Rabbi Jose the Galilean taught that the "certain men who were unclean by the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day" in were those who bore Joseph's coffin, as implied in and . The Gemara cited their doing so to support the law that one who is engaged on one religious duty is free from any other. Rabbi Akiva said that they were Mishael and Elzaphan who were occupied with the remains of Nadab and Abihu (as reported in ). Rabbi Isaac argued, however, that if they were those who bore the coffin of Joseph or if they were Mishael and Elzaphan, they would have had time to cleanse themselves before Passover. Rather, Rabbi Isaac identified the men as some who were occupied with the obligation to bury an abandoned corpse ("met mitzvah").