⁹ Bnei-Yisrael then said to him, “We will travel on the main road, and if we or our livestock even drink any of your water, we will pay its price. It’s nothing, just to pass through on foot!”

²⁰ He answered, “You may not pass through!” Yet Edom came out to oppose them with a large and well-armed people. ²¹ Since Edom refused to permit Israel to cross through her territory, Israel turned away from them.

Aaron Gathered To His People

²² The entirety of the community of Bnei-Yisrael set out from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor.

²³ Now at Mount Hor, near the Edomite border, Adonai said to Moses and Aaron, ²⁴ “Aaron will be gathered to his people. He will not enter the land, which I have given to Bnei-Yisrael, because you rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah. ²⁵ Take Aaron and his son Eleazar, and take them up Mount Hor. ²⁶ Remove Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar, and Aaron will be gathered up and will die there.”

²⁷ Moses did as Adonai commanded. They ascended Mount Hor before the eyes of the whole community. ²⁸ Moses removed Aaron’s garments and placed them on Eleazar his son. Aaron died there at the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar descended the mountain.

²⁹ When they saw that Aaron had died, the entire community mourned Aaron 30 days.

A Doctor Charts the Facts

1 Now many have undertaken to organize an account of the events fulfilled among us, ² just as they were handed down to us from the start by the eyewitnesses and reporters of the word. ³ Therefore it seemed best to me also, because I have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, to write for you an orderly record, most excellent Theophilus, ⁴ so you may know for sure the truth of the words you have been taught.

Prophecy of Birth to the Barren

⁵ In the days of Herod, King of Judah, there was a kohen named Zechariah from the priestly division of Abijah.^[a] Elizabeth, his wife, was from the daughters of Aaron. ⁶ Together they were righteous before Adonai, walking without fault in all His commandments and instructions. ⁷ But they were childless, because Elizabeth was barren and both of them were elderly.

⁸ Now it happened to be Zechariah’s time to serve as kohen before Adonai in the order of his division. ⁹ According to the custom of the priestly office, it became his lot to enter the Holy Place of Adonai to burn incense. ^{[b] 10} And the whole crowd of people was praying outside at the hour of incense burning. ¹¹ An angel of Adonai appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² Zechariah was in turmoil when he saw the angel, and fear fell upon him. ¹³ But the angel said, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give birth to your son, and you will name him John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵ He will be great before Adonai; and he should not drink wine and intoxicating beverage,^[c] but he will be filled with the Ruach ha-Kodesh just out of his mother’s womb. ¹⁶ Many of Bnei-Yisrael will turn to Adonai their God. ¹⁷ And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to the children^[d] and the disobedient ones to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready for Adonai a prepared people.

¹⁸ Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know this for certain? I’m an old man, and my wife is well-advanced in age.”

¹⁹ And speaking to him, the angel declared, “I am Gabriel, the one standing in God’s presence. I was commissioned to tell you and proclaim to you this good news. ²⁰ So look, you will be silent and powerless to speak until the day these things happen, since you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their time.”

²¹ The people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering about his long delay in the Holy Place. ²² But when he came out, he couldn’t speak to them. Then they realized that he had seen a vision in the Holy Place. He was making signs to them but remained mute. ²³ When the days of his priestly service had been completed, he went home. ²⁴ After these days, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and hid herself for five months, saying, ²⁵ “Adonai has done this for me! In these days He looked upon me, to take away my disgrace among the people.”^[e]

In God I Trust

Psalm 56