17. Were not sanctified. The people from the northern tribes were for the most part involved in some sort of moral defilement from which they had not had the opportunity to cleanse themselves ( 18).
Killing of the passovers. The Passover lambs were to be slain by “the congregation of Israel” (Ex. 12:6). However, in this instance they were slain by Levites in behalf of those members of the congregation who had not yet purified themselves.