Numbers, Chapter 9

Numbers Chapter 9

Verses 1-23: The Passover Commandment and the Cloud Guiding the Israelites

1. The Lord spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they came out of Egypt, saying,
2. “Let the children of Israel also keep the Passover at its appointed season.
3. In the fourteenth day of this month, at evening, you shall keep it in its appointed season; according to all its rites, and according to all its ceremonies, you shall keep it.”
4. So Moses told the children of Israel that they should keep the Passover.
5. And they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at evening in the Desert of Sinai; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel.
6. There were, however, certain men who were defiled by the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day; and they came before Moses and Aaron on that day.
7. Those men said to him, “We are defiled by the dead body of a man. Why are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the Lord in its appointed season among the children of Israel?”
8. And Moses said to them, “Stand still, and I will hear what the Lord will command concerning you.”
9. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
10. “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the Passover unto the Lord.
11. The fourteenth day of the second month at evening they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
12. They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it.
13. But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the Passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the Lord in its appointed season, that man shall bear his sin.
14. And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the Passover unto the Lord; according to the ordinance of the Passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.”
15. On the day that the tabernacle was reared up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning.
16. So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night.
17. And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents.
18. At the commandment of the Lord the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the Lord they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents.
19. And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the Lord, and journeyed not.
20. And so it was, when the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle; according to the commandment of the Lord they abode in their tents, and according to the commandment of the Lord they journeyed.
21. And so it was, when the cloud abode from even unto the morning, and that the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed: whether it was by day or by night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed.
22. Or whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel abode in their tents, and journeyed not: but when it was taken up, they journeyed.
23. At the command of the Lord they rested in the tents, and at the command of the Lord they journeyed: they kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

Interpretation: This passage describes two significant instructions for the Israelites in the wilderness: the observance of Passover, including provisions for those unable to celebrate it at the regular time, and the guidance of the Lord through the cloud and fire over the Tabernacle, which directed their movements and encampments. The adaptation for those unclean or away during the initial Passover demonstrates the inclusivity and flexibility within the law to accommodate the realities of life, ensuring all can partake in this fundamental ritual. The detailed description of the cloud and fire’s presence and movement emphasizes the Israelites’ dependence on divine guidance for their journey and settlement, symbolizing God’s continuous presence and guidance in their lives.