And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:

NUMBERS 15:39KJV
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Numbers 15:39 (KJV)

What does Numbers 15:39 mean?

Numbers 15:39 gives a purpose for the fringes on the Israelites’ clothing. They are to serve as visible reminders of the LORD’s commandments, so that the people remember and obey them rather than follow the desires of their own hearts and eyes.

The verse continues God’s instruction to Moses to speak to the Israelites about fringes, including a ribbon of blue, in verse 38. The phrase “go a whoring” uses the image of sexual unfaithfulness to describe the people’s tendency to turn away from what God has commanded.

The Hebrew behind Numbers 15:39

  • “fringe” — צִיצִת (tsitsit): This word refers to a tassel or fringe attached to a garment. The object in view is a visible part of the clothing described in the preceding verse.
  • “seek” — תּוּר (tur): This word can mean to search out or explore. Here, the KJV’s “seek not after” pictures the heart and eyes leading a person in pursuit of their own desires.
  • “heart” — לֵבָב (levav): This word can refer to a person’s inner life, including thoughts and intentions. In this verse, “heart” reaches beyond feelings alone.

Why Numbers 15:39 matters

  • Remembering is linked with action. The verse says to “remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them,” joining awareness of the commands to obedience.
  • The warning concerns more than where a person looks. “Your own heart and your own eyes” brings inner intentions and outward sight together.
  • The image of unfaithfulness has a particular setting in the passage. Verse 41 identifies the LORD as the one who brought the Israelites out of Egypt, giving the command a connection to their shared history.

Where else these words appear

“fringe” Hebrew H6734 · used in 3 verses

  • Numbers 15:38 Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue:
  • Ezekiel 8:3 And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.

“seek” Hebrew H8446 · used in 22 verses

  • Numbers 10:33 And they departed from the mount of the LORD three days' journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days' journey, to search out a resting place for them.
  • Numbers 14:6 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:
  • 1 Kings 10:15 Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country.

“whoring” Hebrew H2181 · used in 82 verses

  • Genesis 34:31 And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?
  • 1 Chronicles 5:25 And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them.
  • Ezekiel 16:31 In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire;