The One Who Burns the Heifer Also To Wash His Clothes and Bathe and To Be Unclean Until the Evening, and The One Who Gathers the Purifying Ashes to Store Them Outside the Camp and Then Cleanse Himself (Numbers 19:8-10)
“ And he who burns her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the evening.”
The one who had burned the heifer also had to go through the cleansing process of the washing of clothes, bathing and the waiting until evening. All in contact with this ritual were tainted by death, even though only lightly.
“ And a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up outside the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water for uncleanness. It is a purification for sin offering.”
Then one who had not participated in the ceremony (he was clean) and was ritually clean in every regard, was to gather up the ashes of the heifer and store them outside the camp in a clean place. The ashes were sacred not impure, and care had to be taken to avoid uncleanness. They were to be kept pure. But their function connected with death prevented their being brought into the camp.
“ And he who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening, and it shall be to the children of Israel, and to the stranger who resides among them, for a statute for ever.”
The one who gathered the ashes had also come in mild contact with the taint of death and was to wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. It will be noted that he was not required to bathe. He had not participated in the ceremony. The taint of death connected with that did not affect him.
“And it shall be to the children of Israel, and to the stranger who resides among them, for a statute for ever.” The question must be as to whether this applies to what precedes or what follows. It connects back with Numbers 19:2 and forward to Numbers 19:21. This suggests that it may be a connecting phrase conjoining both sections of the chapter. Both sections were to apply to all involved in the camp, and then in the land, for ever.