Leviticus Chapter 22    

“Whoever touches anything that is unclean by the dead.” When it comes to understanding being Levitically unclean because of the dead, it is important to understand the difference between what Numbers 19 and Leviticus 22 are saying. When Leviticus 22 says, “Whoever touches anything that is unclean by the dead...the person that touches any such will be unclean until the evening” (Lev. 22:4, 6; Num. 19:22), it is speaking of touching anything that is now unclean because it touched the dead body. However, if a person directly touches a dead body, then they are unclean for seven days (Num. 19:11-16).

“born in his house.” This phrase refers to slaves, a point that is made especially clear when it is combined with “bought with his money.” Slaves could be bought, but also, the child of a slave was a slave who was “born in the house.”

[For more on “born in his house,” see commentary on Genesis 17:12.]