Numbers 6:6
Context6:6 “‘All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he must not contact 1 a dead body. 2
Numbers 35:19-20
Context35:19 The avenger 3 of blood himself must kill the murderer; when he meets him, he must kill him.
35:20 “But if he strikes him out of hatred or throws something at him intentionally 4 so that he dies,
1 tn The Hebrew verb is simply “enter, go,” no doubt with the sense of go near.
2 tn The Hebrew has נֶפֶשׁ מֵת (nefesh met), literally a “dead person.” But since the word נֶפֶשׁ can also be used for animals, the restriction would be for any kind of corpse. Death was very much a part of the fallen world, and so for one so committed to the
3 tn The participle גֹּאֵל (go’el) is the one who protects the family by seeking vengeance for a crime. This is the same verb used for levirate marriages and other related customs.
4 tn The Hebrew text is more vivid: “by lying in wait.”