Source Text: Numbers 19:6
Target Text(s):
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Echo
Connection Method(s): Longitudinal Theme
Significance: Both Leviticus 14:4-6 and Numbers 19:6 prescribe the same triad of purification materials: cedar wood (עֵץ אֶרֶז, etz erez), hyssop (אֵזוֹב, ezov), and scarlet yarn/wool (שְׁנִי תוֹלַעַת, sheni tola'at). In Leviticus 14, these are dipped in the blood of a slaughtered bird over running water to purify the leper; in Numbers 19, they are thrown into the burning red heifer to produce the ashes for purification from corpse-contamination. The shared purification bundle links two distinct defilement categories — disease and death — under a common ritual logic, suggesting that the same cleansing principle operates across different domains of impurity. The cedar (durability), hyssop (humble plant used for sprinkling), and scarlet (blood-colored wool) appear to constitute a fixed purification formula in Israel's ritual system.