The law of the sacrifice of the red cow, and the water of expiation.
A redde cow is offered in burnt victime for sinne: 9. whose ashes are mingled in water, for expiation of diuers legal vncleanes, 11. as by touching the dead, 14. by entring into the tent of the dead, also the vessel that is therin, and the vessel that lacketh a couer, 22. and whatsoeuer the vncleane toucheth.
1And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:E il Signore parlò a Mosè e ad Aronne, e disse:AND our Lord spake to Moyses and Aaron, saying: This is the religion of the victime,Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen et Aaron, dicens: 2This is the observance of the victim, which the Lord hath ordained. Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee a red cow of full age, in which there is no blemish, and which hath not carried the yoke:Queste sono le cerimonie della vittima comandata dal Signore. Ordina ai figliuoli d'Israele, che ti menino una giovenca rossa di perfetta età, e senza macchia, e la quale non abbia portato il giogo:which the Lord hath appointed. Command the children of Israel, that they bring vnto thee a redde cow of ful age, wherin is no blemish, and that hath not caried yoke:Ista est religio victimæ, quam constituit Dominus. Præcipe filiis Israël, ut adducant ad te vaccam rufam ætatis integræ, in qua nulla sit macula, nec portaverit jugum: 3And you shall deliver her to Eleazar the priest, who shall bring her forth without the camp, and shall immolate her in the sight of all:E la darete ad Eleazaro sacerdote, il quale condottala fuor degli alloggiamenti la immolerà al cospetto di tutti.and you shal deliuer her to Eleazar the priest. who bringing her forth without the campe, shal immolate her in the sight of al:tradetisque eam Eleazaro sacerdoti, qui eductam extra castram, immolabit in conspectu omnium: 4And dipping his finger in her blood, shall sprinkle it over against the door of the tabernacle seven times,E intingendo il dito nel sangue di lei, ne farà aspersione sette volte verso la porta del tabernacolo;and dipping his finger in her bloud, shal sprinkle it against the doores of the tabernacle seuen times,et tingens digitum in sanguine ejus, asperget contra fores tabernaculi septem vicibus, 5And shall burn her in the sight of all delivering up to the fire her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, and her dung.E poi l'abbrucerà a vista di tutti, dando alle fiamme si la pelle, e le carni di essa, e si ancora il sangue, e gli escrementi.and shal burne her in the sight of al, committing aswel her skinne and the flesh as the bloud, and the dong to the fire.comburetque eam cunctis videntibus, tam pelle et carnibus ejus quam sanguine et fimo flammæ traditis. 6The priest shall also take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet twice dyed, and cast it into the flame, with which the cow is consumed.E il sacerdote getterà ancor nella fiamma, in cui arde la vacca, il legno di cedro, e l'issopo, e il cocco a due tinte.Wood also of the cedar, and hyssope, and scarlet twise died shal the priest cast into the flame, that wasteth the cow.Lignum quoque cedrinum, et hyssopum, coccumque bis tinctum sacerdos mittet in flammam, quæ vaccam vorat.
7And then after washing his garments, and body, he shall enter into the camp, and shall be unclean until the evening.E allora finalmente, lavate le vesti, e la persona, tornerà agli alloggiamenti, e sarà immondo fino alla sera.And then at length washing his garmentes, and his bodie, he shal enter into the campe, and shal be polluted vntil euen.Et tunc demum, lotis vestibus et corpore suo, ingredietur in castra, commaculatusque erit usque ad vesperum. 8He also that hath burned her, shall wash his garments, and his body, and shall be unclean until the evening.Parimente colui, che la bruciò, laverà le sue vesti, e la persona, e sarà immondo fino alla sera.But he also that burneth her, shal wash his garmentes and his bodie, and shal be vncleane vntil euen.Sed et ille qui combusserit eam, lavabit vestimenta sua et corpus, et immundus erit usque ad vesperum. 9And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the cow, and shall pour them forth without the camp in a most clean place, that they may be reserved for the multitude of the children of Israel, and for a water of aspersion: because the cow was burnt for sin.E un uomo, che sia mondo, raccorrà le ceneri della vacca, e le depositerà fuori degli alloggiamenti in luogo mondissimo, dove sieno custodite dalla moltitudine de' figliuoli d'Israele, e se ne faccia l'acqua di aspersione: perocché la vacca fu abbruciata per lo peccato.And a man that is cleane shal gather the ashes of the cow, and shal powre them out without the campe in a most cleane place, that they may be reserued for the multitude of the children of Israel, and for water of aspersion: because the cowe was burnt for sinne.Colliget autem vir mundus cineres vaccæ, et effundet eos extra castra in loco purissimo, ut sint multitudini filiorum Israël in custodiam, et in aquam aspersionis: quia pro peccato vacca combusta est. 10And when he that carried the ashes of the cow, hath washed his garments, he shall be unclean until the evening. The children of Israel, and the strangers that dwell among them, shall observe this for a holy thing by a perpetual ordinance.E dopo che colui, il quale portò le ceneri della vacca, avrà lavate le sue vesti, sarà immondo fino alla sera. Sarà questo un rito santo, e inviolabile pe' figliuoli d'Israele, e pei forestieri che dimoran con essi.And when he that caried the ashes of the cow, hath washed his garmentes, he shal be vncleane vntil euen. The children of Israel, and the strangers that dwel among them, shal haue this for a holie thing by a perpetual ordinance.Cumque laverit qui vaccæ portaverat cineres vestimenta sua, immundus erit usque ad vesperum. Habebunt hoc filii Israël, et advenæ qui habitant inter eos, sanctum jure perpetuo.
11He that toucheth the corpse of a man, and is therefore unclean seven days,Colui che avrà toccato il cadavere d'un uomo, e perciò diverrà immondo per sette giorni,He that toucheth the dead corps of a man, and is vncleane therfore seuen daies:Qui tetigerit cadaver hominis, et propter hoc septem diebus fuerit immundus, 12Shall be sprinkled with this water on the third day, and on the seventh, and so shall be cleansed. If he were not sprinkled on the third day, he cannot be cleansed on the seventh.Sarà asperso con quest'acqua il terzo, e il settimo giorno, e così sarà mondato. Se non sarà asperso il terzo dì, non potrà essere mondato nel settimo.shal be sprinkled of this water the third day, and the seuenth, and so shal be cleansed. If he were not sprinkled, the third day the seuenth day he can not be clensed.aspergetur ex hac aqua die tertio et septimo, et sic mundabitur. Si die tertio aspersus non fuerit, septimo non poterit emundari. 13Every one that toucheth the corpse of a man, and is not sprinkled with this mixture, shall profane the tabernacle of the Lord, and shall perish out of Israel: because he was not sprinkled with the water of expiation, he shall be unclean, and his uncleanness shall remain upon him.Chiunque avrà toccato il corpo morto di un uomo, e non sarà stato asperso colla mistura di quest'acqua, renderà immondo il tabernacolo del Signore, e sarà reciso dalla società d'Israele: perché non fu asperso coll'acqua di espiazione, ei sarà immondo, e resterà sopra di lui la sua immondezza.Euerie one that toucheth the dead corps of mans soule, and is not sprinkled with this commistion, shal pollute the tabernacle of the Lord, and shal perish out of Israel: because he was not sprinkled with the water of expiation, he shal be vncleane, and his filthinesse shal remaine vpon him.Omnis qui tetigerit humanæ animæ morticinum, et aspersus hac commistione non fuerit, polluet tabernaculum Domini et peribit ex Israël: quia aqua expiationis non est aspersus, immundus erit, et manebit spurcitia ejus super eum. 14This is the law of a man that dieth in a tent: All that go into his tent and all the vessels that are there, shall be unclean seven days.Questa è la legge riguardante l'uomo, che muore nella sua tenda. Tutti coloro che entrano nella sua tenda, e tutti i mobili, che vi sono, saranno immondi per sette giorni.This is the law of the man that dieth in a tabernacle: Al that enter into his tent, and al the vessel that are there, shal be polluted seuen daies.Ista est lex hominis qui moritur in tabernaculo: omnes qui ingrediuntur tentorium illius, et universa vasa quæ ibi sunt, polluta erunt septem diebus.
15The vessel that hath no cover, nor binding over it, shall be unclean.Il vaso, che non avrà coperchio, e non sarà turato alla bocca, sarà immondo.The vessel, that hath no couer, nor bynding ouer it, shal be vncleane.Vas, quod non habuerit operculum nec ligaturam desuper, immundum erit. 16If any man in the field touch the corpse of a man that was slain, or that died of himself, or his bone, or his grave, he shall be unclean seven days.Se uno alla campagna tocca il cadavere d'un uomo ucciso, o morto da se, ovver (tocca) un osso di lui, o il suo sepolcro, sarà immondo per sette giorni.If any man in the field touch the corps of a man that was slaine, or that died of himself, or his bone, or graue, he shal be vncleane seuen daies.Si quis in agro tetigerit cadaver occisi hominis, aut per se mortui, sive os illius, vel sepulchrum, immundus erit septem diebus. 17And they shall take of the ashes of the burning and of the sin offering, and shall pour living waters upon them into a vessel.E prenderanno delle ceneri della vacca bruciata per lo peccato, e vi getteranno sopra dell'acqua viva in un vaso:And they shal take of the ashes of combustion and of sinne, and shal powre liuing water vpon them into a vessel.Tollentque de cineribus combustionis atque peccati, et mittent aquas vivas super eos in vas: 18And a man that is clean shall dip hyssop in them, and shall sprinkle therewith all the tent, and all the furniture, and the men that are defiled with touching any such thing:E un uomo mondo avendone inzuppato l'issopo aspergerà con essa tutta la tenda, e tutte le suppellettili, e gli uomini renduti immondi per simil causa:in the which when a man that is cleane hath dipped hyssope, he shal sprinkle therwith al the tent, and al the implementes, and the men polluted with such contagion:in quibus cum homo mundus tinxerit hyssopum, asperget ex eo omne tentorium, et cunctam supellectilem, et homines hujuscemodi contagione pollutos: 19And in this manner he that is clean shall purify the unclean on the third and on the seventh day. And being expiated the seventh day, he shall wash both himself and his garments, and be unclean until the evening.E in tal guisa l'uomo mondo aspergerà l'immondo il terzo dì, e il settimo: e questi essendo espiato il settimo giorno, laverà se stesso, e le sue vesti, e sarà immondo fino alla sera.and in this maner he that is cleane shal purge the vncleane the third and seuenth day. And being expiated the senenth day, he shal wash both himself and his garmentes, and be vncleane vntil euening.atque hoc modo mundus lustrabit immundum tertio et septimo die: expiatusque die septimo, lavabit et se et vestimenta sua, et immundus erit usque ad vesperum.
20If any man be not expiated after this rite, his soul shall perish out of the midst of the church: because he hath profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, and was not sprinkled with the water of purification.Chi non sarà purificato con questo rito, sarà recisa l'anima di lui dalla società della chiesa per aver contaminato il santuario del Signore, e non essere stato asperso coll'acqua di espiazione:If anie man be not expiated after this rite, his soule shal perish out of the middes of the Church: because he hath polluted the Lordes Sanctuarie, and is not sprinkled with water of lustration.Si quis hoc ritu non fuerit expiatus, peribit anima illius de medio ecclesiæ: quia sanctuarium Domini polluit, et non est aqua lustrationis aspersus. 21This precept shall be an ordinance for ever. He also that sprinkled the water, shall wash his garments. Every one that shall touch the waters of expiation, shall be unclean until the evening.Questo sarà comandamento, e legge sempiterna. Colui, che fa l'aspersione con queste acque, laverà anch'egli le sue vesti. Chiunque toccherà le acque di espiazione, sarà immondo fino alla sera.This precept shal be an ordinance for euer. He also that sprinkleth the waters, shal wash his garmentes: Euerie one that toucheth the waters of expiation, shal be vncleane vntil euen.Erit hoc præceptum legitimum sempiternum. Ipse quoque qui aspergit aquas, lavabit vestimenta sua. Omnis qui tetigerit aquas expiationis, immundus erit usque ad vesperum. 22Whatsoever a person toucheth who is unclean, he shall make it unclean: and the person that toucheth any of these things, shall be unclean until the evening.Saranno immonde tutte quelle cose, che un immondo avrà toccate: e chi alcuna di esse avrà toccato, sarà immondo fino alla sera.Whatsoeuer he toucheth that is vncleane, he shal make it vncleane: and the soule, that toucheth anie of these thinges, shal be vncleane vntil euen.Quidquid tetigerit immundus, immundum faciet: et anima, quæ horum quippiam tetigerit, immunda erit usque ad vesperum.
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Calmet
Observance. Hebrew, "ceremony." Septuagint, "distinction, (diastole, St. Augustine, q. 33,) or ordinance." (Calmet)
Du Hamel
Victim. Hebrew, "the ordinance of the law." (Du Hamel)
Challoner
A red cow, etc. This red cow, offered in sacrifice for sin, and consumed with fire without the camp, with the ashes of which, mingled with water, the unclean were to be expiated and purified; was a figure of the passion of Christ, by whose precious blood, applied to our souls in the holy sacraments, we are cleansed from our sins. (Challoner)
Age, three years old. Some translate, "entirely red." They suppose, that these regulations are in opposition to the customs of the Egyptians, who never sacrificed the cow, esteeming it sacred to Isis, or to the moon. Spencer (Rit. 2:15) adds, that the red colour was formerly in the highest estimation; and this victim represented the death of Christ, who expiated our defilements. The Egyptians immolated bulls of a red colour, in hatred of Typhon, and to appease that dangerous god, whom they depicted perfectly red. Plut.[Plutarch?] (Isis) observes, that they hate all animals of that colour; and the Copths precipitate a red ass down a precipice. The ancient kings of Egypt sacrificed red men on the tomb of Osiris or Dyphon; (Diod. Bib. 1,) and Manetho assures us, that they scattered their ashes in the wind. If this custom prevailed in the days of Moses, we need not wonder that he teaches the Hebrews to have so little dread of Typhon, as even to chose a red cow in preference, to purify themselves.
Drusius
Yoke. Such victims were generally chosen by the Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians, as more delicate and respectful. Intacta totidem cervice juvencus. (Georg. IV.; Bochart, anim. 2. 33.) St. Jerome (ep. 27,) says, that a red cow was sacrificed every year, as in reality one would be requisite for all the people, though the Rabbins pretend that only seven, or ten at most, were treated in this manner, from Moses till the destruction of the temple by Titus. (Drusius)
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Calmet
Of all. Hebrew, "before his face." Septuagint, "they shall bring her out, slay and burn her before him," which must be referred to some other priests, who accompanied Eleazar on this occasion, ver. 8. (Calmet)
Menochius
Aaron did not perform this office, as the sacrifice was not solemn, but sorrowful, and designed for purification. (Menochius)
Calmet
The Rabbins say, however, that the high priest performed this ceremony ever after; and, since the building of the temple, they did it upon Mount Olivet. This is also remarked by St. Jerome, ep. 27. It was thus a more lively figure of Jesus Christ sweating blood on that same ground; as the smoke might represent his ascension, Acts 1:10., and Luke 22:44. (Calmet)
Worthington
He died out of Jerusalem, in full age, (ver. 2,) or 33 years old, being wounded in every part for our transgressions, (ver. 5,) setting us an example how to suffer, (ver. 6,) and by his blood communicating virtue to the sacraments, ver. 5. His body, derived from Adam, (or red earth, ver. 2,) was buried in a most clean place, (ver. 9,) and those who crucified him became more unclean; (ver. 8,) while even those who were employed in burying him, (ver. 9,) required to be cleansed by the grace of his passion, which must be communicated to them by baptism, in the name of the blessed Trinity, without which they cannot partake of any of the sacraments, (Numbers 12.) The old law could bring nothing to perfection. Those who lived under that dispensation, were forced to wait till the evening, (ver. 7,) when in the last ages the new law commenced, that by faith in Christ, they might obtain the remission of their sins. Thus we perceive the meaning of many things which to the Jews were veiled in shadows, Hebrews 10. (St. Augustine, q. 33.; Theodoret, q. 36.) (Worthington)
Calmet
The Fathers observe also, that the infirmity of our Saviour's flesh, and his liberty in giving and resuming his life, (John 10:18,) were denoted by the cow, which had never been yoked. (Calmet)
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Drusius
And. Hebrew, "And Eleazar, the priest, shall take part of her blood with his finger." He looked from the pile of wood, where he was standing, towards the west, and sprinkled the blood, and wiping his fingers upon the skin of the cow, waiting till the fire was kindled, before he opened her belly; he then threw into the fire the cedar-wood, etc. (Drusius)
Others believe that this last ceremony was performed by some one else, (ver. 7,) as it is not clear that Eleazar became unclean. His being substituted instead of Aaron, might shew that Christ would institute a new priesthood.
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Calmet
Dyed, with which the cedar and hyssop were tied together, as being deemed most proper instruments of purifications, Leviticus 14:4, 49. St. Paul informs us, (Hebrews 9:19,) that Moses thus sprinkled the people and the book: and branches of this description were probably used when the people took this holy water, ver. 18. The ashes intimate, that those who have sinned, may be purified by the sacrament of penance, ver. 9. (Calmet)
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Grotius
Strangers. Even those who had not embraced the Jewish religion. (Grotius)
St. Augustine
Thus, the baptism of Christ brings salvation both to the Jews and to the Gentiles. (St. Augustine)
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Calmet
Seventh. If he neglect to be sprinkled on the third day, his purification will be protracted till the 10th. As this was the only means of removing the legal uncleanness contracted by touching a dead body, some of the ashes must have been reserved in various parts of the country, after the Israelites were dispersed. (Calmet)
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Upon him, unless he be excused by ignorance, (Leviticus 5:3, 6,) he shall be slain.
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Days. Almost all nations seem to have considered themselves defiled by the presence of a corpse. Virgin (Aeneid, 6:149,) writes, Praeterea jacet exanimum tibi corpus amici---Heu nescis! totamque incestat funere classem.
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Calmet
Cover. Samaritan, "neither chains nor bands." Formerly boxes were tied down. (Homer, Odyssey viii.) If the covering of any hollow vessel was off, when a corpse was present, it became unclean. (Calmet)
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Calmet
Grave. The Hebrews buried it at a distance from towns, and set up some mark to apprise all people, that they might not be defiled for seven days. (Calmet)
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Haydock
Burning of the red cow, which was also a sin-offering, ver. 9. (Haydock)
Calmet
Upon the ashes they poured some running or spring water. The pagans generally preferred the water of the sea; or if they could not procure any, they mixed salt with common water. Ovid (Fast iv,) mentions a lustration made with the ashes of a calf, mixed with horse blood; and another, which was used in honour of Pales, the goddess of harvests, by the oldest virgin present, who sprinkled the ashes of calves, populos purget ut ille cinis. Athenaeus (IX. 18,) observes that a stick taken from the fire of the altar, was extinguished in water for the purification of the unclean; and the ancient Romans, who had been at a funeral, sprinkled themselves with water, and jumped over fire for the same purpose; as the Greeks were accustomed to place a vessel full of water, at the doors where a corpse was lying, that all might purify themselves when they came out. (Calmet)
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Haydock
Church, or assembly of the people. (Haydock)
Menochius
He shall be put to death by the judges, or by God. (Menochius)
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Calmet
Evening. The victims which were appointed for the expiation of sin, communicated a legal uncleanness to those who were employed about them. They were looked upon as so holy, that the most pure were guilty of a sort of irreverence by touching them. (Calmet)
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Calmet
Is unclean, by touching the dead, must remain defiled seven days. But those whom he touches, as well as all who may have communication with them in infinitum, may be purified in the evening. (Calmet)
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A red cow, etc.... This red cow, offered in sacrifice for sin, and consumed with fire without the camp, with the ashes of which, mingled with water, the unclean were to be expiated and purified; was a figure of the passion of Christ, by whose precious blood applied to our souls in the holy sacraments, we are cleansed from our sins.
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The same things saith S August. (q. 33.) and Theodoret (q. 36. in Num) which were shadow ed and prefigured in the old Testament, are reueled and manifested in the New. And this special sacrifice prefigured diuers particular things in Christs Passiō.
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His bodie of Adam signifying redde earth
At the age of 33. yeares
Alwayes most pure from sinne.
Free from al bondage.
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Crucified without the gate of Hierusalem.
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Al Sacramēts haue their vertue of Christs bloud.
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From the sole of his feet to the toppe of his head al wounded, with the whippes, crowne, nailes. &c.
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VVood of the crosse brought life to the world.
Liuely heate of so infinite charitie dissolueth the coldnes of death.
Christs suffering an exāple that we must also sustaine afflictions.
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Those that procured, o• cooperated to Christs death were polluted with sinne.
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Ioseph and Nicodemus buried Christ;
His sepulcher was glorious.
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Those also that buried him, neded cloansing by his Passion, not for that work. but for their sinnes.
The old law did not remitte sinnes but the new.
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Baptisme in the name of the B. Trinitie
Without which no other Sacramēt auaileth.
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 108.12
… I will return to Jerusalem and, passing through Tekoa the home of Amos, I will look upon the glistening cross of Mount Olivet from which the Saviour made His ascension to the Father. Here year by year a red heifer was burned as a holocaust to the Lord and its ashes were used to purify the children of Israel.
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St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 The Epistles of Cyprian 69.1
… and from all your idols will I cleanse you: a new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.” But how can he cleanse and sanctify the water who is himself unclean, and in whom the Holy Spirit is not? since the Lord says in the book of Numbers, “And whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean.”
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St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 The Epistles of Cyprian 75.12
… “And the man that shall be unclean until the evening shall be purified on the third day, and on the seventh day shall be clean: but if he shall not be purified on the third day, on the seventh day he shall not be clean. And that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of sprinkling hath not been sprinkled upon him.”
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St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 The Epistles of Cyprian 75.12
… because the water of sprinkling hath not been sprinkled upon him.” And again: “And the Lord spake unto Moses saying, Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them. And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: thou shalt sprinkle them with the water of purification.” And again: “The water of sprinkling is a purification.”
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Good of Marriage 23
… Lastly, what? to die, is that also a sin? or, to bury a dead person, is it not also a good work of humanity? and yet a purification was commanded even on occasion of this also; because also a dead body, life abandoning it, is not sin, but signifies the sin of a soul abandoned by righteousness.
St John of Damascus † AD 749 An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith 4.15
In the law every one who toucheth a dead body was considered impure
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2. THIS IS THE LAW (that is, the ceremony, or the ceremonial law: for this is what the Hebrew חקה chucka signifies) OF THE VICTIM, — namely the expiatory one, from whose ashes indeed the water of lustration is made. LET THEM BRING TO THEE A RED HEIFER. — Red, or blood-colored, is a symbol of sin, and this from the fact that the shedding of blood, or murder, is the greatest sin; hence sins in Scripture are called bloods, and men of blood are called sinners. The red heifer therefore signified a sinner guilty of blood and death, equally as of burning in the fire of hell; for this heifer was burned, so that from its ashes the unclean one who had touched the dead might be lustrated and expiated: but this was a type of the sinner; for contact with a corpse signified contact with sin.
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3. AND YE SHALL DELIVER HER TO ELEAZAR THE PRIEST, WHO SHALL LEAD HER OUT BEYOND THE CAMP AND SHALL IMMOLATE HER, — because this victim was not solemn and festive, so that Aaron the high priest would immolate it, but mournful and lustral; hence it is commanded that Eleazar the priest, son of Aaron, immolate it. Moreover, he is commanded to immolate it outside the camp, because it was to be immolated for the sins of the whole people, so that it be wholly burned to ashes, which would be expiatory, or from which mixed with water, the water of expiation would be made. Hence this heifer, as if about to take upon itself all the uncleanness of the Hebrews, was considered most unclean: for the priest who immolated it was considered unclean until evening, as also he who burned it and gathered its ashes. Hence it is commanded to be immolated and burned outside the camp; at the same time so that through this it might be signified allegorically that Christ would suffer outside Jerusalem, as the Apostle says, Hebrews XIII, 12. The Septuagint translates, and they shall slay her before him, Eleazar namely, as if not Eleazar himself, but others before him should immolate this heifer. But the Hebrew, Chaldean and our text signify that none other than Eleazar himself immolated this heifer.
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4. AND HE THAT DIPPETH HIS FINGER IN HER BLOOD SHALL SPRINKLE TOWARDS THE DOOR OF THE TABERNACLE, — namely towards the entrance of the tabernacle, and that from a distance; for he who immolated this heifer was not in the court or tabernacle, so that he could touch it; but was outside the camp, and there sprinkling the blood of the immolated heifer, he turned himself towards the Eastern part of the tabernacle, and this so that through this it might be signified that God, who was represented by the tabernacle as by a temple, receives lustration from sins, and that we are bound to Him for punishment by our uncleanness and sins, and through this victim as it were satisfaction is made to Him, and men are absolved of this guilt before Him. Hence it is clear that the immolation and burning of this red heifer ought to have taken place in that place where the temple was, namely in Jerusalem, but outside the city: both because this immolation was a priestly function, which could not be performed elsewhere than where the temple was; and because from the blood of this heifer they were to sprinkle seven times towards the Eastern part of the tabernacle or temple; hence they could not be far from it in this immolation: thus Abulensis.
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5. AND SHALL BURN HER, — not by himself, but by his servants. He shall burn therefore, that is, shall cause to be burned (it is clear from verse 8) her, wholly with hide, flesh, blood and dung, as follows.
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19:7
7. AND SHALL BE DEFILED, — shall be legally unclean. Note: The priest immolating and another burning the red heifer were unclean until evening, because this heifer, while being burned with dung, hide and blood, was something unclean, as was the corpse of a man or the carcass of other animals: therefore those touching it clean became unclean; but after it was burned, its ashes had the power of expurgating those legally unclean, God so ordaining. For it is ridiculous what Rabbi Gaon says according to Abulensis here, Question XIV, namely that the ashes of this heifer were like honey, which harms the choleric and benefits the phlegmatic; for thus this ash also harmed some and cleansed others.
19:9
9. AND A CLEAN MAN SHALL GATHER UP THE ASHES OF THE HEIFER (burned), AND SHALL POUR THEM OUT OUTSIDE THE CAMP IN A MOST CLEAN PLACE, THAT THEY MAY BE KEPT (namely, let the ashes of this heifer be carefully kept by the children of Israel, so that they may be) FOR THE WATER OF SPRINKLING (in Hebrew it is, for the water of uncleanness, by which namely they may expiate themselves from legal uncleanness; hence follows): FOR THE HEIFER WAS BURNED FOR SIN. — In Hebrew, because this heifer is sin, that is, is the expiatory victim for sin.
Yet the contrary is not improbable, namely that the ash of the red heifer expiated only the uncleanness contracted from contact with the dead; for only this is expressed here. Thus Abulensis, in Question XV.
Clement of Rome writes, in book VIII of the Apostolic Constitutions, chapter XXXV, that St. Matthew instituted the use of blessed water, and he recounts the rite of blessing prescribed by him. But God declared the power and fruit of this blessing to many through miracles.
St. Quintianus, in the year of Christ 508, Bishop of the city of Auvergne, healed the household of the senator Hortensius, seized by a severe fever, by sending blessed water to them; Gregory of Tours is the witness in his Life. St. Fortunatus restored a certain Goth to wholeness through blessed water, as St. Gregory relates, I Dialogue, chapter X. St. Malachias, Bishop of Ireland, healed the son of the King of Scotland and a woman suffering from cancer with blessed water, as St. Bernard relates in his Life. St. Odilo, Abbot of Cluny, in the year of the Lord 1048, cured a lunatic with lustral water, as Peter Damian relates in his Life. St. Anselm, in the year of the Lord 1106, restored sight to a blind man through the sprinkling of blessed water, as Eadmer relates in his Life, book II. St. Willibrord, Bishop of Utrecht, in the year of the Lord 700, freed a house from the vexation of demons through the same water, as Alcuin relates in his Life. Josephus, a Jew converted to Christianity, dispersed the magical tricks of the Jews through blessed water, in the year of the Lord 327, as Baronius relates from Epiphanius. St. Marcellus, Bishop of Apamea, drove away a demon hindering the demolition of the temple of Jupiter at Apamea with blessed water, and demolished the temple, as Theodoret relates, book V, chapter XXI, and Baronius, in the year of Christ 389. Hear what St. Hubert, Bishop of Liège, thought of this water, in the year of Christ 700: Go, he says, water, which by priestly consecration blessed with salt, and impregnated with the power of prayer to drive away the enemy's wickedness, and a liquid likewise blessed here by Apostolic authority, by whose sprinkling and anointing the enemy's virulent phantasms shall be so driven away from here that he shall no longer dare to bring his machinations. Thus his Life has it, which is found in Surius, 2 November. Leo VI the Emperor wrote a book On the Apparatus of War, where in chapter XIII he writes thus: On the day before battle is to be joined, the commander of the army ought to see to it that the whole army be purified by a priest with lustral water; Baronius relates this in the year of the Lord 911. In this age in the Indies wonderful things have been done and are done through this water. In Japan the sick are healed everywhere when they have drunk this water, as is evident from the epistle of Japan.
19:10
10. THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SHALL HAVE THIS, ETC., HOLY IN PERPETUAL RIGHT. — Holy, that is firm and inviolable, as a law sanctioned in perpetual right; it is evident from the Hebrew.
19:11
11 and 12. HE THAT SHALL TOUCH THE DEAD BODY OF A MAN, AND FOR THIS REASON SHALL BE UNCLEAN SEVEN DAYS, SHALL BE SPRINKLED WITH THIS WATER ON THE THIRD DAY AND THE SEVENTH DAY, AND THUS SHALL BE MADE CLEAN. — Why was he unclean for seven days? Why was he to be purified on the third and seventh day? Aben Ezra responds, because the moon in seven days makes a quadrature with the sun from the time of conjunction. For the moon completes its course in 28 days and returns to the sun from which it had receded: but a quarter part of 28 is seven; again three are as it were half of this quadrature, namely seven: because indeed the moon is the mother of humid things, and this sprinkling was made in water, which is humid, hence God wished that then the moon would influence it, to this end, that this sprinkling might be efficacious. But these are frivolous and the inventions of a lunatic mind. The true cause was the will of God, thus ordaining; it was fitting that the number seven be a symbol of perfection, in the midst of which, namely on the third day, and at the end, namely on the seventh day, God wished the unclean to be purified, so that the purification might be reckoned full and perfect. The Gentiles imitated this purification: for as many as at a funeral, and while burning the corpse on the pyre, waited until, with the remains collected and placed, the funeral came to an end, did not depart from this mournful duty before they had been purified with water three times on account of the pollution contracted from the funeral. Virgil teaches this, most learned in rites, in the funeral of Misenus, Aeneid VI: The bones collected he covered in a bronze urn. The same thrice with pure water he carried round his companions, Sprinkling with light dew and a branch of blessed olive. Where he also mentions the sprinklers, which consisted of sea spray and blessed olive.
19:13
13. WHOSOEVER SHALL TOUCH THE CARCASE OF A DEAD MAN (a corpse), AND SHALL NOT BE SPRINKLED WITH THIS MIXTURE (that is, with this water of purification, mixed with the ashes of the red heifer) SHALL DEFILE THE TABERNACLE OF THE LORD (as far as in him lies, that tabernacle if namely he should enter it polluted and unclean, before he shall have purified himself with this water of purification; hence on account of the violated sanctuary) SHALL PERISH OUT OF ISRAEL, — that is, shall be put to death by the judges, if the matter be established; but if it be hidden, by my avenging he shall incur sudden death. Thus Abulensis.
19:14
14. THIS IS THE LAW OF A MAN (concerning a man, about a man) WHO DIES IN THE TABERNACLE: ALL THAT ENTER INTO THE TENT THEREOF, AND ALL VESSELS THAT ARE THERE, SHALL BE UNCLEAN SEVEN DAYS. — From this place the Jews brought upon themselves this custom, that when anyone dies in a house, they pour out all the water that was in the house in vessels, outside the house, because they judge it to be unclean. Others more simple do this also, from the belief that they think the soul recently departed from the body is washed in the water of the house, and defiles it by its contact. Others add that the angel of death, that is Satan, washes his sword, with which he killed that man, again in that water. But this latter is ridiculous: the former is proper, and is to be done from this law, if the vessel were not covered; for then it would be defiled, as is said in verse 15; but if it were covered, it would not be defiled by the man dying, and therefore it was not necessary to pour out the water contained in it: thus Abulensis.
19:15
15. A VESSEL THAT HAS NO COVER, NOR BINDING OVER IT, SHALL BE UNCLEAN. — For, as St. Gregory explains morally, XXIII Moral. cap. IX: The covering of a lid or binding is the censure of discipline: whoever is not pressed by this, is rejected as an unclean and polluted vessel.
19:16
16. IF ANY MAN SHALL TOUCH IN THE FIELD A CORPSE, etc., OR A BONE THEREOF, OR A SEPULCHRE, HE SHALL BE UNCLEAN SEVEN DAYS. — Among the Jews the uncleanness of corpses was supreme, so much so that those touching sepulchres were unclean seven days. Hence they themselves had sepulchres not near the temple, nor in cities, lest in encountering them they should be polluted, but outside them (as is evident from Luke VII, 12, and John XIX, 41, concerning the sepulchre of Christ) in fields and separated places. Hence also King Josias, wishing to profane the temples of idols, and to remove all religion from those places, brought the bones of the dead into them, IV Kings XXIII, 14.
Finally, it was an inauspicious omen if someone happened to come upon tombs. Hear Livy, book XXX: One of the sailors was ordered to climb the mast to scout what region they were holding, and when he said that a destroyed tomb was facing the prow, namely Hannibal abominated it. From the same custom flowed the fact that the god Viduus was worshipped by them outside the city, as St. Cyprian testifies, in the book On the Vanity of Idols: To such an extent, he says, are the names of gods fabricated among the Romans, that there is among them even a god Viduus, who makes the soul bereft of body, who, as it were, funereal and sepulchral, is not held within the walls, but is placed outside. Theodoret touches upon this superstition of the ancients, book VIII On Curing Greek Affections.
19:17
17. AND THEY SHALL TAKE OF THE ASHES OF THE BURNING, AND OF THE SIN (that is, of the heifer burned for the legal sins to be expiated: hence the heifer is called here sin, by metonymy), AND SHALL PUT LIVING WATERS UPON THEM (the ashes). — Living waters are those which move and flow, such as fountains and rivers; dead waters are those which stand and stagnate.
19:20
20. IF ANY MAN SHALL NOT BE EXPIATED BY THIS RITE, HIS SOUL SHALL PERISH. — Note: This uncleanness of one touching a corpse lasted only seven days, which having elapsed it expired of itself and ceased, says Abulensis. For this is what is said in verse 16: He shall be unclean seven days. But the contrary is more true, namely that this uncleanness did not cease unless through expiation by the water of ashes. For in verse 13 it is said: Whoever is not sprinkled with the water of expiation shall be unclean, and his uncleanness shall remain upon him. Therefore the unclean man ought to expiate himself with this water of ashes: and if he should despise it, he was punished with death, on account of the violated law of God, either by judges, if the matter was established, or by God himself, if the matter was hidden. But if through forgetfulness he had omitted this expiation of himself, and afterwards remembered it, he was bound to offer a sacrifice for his sin prescribed in Leviticus V, 3 and 5; if he did not remember it, it was not imputed to him as punishment. Thus Abulensis. Abulensis notes, Question XXI, that the Jews no longer observe any expiations, nor are they bound by them, even if they persist in Judaism and in their erroneous conscience, by which they think themselves still bound by the old laws. For these expiations were prescribed in order toward the Sanctuary, namely so that they would not approach it unless clean or expiated; but now they have no Sanctuary. Second, because this red heifer, from which the water of lustration was made, ought to be immolated by the priest, in that place where the temple was, and its blood sprinkled toward the temple; but now they have neither priests nor temple: whence they cannot immolate this red heifer. For the same reason the Jews did not observe these lustrations during the Babylonian captivity; for in it the temple was destroyed.
19:21
21. WHOSOEVER SHALL TOUCH THE WATERS OF EXPIATION, SHALL BE UNCLEAN UNTIL THE EVENING. — Whosoever; therefore both he who sprinkles the unclean, nay even he himself sprinkled with this water, was indeed cleansed from the prior uncleanness, for example of a corpse, but contracted another from contact with this water, by which he was reckoned to be unclean until the evening, as is clear from verse 17. Thus Abulensis. Therefore this water was expiatory, and at the same time unclean; just as lye, although it is unclean, nevertheless cleanses cloths.
19:22
22. WHATSOEVER THE UNCLEAN PERSON TOUCHETH SHALL BE UNCLEAN. — Unclean, not legally: for if so, this uncleanness would have spread immediately to all the Jews; but naturally, as were only the lepers, those with an issue of seed and menstruating women. For whatsoever these touched, they made unclean; but if anyone should afterwards touch these unclean things, he did not thereby become unclean, as I said in Leviticus. Thus Abulensis. But, because lepers, those with an issue of seed and menstruating women are not treated of here, nor is any mention made of them in this chapter, hence more truly Lyran refers these to the unclean person, who is unclean from contact with waters of ashes, or of expiation. For these words are to be referred to what immediately precedes, where it is said: Every one that toucheth the waters of expiation shall be unclean until the evening. Immediately then it is added: Whatsoever the unclean person toucheth (namely, the one already mentioned, namely from contact with the water of expiation), shall be unclean, so that he may breathe his uncleanness upon another touching him and communicate it; this indeed is what is added. AND THE SOUL THAT SHALL TOUCH ANY OF THESE THINGS SHALL BE UNCLEAN UNTIL THE EVENING. — These things, namely those spoken of in this chapter, namely the red heifer, its blood, the ashes, the water of lustration. For whosoever touched these things were unclean until the evening, as was said in verses 7, 10 and 21. Thus Abulensis. But because this verse depends on the preceding one, and responds to it as it were equally, hence secondly, genuinely Lyran: He who toucheth, he says, any of these things, namely those which the unclean person touched (who is unclean from contact with the waters of lustration), he from their contact shall be unclean until the evening. For these waters, being ashen, and made from the burning of dung and the skin of the heifer, although they were expiatory, were nevertheless reckoned unclean, so that he who touched them was not only unclean, but also sprinkled his uncleanness upon all things which he touched, so that he who touched those things from him, and therefore polluted, in turn would be polluted, and would become unclean until the evening. That this is the meaning is evident, both from the connection of the sentences, and from the Hebrew and Chaldean text, which admit no other meaning. Note: This uncleanness ceased in the evening by itself, without any other expiation; otherwise indeed progress in expiations would have gone on infinitely. Thus Lyran.
The number of red heifers immolated Finally, the Hebrews relate, and from them Burgensis, that only six red heifers were immolated throughout the entire duration of both temples: namely the first, in the time of Moses through Eleazar, of which it is spoken here, and its ashes lasted throughout the entire first temple; the second, in the time of Ezra, at the beginning of the second temple; but Simeon the Just immolated two others at different times (for he himself was high priest for eighty years); finally two others were immolated through John the high priest, who was the father of Mattathias, from whom the Maccabees descended. But it is difficult to believe that the ashes of one heifer, to be scattered over so many, would have sufficed for so great, namely an almost innumerable multitude of Jews; for the ashes of one heifer were distributed throughout all Judea. Individual Jews frequently used them for their own expiation. Wherefore it is more probable what Lyran says, that one red heifer was immolated each year.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
19:2
A "red heifer, without blemish, without any defect, which had never borne the yoke" (Num. 19:2) was to be led to Aaron and, in the presence of Eleazar, son of Aaron (in which fact one should see an ancient precedent for the existence, attested later [2 Kings 23:4; 25:18], of …
19:6
… wealthy Hebrews in their palaces (Isa. 9:10). It was also used to build ships (Ezek. 27:5) or idols (Isa. 44:14). Considered a symbol of life and of legal purity because of its incorruptibility, it was also used in liturgical ceremonies (Lev. 14:4-49; Num. 19:6).
… rituals, and a praise of the water taken from a homily of St. Ambrose (Expositio Evang. sec. Lucam, 10, 48). Gregorian water is used with a sprig of hyssop, because this too in ancient times indicated a means of purification (cf. Lev. 14, 4. 49. 52; Num. 19, 6. 17 ff.; Ps. 50, 8).
Issop (Hebrew Ἔσοβή; Greek Ἄσωπος)
… In particular it was used for the purification of the leper (Lev. 14:4) and for the water of purification (Num. 19:6, 18). For a metaphorical use of the term cf. Ps. 50:9. In John 19:29 there is agreement in seeing an erroneous reading, since it cannot be a question of hyssop.
19:9
… Moses (Num. 19:9-18) prescribed it mixed with the ashes from the burning of the sacrifice for sin, to cleanse anyone touched by legal impurities. …
19:10
… Only the circumcised could take part in the paschal banquet (Ex. 12:43-49). Those who were prevented by legal impurity had to celebrate the P. the following month (Num. 19:10-12). Nothing of the paschal lamb was to remain for the following day: every leftover had to be burned (Ex. 12:10). Not even a bone of it was to be broken (ibid. 12:46; Num. 9:12). During …
19:11
… It was caused by the use, contact or proximity, according to the case, of impure things such as tombs and certain foods (Num. 19:11-22; Lev. 11), by leprosy (ibid. 13-14) and by certain phenomena having to do with human generation (ibid. 12 and 15). It had varying duration and extent and deprived the one contaminated …
19:14
… It contains the treatises: a) Kēlim "vessels" (of the most varied kinds): their Levitical impurity (Lev. 6, 20 f.; 11, 32 f.; Num. 19, 14 f.; 31, 20 f.); the 10 degrees of impurity that start from man and the 10 degrees of holiness that go from the Holy Land to the sanctum sanctorum of the Temple (30 chapters). b) 'Chidāth …
19:22
Aggeus (Hebrew Haggaj "Solemn"; Septuagint 'Αγγαῖος)
… The third oracle (2:11-20) of the 24th of the ninth month (18 Dec.) promises that only the completion of the Temple will give true purity (cf. Lev. 6:27 ff.; Num. 19:22). Meanwhile to H.'s word was added that of the prophet Zechariah (v.).
Holy Spirit, while the Lord says in Numbers: And everything that an unclean person touches shall be unclean (Num. 19, 22)? How can he who baptizes give to others the remission of sins, when he cannot, outside the Church, free himself from his own sins?» (Ep. 70, 1). The second argument is the unity …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.