Seventh-day Adventist Bible CommentaryNumbers 9

First month. The exact day is not given, but it is the month in which the tabernacle was set up, the month preceding the census. Second year. The second counted inclusively. The first was the year in which the Exodus took place (see pp. 182, 187).

Passover. Evidently the first after the giving of the law; the problem of ritual uncleanness to which these remarks are prefatory seems to be new (vs. 6–8).

At even. Literally, “between the evenings.” The precise meaning of this phrase is difficult to determine (see on Ex. 12:6).The same expression is found also in (Ex. 16:12; 29:39, 41; 30:8; Num. 28:4). Rites. See (Ex. 12:3-28, 42–49; cf. 1 Cor. 5:7; Col. 1:14; Eph. 1:7).

By the dead body. Hence, unclean (ch. 19:11). As in chs. 5:2; 6:11, the Hebrew word here rendered as “dead body” is nephesh, “soul.” Could not keep. An unclean person who partook of a sacrificial feast was to be “cut off” from his people (Lev. 7:20). On “cut off” see on (Ex. 12:15).

I will hear. Moses did not offer any solution without seeking divine guidance (Num. 15:34; 27:5; Lev. 24:12).

Posterity. This is a provision for future generations.

Fourteenth day. A month was given for preparation for observing the Passover.

Nor break any bone. See Ex. 12:46; cf. Ps. 34:20; John 19:36.

Be curt off. See on Gen. 17:14; Ex. 12:15.

Stranger. Literally, “sojourner,” one who had taken up residence among the Hebrews. A complete stranger, a foreigner (from a different Hebrew word), would not have been allowed to eat of the Passover (Ex. 12:45, 48).

Tent of the testimony. The Hebrew expression thus rendered occurs only here and, as “tabernacle of witness,” in (Num. 17:7, 8; 18:2; 2 Chron. 24:6). The usual phrase is “tabernacle of the congregation” (KJV) or “tent of meeting” (RSV). The testimony. That is, the two tables of stone written by the finger of God and placed within the ark. This moral law, the Decalogue, was the foundation stone upon which Judaism was based. The cloud covered that part of the sanctuary containing the ark, in which rested the holy law, the Ten Commandments. Appearance of fire. In Gen. 15:17 God is represented under a similar figure.

Commandment of the Lord. Literally, “at the mouth of Jehovah.” We are not told whether an oral command was spoken. In any case, the removal of the cloud would announce the time for breaking camp.

Or a year. The word translated “year” is literally “days,” the plural noun to suggest an indefinite period. The same Hebrew word is translated differently in Gen. 4:3; 40:4. See also Lev. 25:29, where the expression “a full year” is from the same word, “days.” The story of the dependence of the church upon God’s personal guidance is most appealing. God chose the route, the resting places, and the length of stay at each. The visible sign of His presence in the desert must have been most heartening, providing as it did a strong incentive to faith. For lessons on the cloud see Ex. 13:21; 14:19, 20, 24; Lev. 16:2; Neh. 9:19.