The Red Heifer: Death has been prominent in the last three chapters, with the deaths in the rebellions in chapter 16, the fear of death at the end of chapter 17, and the assurance of protection against death in chapter 18. Indeed, death has been an ominous presence in this middle section of Numbers beginning with chapter 11. Since a concern with purity permeates the book, and since death, as an enemy of God, is unclean (Num. 5:2), it is appropriate that the Priestly tradents deal in chapter 19 with the question of how the community is to cope with impurity caused by contact with death. Some anthropologists interpret death as the most basic form of impurity. The circumstances described here are characteristic of settled communities, but stress on a Mosaic origin legitimates the ritual descr…