The Wilderness Years

Also whoever is in an open field and touches a corpse, whether of someone killed by a weapon or of someone who died naturally, or the bone of a person, or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.

"For the unclean person they are to take some of the ashes of the animal burned up as a purification from sin and add them to fresh water in a container.

A clean person is to take a bunch of hyssop leaves, dip it in the water and sprinkle it on the tent, on all the containers, on the people who were there, and on the person who touched the bone or the person killed or the one who died naturally or the grave.

The clean person will sprinkle the unclean person on the third and seventh days. On the seventh day he will purify him; then he will wash his clothes and himself in water; and he will be clean at evening.

The person who remains unclean and does not purify himself will be cut off from the community because he has defiled the sanctuary of ADONAI. The water for purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.

This is to be a permanent regulation for them. The person who sprinkles the water for purification is to wash his clothes. Whoever touches the water for purification will be unclean until evening.

Anything the unclean person touches will be unclean, and anyone who touches him will be unclean until evening."

The people of Isra'el, the whole community, entered the Tzin Desert in the first month, and they stayed in Kadesh. There Miryam died, and there she was buried.

Because the community had no water, they assembled themselves against Moshe and Aharon.

The people quarreled with Moshe and said, "We wish we had died when our brothers died before ADONAI.

Why did you bring ADONAI's community into this desert? To die there, we and our livestock?

Why did you make us leave Egypt? To bring us to this terrible place without seed, figs, grapevines, pomegranates or even water to drink?"

Moshe and Aharon left the assembly, went to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces; and the glory of ADONAI appeared to them.

ADONAI said to Moshe,

"Take the staff, assemble the community, you and Aharon your brother; and before their eyes, tell the rock to produce its water. You will bring them water out of the rock and thus enable the community and their livestock to drink."

Moshe took the staff from the presence of ADONAI, as he had ordered him.

But after Moshe and Aharon had assembled the community in front of the rock, he said to them, "Listen here, you rebels! Are we supposed to bring you water from this rock?"

Then Moshe raised his hand and hit the rock twice with his staff. Water flowed out in abundance, and the community and their livestock drank.

But ADONAI said to Moshe and Aharon, "Because you did not trust in me, so as to cause me to be regarded as holy by the people of Isra'el, you will not bring this community into the land I have given them."

This is M'rivah Spring [Disputation Spring], where the people of Isra'el disputed with ADONAI, and he was caused to be regarded as holy by them.

Moshe sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: "This is what your brother Isra'el says: you know all the troubles we have gone through -

that our ancestors went down into Egypt, we lived in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our ancestors badly.

But when we cried out to ADONAI, he heard us, sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. Now here we are in Kadesh, a city at the edge of your territory.

Please let us pass through your land. We will not go through fields or vineyards, and we won't drink any water from the wells. We will go along the King's Highway, not turning aside either to the right or to the left until we have left your territory."

But Edom answered, "You are not to pass through my land; if you do, I will come out against you with the sword."