Numbers 19:11
New International Version
“Whoever touches a human corpse will be unclean for seven days.

New Living Translation
“All those who touch a dead human body will be ceremonially unclean for seven days.

English Standard Version
“Whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days.

Berean Standard Bible
Whoever touches any dead body will be unclean for seven days.

King James Bible
He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.

New King James Version
‘He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean seven days.

New American Standard Bible
‘The one who touches the dead body of any person will also be unclean for seven days.

NASB 1995
‘The one who touches the corpse of any person shall be unclean for seven days.

NASB 1977
‘The one who touches the corpse of any person shall be unclean for seven days.

Legacy Standard Bible
‘The one who touches the corpse of any person shall be unclean for seven days.

Amplified Bible
‘The one who touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean for seven days.

Christian Standard Bible
“The person who touches any human corpse will be unclean for seven days.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The person who touches any human corpse will be unclean for seven days.

American Standard Version
He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days:

Contemporary English Version
If you touch a dead body, you will be unclean for seven days.

English Revised Version
He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Whoever touches the dead body of any human being will be unclean for seven days.

Good News Translation
Those who touch a corpse are ritually unclean for seven days.

International Standard Version
"Whoever comes in contact with the body of a dead person is to remain unclean for seven days.

Majority Standard Bible
Whoever touches any dead body will be unclean for seven days.

NET Bible
"'Whoever touches the corpse of any person will be ceremonially unclean seven days.

New Heart English Bible
"He who touches the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days:

Webster's Bible Translation
He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.

World English Bible
“He who touches the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
He who is coming against the dead body of any man is unclean [for] seven days;

Young's Literal Translation
'He who is coming against the dead body of any man -- is unclean seven days;

Smith's Literal Translation
He touching upon the dead of any soul of man and he was unclean seven days.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
He that toucheth the corpse of a man, and is therefore unclean seven days,

Catholic Public Domain Version
Whoever touches the corpse of a man, and is, because of this, unclean for seven days,

New American Bible
Those who touch the corpse of any human being will be unclean for seven days;

New Revised Standard Version
Those who touch the dead body of any human being shall be unclean seven days.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
He who touches the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And he who touches the dead body of any soul of man shall be defiled seven days.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
He that toucheth the dead, even any man's dead body, shall be unclean seven days;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
He that touches the dead body of any man, shall be unclean seven days.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Purification of the Unclean
11Whoever touches any dead body will be unclean for seven days. 12He must purify himself with the water 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.…

Cross References
Leviticus 21:1-4
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them that a priest is not to defile himself for a dead person among his people, / except for his immediate family—his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother, / or his unmarried sister who is near to him, since she has no husband. ...

Leviticus 11:31-32
These animals are unclean for you among all the crawling creatures. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until evening. / When one of them dies and falls on something, that article becomes unclean; any article of wood, clothing, leather, sackcloth, or any implement used for work must be rinsed with water and will remain unclean until evening; then it will be clean.

Leviticus 5:2-3
Or if a person touches anything unclean—whether the carcass of any unclean wild animal or livestock or crawling creature—even if he is unaware of it, he is unclean and guilty. / Or if he touches human uncleanness—anything by which one becomes unclean—even if he is unaware of it, when he realizes it, he is guilty.

Haggai 2:13
So Haggai asked, “If one who is defiled by contact with a corpse touches any of these, does it become defiled?” “Yes, it becomes defiled,” the priests answered.

Numbers 5:2
“Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone with a skin disease, anyone who has a bodily discharge, and anyone who is defiled by a dead body.

Numbers 31:19
All of you who have killed a person or touched the dead are to remain outside the camp for seven days. On the third day and the seventh day you are to purify both yourselves and your captives.

Deuteronomy 21:22-23
If a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is executed, and you hang his body on a tree, / you must not leave the body on the tree overnight, but you must be sure to bury him that day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not defile the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

Ezekiel 44:25-27
A priest must not defile himself by going near a dead person. However, for a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a brother, or an unmarried sister, he may do so, / and after he is cleansed, he must count off seven days for himself. / And on the day he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he must present his sin offering, declares the Lord GOD.

2 Chronicles 29:5
“Listen to me, O Levites,” he said. “Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the house of the LORD, the God of your fathers. Remove from the Holy Place every impurity.

Isaiah 52:11
Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; come out from it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.

Matthew 23:27
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.

Luke 11:44
Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without even noticing.”

Acts 10:28
He said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with a foreigner or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.

Acts 21:26
So the next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he entered the temple to give notice of the date when their purification would be complete and the offering would be made for each of them.

2 Corinthians 6:17
“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”


Treasury of Scripture

He that touches the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.

toucheth the dead.

Leviticus 11:12,27,39
Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you…

Numbers 19:16
And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.

Numbers 5:2
Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead:

Numbers 9:6,10
And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day: …

man.

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Numbers 19
1. The water of separation made of the ashes of a red heifer
11. The law for the use of it in purification of the unclean














Whoever touches
The phrase "whoever touches" indicates a universal principle applicable to all individuals within the Israelite community. The Hebrew root for "touches" is "נָגַע" (naga), which implies physical contact. This contact is not limited to intentional touching but includes any form of contact, emphasizing the pervasive nature of ritual impurity. In the ancient Near Eastern context, physical touch was a significant means of transferring both purity and impurity, highlighting the importance of maintaining ritual cleanliness.

any dead body
The term "any dead body" refers specifically to human corpses. The Hebrew word for "dead body" is "נֶפֶשׁ" (nephesh), which can also mean "soul" or "life," but in this context, it denotes a lifeless body. The emphasis on "any" underscores the comprehensive nature of the law, applying to all deceased individuals regardless of their social status or relationship to the living. In the historical context of Israel, death was seen as the ultimate impurity, a stark reminder of the fall and the separation from God's holiness.

will be unclean
The state of being "unclean" is derived from the Hebrew word "טָמֵא" (tamei), which signifies ritual impurity rather than moral sinfulness. This uncleanness is a temporary condition that affects one's ability to participate in communal worship and activities. The concept of uncleanness served as a pedagogical tool, teaching the Israelites about the holiness of God and the need for purification before approaching Him. It also reinforced the separation between life and death, purity and impurity.

for seven days
The period of "seven days" is significant in biblical numerology, often symbolizing completeness or perfection. The seven-day purification process reflects a complete cycle of restoration from impurity to purity. This time frame allowed for reflection and preparation to re-enter the community and participate in worship. Historically, the number seven is recurrent in the Bible, seen in the creation week and the Sabbath, underscoring the divine order and rhythm established by God.

(11) He that toucheth the dead body . . . --The defilement caused by touching the dead body of a beast lasted only until the evening (Leviticus 11:24). The death of man was the wages of sin; and hence contact with the dead body of a man was attended by ceremonial defilement of longer duration.

Verse 11. - Shall be unclean seven days. The fact of defilement by contact with the dead had been mentioned before (Leviticus 21:1; Numbers 5:2; Numbers 6:6; Numbers 9:6), and had no doubt been recognized as a religious pollution from ancient times; but the exact period of consequent uncleanness is here definitely fixed.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Whoever touches
הַנֹּגֵ֥עַ (han·nō·ḡê·a‘)
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 5060: To touch, lay the hand upon, to reach, violently, to strike

any
לְכָל־ (lə·ḵāl)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

dead
בְּמֵ֖ת (bə·mêṯ)
Preposition-b | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 4191: To die, to kill

body
נֶ֣פֶשׁ (ne·p̄eš)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

will be unclean
וְטָמֵ֖א (wə·ṭā·mê)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2930: To be or become unclean

for seven
שִׁבְעַ֥ת (šiḇ·‘aṯ)
Number - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7651: Seven, seven times, a week, an indefinite number

days.
יָמִֽים׃ (yā·mîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3117: A day


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OT Law: Numbers 19:11 He who touches the dead body (Nu Num.)
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