Cleansing from impurity and the ritual of the red heifer in the Epistle to the Hebrews

Abstract

The ritual of the red heifer described in Numbers 19 is one of the most difficult to interpret and was therefore of particular interest to Jewish commentators. It has many parallels with other rituals in the Pentateuch, especially the rituals of the Day of Atonement and the rituals of cleansing from “leprosy”, but it also has many unique features – the red heifer itself, the ritual killing of the animal outside the camp, the ritual use of the ashes, the purification of the one who touches the dead, the impurity of those who participate in the ritual. In the Christian tradition, almost all perceptions of this rite have been based on its allegorical understanding through the prism of Hebrews 9:13-14, where the ashes of the heifer are compared to the blood of Christ. However, we believe that this ritual is of great significance to the author of Hebrews and occupies an important place in his extensive ritualtemporal language. He makes several indirect references to the ritual of the red heifer and the closely related purification from “leprosy”, using not a simple allegory but a profound imagery based on a blending of different rituals, taking into account their theological significance. The inclusion rituals of purification from impurity, and in particular the ritual of the red heifer in the temple imagery of the Hebrews allows the writer of Hebrews to reveal more deeply the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice. It is also important in demonstrating a new type of understanding of the sacred and the elimination of material objects from Christian religious thought, in contrast to both Second Temple Judaism and other forms of religious consciousness contemporary with the author of the Hebrews. In this article we analyze the ritual itself in the Book of Numbers (LXX), its perception in tradition and in scholarly literature, its reflection in Hebrews, and its role in the argumentation of the author of Hebrews.