Numbers 19:6

Num 19:6 And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast [it] into the midst of the burning of the heifer.

Ver. 6. Cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet.] Hereby was signified, that Christ, howsoever in respect of our sins he was burnt up with the fire of his Father’s wrath; yet by the everlasting Spirit, whereby he offered up himself without spot to God, and by the gifts and graces of it, he was a full sacrifice of a sweet smelling savour to God to purge offences. {Heb 9:14 Psa 51:9 Eph 5:2}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19:6 The only other passage where a stick of cedar, a hyssop branch, and some scarlet yarn occur together is Lev 14, which describes another ceremony (also “outside the camp”) that brought about ceremonial purification. Some scholars suggest that Eleazar added cedarwood and hyssop to produce an aroma. Hyssop is associated with purification (Exod 12:22; Ps 51:7; cp. Heb 9:19), and the scarlet yarn, like the red heifer, probably symbolized blood. Taken together, the cedarwood, hyssop, and scarlet symbolize cleansing.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(6) And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet.—According to the Targum of Jonathan, another priest was to do this, but the reference seems to be to Eleazar. Cedar-wood may be regarded as the emblem of fragrance and incorruption; hyssop as the emblem of purification; and scarlet (or crimson) wool or cloth may be regarded as emblematical both of sin, which is compared to it in Isa_1:18, and also of the blood, which is the life, the shedding of which was needful in order to the remission of sin. All of these were used in the purification of the leper (Lev_14:4). In both cases there appears to be a typical reference to the sprinkling of the blood of Christ. (See. Heb_9:13-14).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6. cedar wood, and hyssop] The former, perhaps, for its durability, the latter for its cleansing qualities. It is doubtful, however, if ‘hyssop’ is the true rendering of the Heb. ’çzôbh, since the hyssop is not native to Palestine. The ‘cape’ and the ‘marjoram’ have been suggested.

In the purification of the leper the same objects are employed, but with a different purpose. The cedar wood and ’çzôbh, bound together by a scarlet thread, formed an instrument for sprinkling blood upon the recovered leper and his house (Lev_14:4; Lev_14:6; Lev_14:49; Lev_14:51). See Num_19:18 below.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet,.... Another priest, according to the Targum of Jonathan; but it seems to design Eleazar the priest, and so, in later times, the same priest that burnt the cow took these things; the Jews say (h), when he took them he said, is this cedar wood? is this hyssop? is this scarlet? so he said three times for everyone of them, and he was answered, yes, three times to each of them: these were the same that were used at the cleansing of the leper, Lev 14:4,

and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer; these were rolled or bound up together, as the Jews say (i), and made one bundle of, that they might the more easily be cast into the fire; the hyssop was wrapped about the cedar wood with the scarlet wool: the true reason of the use of these, Maimonides says (k), was never clear to him; but the cedar wood, being durable, may denote the continued efficacy of Christ's sufferings; the hyssop, being purgative and of a good smell, the purging nature of Christ's sacrifice, who by himself purged away our sins, and the sweet odour thereof ascended to the Lord; and the scarlet, the sins of his people destroyed thereby.

(h) Misn. Parah, c. 3. sect. 10. (i) Misn. Parah, c. 3. sect. 11. & Maimon. & Bartenora in ib. (k) Moreh Nevochim, par. 3. c. 47.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Compare Lev 14:4 note.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Dyed. With which the cedar and hyssop were tied together, as being deemed most proper instruments of purifications, Leviticus xiv. 4, 49. St. Paul informs us (Hebrews ix. 19,) that Moses thus sprinkled the people and the book: and branches of this description were probably used when the people took this holy water, ver. 18. The ashes intimate that those who have sinned, may be purified by the sacrament of penance, ver. 9. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

All which are here burnt, and as it were offered to God, that they might be sanctified to this holy use for the future; for of these kinds of things was the sprinkle made wherewith the unclean were sprinkled, Lev 14:4.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6. Cedar is remarkable for its power to resist decay. The cedar roof of the temple of Diana at Ephesus lasted four hundred years, and beams in the temple of Apollo lasted eleven hundred and seventy years. Hence cedar symbolizes the prolonged continuance of life, and hyssop purification from the corruption of death, and scarlet, or scarlet wool, the strongest vital energy, so that the ashes might be regarded “as the quintessence of all that purified and strengthened life, refined and sublimated by fire.” — Leyrer. See Lev_14:4, note.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop. See on Lev_14:4-6 for the significance of these things. The antiseptic and medicinal qualities of the cedar (Juniperus oxycedrus) and hyssop (probably Capparis spinosa) make their use readily intelligible; the symbolism of the "scarlet" is much more obscure.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Cedar-wood, hyssop, scarlet - All which are here burnt, and as it were offered to God, that they might be sanctified to this holy use for the future; for of these kinds of things was the sprinkle made wherewith the unclean were sprinkled, Lev. xiv, 4.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.