In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “cow that is sacrificed and whose ashes are used for the ritual purification of people who came into contact wit”. Today it says “grown by the temple institute for the red heifer sacrifice and burning in the reconstruction of the third templ”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-02. In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “cow that is sacrificed and whose ashes are used for the ritual purification of people who came into contact wit”. Today it says “grown by the temple institute for the red heifer sacrifice and burning in the reconstruction of the third templ”.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
In Judaism , the red heifer is a cow that is sacrificed and whose ashes are used for the ritual purification of people who came into contact with a corpse. According to the Book of Numbers : "Speak unto the Children of Israel that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke" (19:2). In other words, it must not have hairs of any other color, it must be in perfect health, and it must never have been used to perform work. The cow is then brought to an altar built to the east of the Temple Mount , where it is slaughtered and burned. Cedar wood, hyssop , and scarlet are added to the fire, and the remaining ash is placed in a vessel containing pure water. In order to purify a person who has become ritually contaminated by contact with a corpse, water from the vessel is sprinkled on him, using bunch of hyssop, on the third and seventh day after the contamination took place (Numbers 19:19). The priests who have performed the ritual then become impure themselves. The existence of a red heifer that conforms with all of the rigid requirements imposed by halachah is a biological anomaly. The animal must be entirely of one color, and there are a series of tests, listed by the rabbis to ensure this, for instance, the hair of the cow must be absolutely straight. According to Jewish tradition, only nine red heifers were actually slaughtered in the period extending from Moses to the destruction of the Second Temple . The absolute rarity of the animal, combined with the mystical ritual in which it is used, have given the red heifer special status in Jewish tradition. It is cited as the prime example of a chok , or biblical law for which there is no apparent logic, and is therefore of absolute Divine origin. Because the state of ritual purity obtained through the ashes of a red heifer is a necessary prerequisite for participating in any Temple service, efforts have been made in modern times by Jews wanting to rebuild the Temple to locate a red heifer and recreate the ritual. Most recently, a cow that was considered a potential candidate was disqualified because it sprouted several black hairs.1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 17680297.
The opening as it stood in 2010 13 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
A red cow The Red Heifer ( ; Parah Adumah ; translated to English as: Red Cow ) in Judaism , is a sacrificial cow whose ashes are used for the ritual purification of people who come into contact with a corpse.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 370504314.
The opening as it stood in 2015 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
A red cow The red heifer ( ; parah adumah ), also known as the red cow , was a cow brought to the priests as a sacrifice according to the Hebrew Bible , and its ashes were used for the ritual purification of a Tumat HaMet ("the impurity of death"), that is, an Israelite who had come into contact with a corpse.The Book of Numbers: a Critique of Genesis .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 668026831.
The opening as it stood in 2020
A red cow The red heifer ( ; para adumma ) (female cow which is never pregnant or milked or yoked), also known as the red cow , was a cow brought to the priests as a sacrifice according to the Torah , and its ashes were used for the ritual purification of Tum'at HaMet ("the impurity of the dead"), that is, an Israelite who had come into contact with a corpse. The Book of Numbers: a Critique of Genesis .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 962073317.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
A red cow Cow mentioned in the Torah The red heifer ( ), a female bovine which has never been pregnant or milked or yoked , also known as the red cow , was a cow brought to the priests as a sacrifice according to the Torah , and its ashes were used for the ritual purification of corpse uncleanness , that is, an Israelite who had come into contact with a human corpse, human bone, or grave. The Book of Numbers: a Critique of Genesis .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1176215908.
The opening as it stood in 2025 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Cow sacrificed in biblical times A Red Angus cow which is grown by the Temple Institute for the red heifer sacrifice and burning in the reconstruction of the Third Temple in Jerusalem The red heifer ( Hebrew : פָּרָה אֲדֻמָּה , romanized : parah adumah ) was a reddish brown cow sacrificed by Temple priests as a purification ritual in biblical times. The Book of Numbers: a Critique of Genesis .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1291316211. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “cow that is sacrificed and whose ashes are used for the ritual purification of people who came into contact wit”. Today it says “grown by the temple institute for the red heifer sacrifice and burning in the reconstruction of the third templ”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined between 2005 and 2025.
Then
cow that is sacrificed and whose ashes are used for the ritual purification of people who came into contact wit
Now
grown by the temple institute for the red heifer sacrifice and burning in the reconstruction of the third templ
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
