Numbers Chapter 9 verse 6 Holy Bible
And there were certain men, who were unclean by reason of the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day:
read chapter 9 in ASV
And there were certain men who were unclean because of a dead body, so that they were not able to keep the Passover on that day; and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day:
read chapter 9 in BBE
And there were men, who were unclean through the dead body of a man, and could not hold the passover on that day; and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day.
read chapter 9 in DARBY
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:
read chapter 9 in KJV
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:
read chapter 9 in WBT
There were certain men, who were unclean because of the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day.
read chapter 9 in WEB
And there are men who have been defiled by the body of a man, and they have not been able to prepare the passover on that day, and they come near before Moses, and before Aaron, on that day,
read chapter 9 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 6. - There were certain men. It has been supposed by many that these men must have been Mishael and Elizaphan, who had recently (cf. Exodus 40:17; Leviticus 9:1; Leviticus 10:4) been defiled by burying their cousins Nadab and Abihu. This, however, is based upon the assumption that the totals given in Exodus 38:26 and in Numbers 1:46 are really independent, and that therefore no one belonging to any other tribe than that of Levi had died in the interval. As that assumption is untenable (see above on chapter Numbers 1:46), so this "coincidence" falls to the ground. We know indeed that Mishael and Elizaphan were defiled at this time, and we do not know that any one else was; but, on the other hand, the words "the dead body of a man" seem to point to a single corpse only. Dead body. Hebrew, nephesh, as in Numbers 5:2; Numbers 6:11, and other places. It is inexplicable how this word, which properly means "soul," should have come to be used of a corpse; perhaps it is an additional testimony to the complete absence from Jewish teaching of any doctrine of an immortal spirit. The Septuagint uses ψύχη here.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(6) And there were certain men . . . --It has been supposed that the reference is to Mishael and Elzaphan, who appear to have buried their cousins, Nadab and Abihu, about this time (Blunt's "Script. Coincidences," pp. 66, 67,1850). If the consecration of Aaron and his sons began on the first day of the first month (Exodus 40:2; Exodus 40:12), and the death of Nadab and Abihu could not have taken place until the eighth day (Leviticus 9:1; Leviticus 9:12; Leviticus 10:19), inasmuch as the defilement caused by contact with the dead lasted for seven days (Numbers 19:11), it will follow, if this law was already in force, that those who buried Nadab and Abihu must have been unclean on the fourteenth day of the first month. Independently, then, of the doubtful inference which Professor Blunt draws from the identity of the numbers of the other tribes at the two numberings taken, the one before and the other after this time, from which he concludes that the deaths must have occurred amongst those who belonged to the tribe of Levi, which was not included in the census, this circumstance may fairly be adduced as one of the numerous undesigned coincidences with which Holy Scripture abounds. It may be observed further that, whilst reference would naturally be made to Moses on all doubtful occasions, none would be so likely to have recourse to him with the inquiry contained in Numbers 9:7 as those who had been employed by his direction (Leviticus 10:4) in the burial of Nadab and Abihu. The law contained in Leviticus 7:21 appears to have been understood to refer to all sacrificial meals. The legal uncleanness which disqualified the Israelites for participation in the Passover may be regarded as typical of the moral and spiritual disqualifications which render men unfit for participation in the Lord's Supper. . . .
