Numbers 8:7

“And thus shall thou do unto them, to cleanse them, etc.] Or order Aaron to do unto them; the cleansing of the Levites was the work of Aaron, either by himself or by his order; in which he was a type of Christ, who is the refiner and purifier of the sons of Levi, (<390303>Malachi 3:3); sprinkle water of purifying upon them; or “water of sin” f81; water which purifies from sin, in a ceremonial sense; and this was water mixed with the ashes of the red heifer, which was the purification of persons deified by the dead, as Jarchi observes; and though the law concerning the red heifer, and of making the water of purification, is not made mention of till afterwards, (<041901>Numbers 19:1-22): yet it…”

“The Levites could only undertake their duties Numbers 3:0; Numbers 4:0 after the formal exchange of the Levites for the first-born Numbers 3:44-51. The distinction between the “consecration” of the priests Leviticus 8:0 and the less solemn “purification” Numbers 8:21 of the Levites is marked. These rites of purification are similar to those incumbent on the priests of Egypt. Numbers 8:7 Water of purifying - literally, “sin water:” i. e. water to cleanse from sin; no doubt taken from the laver of the sanctuary, which was used by the priests for purification before they went into the tabernacle to minister (compare Numbers 5:17; Exodus 30:18 ff). The “sprinkling” of so large a body of men…”

“Of purifying - Heb. of sin, that is, for the expiation of sin. This water was mixed with the ashes of a red heifer, Num 19:9, which therefore may seem to have been prescribed before, though it be mentioned after; such kind of transplacings of passages being frequent in scripture. Shave all their flesh - This external rite signified the cutting off their inordinate desire of earthly things and that singular purity of heart and life which is required in the ministers of God. Numbers 8:8”

“8:7 The ceremony to make the Levites ceremonially clean consisted of sprinkling with water, shaving all hair, and donning clean clothes; this resembled the ceremonies of cleansing from ritual defilement. • water of purification: This expression appears only here. This sprinkling symbolized the washing of sin from their lives and thus contained some of the symbolic significance of later Jewish washings and even of Christian baptism. Perhaps this water was the same as the sin-removing mixture that included ashes from the red heifer mentioned in 19:9 (see Heb 9:13). • The requirement to shave their entire body was also part of the process of being declared clean from the ritual impurity of…”

“Sprinkle: Lev 8:6, Lev 14:7; Isa 52:15; Eze 36:25; Heb 9:10 water: Num 19:9, Num 19:10, Num 19:13, Num 19:17-19; Psa 51:7; Heb 9:13 let them shave: Heb. let them cause a razor to pass over, etc. Lev 14:8, Lev 14:9 wash their: Num 19:7, Num 19:8, Num 19:10, Num 19:19, Num 31:20; Gen 35:2; Exo 19:10; Lev 15:6, Lev 15:10, Lev 15:11, Lev 15:27, Lev 16:28; Psa 51:2; Jer 4:14; Mat 23:25, Mat 23:26; Jam 4:8; Pe1 3:21; Rev 7:14 Numbers 8:8”