Whereas chapter 18 focused on the priests and the Levites and their role in keeping the Tabernacle (YHWH’s place of residence among the people) from becoming unclean, there were still risks that came from the ordinary people. Specifically, this chapter focuses on how to restore cleanliness in the presence of death.
The book of Leviticus addressed options for dealing with uncleanliness. Minor cases required a washing and waiting a day. Major cases involved waiting seven days and then offering a sacrifice. In the presence of human death, which is a major case of uncleanliness, offering a sacrifice was often a cumbersome and expensive measure. Chapter 19 provided an alternative way to deal with human death that allows for proper cleansing while not adding to the burden that is likely already on the family when someone has died.
Before we talk about the details, we should call out up front that this process, not unlike some already detailed in the Pentateuch (first 5 books of the Old Testament) seems odd and a bit magicky. Just because we are wary of rituals (especially physical ones that represent spiritual postures) and of symbolic use of earthly items within those rituals, doesn’t mean that the people doing them believe that they are somehow dealing with magic cows and wizard’s water. These ceremonies are intended to take what is tangible and use it to reflect deep realities. We need to take these kinds of things in without judging them against our own comfort level on ceremonies and rituals.
YHWH tells Moses and Aaron to bring a red cow and hand it over to the priest, who is going to slaughter it outside the camp (which is a clue something unique is happening, sin offerings and other sacrifices generally happen at the altar within the tabernacle.) The blood of the cow gets sprinkled on the tent of meeting (tabernacle). This is a purification action, although not explicitly a sacrifice. More cleansing agents (hyssop, cedarwood, and scarlet yarn) get tossed into the fire along with the burning cow remnants.
Now, since we’re in the presence of a death of the cow, folks become unclean. The priest has to wash himself and his clothes and wait until the end of the evening before he’s clean again. The person who helped burn the cow must do the same thing. A person who is still clean gathers up the ashes of the cow and puts them in a clean place outside the camp. The dude who hauled the ashes out is now also unclean and must wash his clothes and wait out the evening.
What’s all of this for? The situation is reiterated in v.11. A person who touches a dead body is unclean 7 days. Instead of the sacrifice discussed earlier, YHWH will accept someone cleansing themselves with the water mixed with clean cow ash on the 3rd and 7th days. If they don’t do that, they remain unclean, and the impact of not being clean and defiles the tabernacle and could lead to immediate judgment upon them.
The cow ash water can be deployed in other situations as well. If someone dies in a tent, the tent is unclean as is any open container (vessels without lids on them). Also if someone touches a person either killed with a sword or who died naturally, or touches a grave or a human bone (the selection of what to include in these examples is interesting), they are unclean. Same procedure applies here, mix the ash with water, and spread it on the tent or the person on the 3rd and 7th days. At the end of the 7th day, everything is clean.
As noted earlier, a person who refuses to clean themselves runs the risk of immediate judgment. And whatever they touch also becomes unclean and shall remain that way until evening. Similarly, the person who helped sprinkle the water is also unclean and must wash his clothes and wait out the evening.
Broadly, this chapter tucks up a conversation on the nation’s mistakes related to trying to bring their uncleanliness into contact with YHWH’s holiness. Although this was already covered in Leviticus, the timely reminder was necessary given their recent attempts at rebellion. They have been reminded who is actually allowed in the presence of YHWH and His holy things (priests), who is responsible for guarding uncleanliness from physically coming into contact with those things at the tent of meeting (Levites) and how the average person can combat uncleanliness from the predicable circumstance of human death. YHWH’s holiness is nothing to mess around with and His people must be reminded of the privilege and the danger that comes with a holy God living within their presence.