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Numbers 3

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The Generations of Aaron and Moses 1–4

1
These also are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spake with Moses in mount Sinai. ​
2
And these are the names of the sons of Aaron; Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
3
These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests which were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest's office.
4
And Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest's office in the sight of Aaron their father. ​

The Levites Assigned to Tabernacle Service 5–10

5
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
6
Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him. ​
7
And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle.
8
And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.
9
And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel.
10
And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. ​

The Levites as Substitutes for the Firstborn 11–13

11
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
12
And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine; ​
13
Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the LORD. ​

Census and Duties of the Levite Clans 14–20

14
And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,
15
Number the children of Levi after the house of their fathers, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them. ​
16
And Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded.
17
And these were the sons of Levi by their names; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari.
18
And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families; Libni, and Shimei.
19
And the sons of Kohath by their families; Amram, and Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20
And the sons of Merari by their families; Mahli, and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to the house of their fathers.

The Duties of the Gershonites 21–26

21
Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these are the families of the Gershonites.
22
Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, even those that were numbered of them were seven thousand and five hundred.
23
The families of the Gershonites shall pitch behind the tabernacle westward.
24
And the chief of the house of the father of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael.
25
And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, the covering thereof, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, ​
26
And the hangings of the court, and the curtain for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and the cords of it for all the service thereof.

The Duties of the Kohathites 27–32

27
And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izeharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites.
28
In the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary.
29
The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward.
30
And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.
31
And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the hanging, and all the service thereof. ​
32
And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary. ​

The Duties of the Merarites 33–39

33
Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari.
34
And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred.
35
And the chief of the house of the father of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: these shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward.
36
And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serveth thereto, ​
37
And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.
38
But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. ​
39
All that were numbered of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the LORD, throughout their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand. ​

Redemption of the Excess Firstborn 40–51

40
And the LORD said unto Moses, Number all the firstborn of the males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names.
41
And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am the LORD) instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel.
42
And Moses numbered, as the LORD commanded him, all the firstborn among the children of Israel.
43
And all the firstborn males by the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those that were numbered of them, were twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen. ​
44
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
45
Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD.
46
And for those that are to be redeemed of the two hundred and threescore and thirteen of the firstborn of the children of Israel, which are more than the Levites;
47
Thou shalt even take five shekels apiece by the poll, after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them: (the shekel is twenty gerahs:) ​
48
And thou shalt give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed, unto Aaron and to his sons.
49
And Moses took the redemption money of them that were over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites:
50
Of the firstborn of the children of Israel took he the money; a thousand three hundred and threescore and five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:
51
And Moses gave the money of them that were redeemed unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Numbers 3

Verse 1

generations of Aaron and Moses — Toledah, the word for a family record (Gen 5:1; 10:1). Both brothers were sons of Amram (Ex 6:20), yet only Aaron's sons are listed in v.2; the date is 'in the day that the LORD spake with Moses in mount Sinai'.

Verse 4

strange fire — Zur, to turn aside, the word for a stranger or outsider, and the same word rendered 'stranger' in vv.10, 38. The deaths are told in Lev 10:1–2, where fire went out from the LORD. With 'no children', the priesthood passed through Eleazar and Ithamar.

Verse 6

present them before Aaron — 'Present' is amad, to stand; 'minister' is sharat, to attend as a servant. The Levites stand before the priest as helpers, as the tribe was separated 'to stand before the LORD to minister unto him' (Deut 10:8). Their charge is set out in vv.7–8.

Verse 10

wait on their priest's office — The verb is shamar, to keep guard, the verb of the Levites' 'charge' in vv.7–8; the office is kehunnah, priesthood. The penalty on 'the stranger that cometh nigh' is repeated in v.38 and Num 1:51; it fell on the 250 incense-offerers of Num 16:35.

Verse 12

instead of all the firstborn — The firstborn is literally the one 'that openeth the matrix' (peter rechem), whom the LORD claimed in Ex 13:2. The Levites are taken in their place ('therefore the Levites shall be mine'), a substitution restated in vv.41, 45 and Num 8:18.

Verse 13

I hallowed unto me all the firstborn — Qadash, to set apart as holy. The claim rests on the night the LORD 'slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt' (Ex 13:15), man and beast. Luke 2:23 cites the law of the firstborn at Christ's presentation; Heb 12:23 names the 'church of the firstborn'.

Verse 15

from a month old and upward — The tribes counted for war were numbered from twenty years (Num 1); the Levites, who did not go to war, are numbered as infants (chodesh, month). The same age marks firstborn redemption (Num 18:16). Service itself ran 'from thirty years old… unto fifty' (Num 4:47).

Verse 25

the covering thereof, and the hanging — The Gershonites kept the soft fabrics: mikseh, covering, and masak, the screen for the entrance, as made in Ex 26:36. Their families pitched 'behind the tabernacle westward' (v.23); their numbers are in v.22.

Verse 31

the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars — The Kohathites' 'charge' (mishmereth, watch) was the most holy furnishings, 'the most holy things' (Num 4:4). They camped on the south (v.29) and carried only after Aaron and his sons had covered the sanctuary and its vessels (Num 4:15).

Verse 32

chief over the chief of the Levites — Nasi, chief or prince; 'oversight' is pequddah. Eleazar supervises the three Levite chiefs (vv.24, 30, 35). His own charge is the oil, incense and offering (Num 4:16); Gershonites and Merarites serve under Ithamar (Num 4:28, 33).

Verse 36

the boards… the bars… the pillars… the sockets — The Merarites kept the frame: qeresh, boards of shittim wood (Ex 26:15), with bars, pillars and sockets (eden), and in v.37 the court's pillars, pins and cords. Their families pitched 'northward' (v.35); their number is 6,200 (v.34).

Verse 38

toward the east — Qedem, the front, and mizrach ('eastward'), sunrise. Moses, Aaron and his sons camp 'before the tabernacle' on the east, the side of Judah's standard (Num 2:3), keeping 'the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel'. The death penalty for 'the stranger' repeats v.10.

Verse 39

twenty and two thousand — The clan counts in vv.22, 28 and 34 (7,500; 8,600; 6,200) add up to 22,300, while the total is given as 22,000. That total is the figure matched against the firstborn in v.43, leaving the surplus to be redeemed (v.46).

Verse 43

twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen — The firstborn males, 22,273, exceed the 22,000 Levites (v.39) by 273, the number 'to be redeemed' in v.46. The count is 'by the number of names' (cf. v.40), from a month old.

Verse 47

five shekels apiece by the poll — Gulgoleth, skull, a head-count. The 'shekel of the sanctuary' is twenty gerah (Ex 30:13). Five shekels is the valuation of a male from a month to five years (Lev 27:6; Num 18:16); 273 × 5 gives the 1,365 shekels of v.50, paid to Aaron's family (v.48).