1And these are the generations of Aaron and Moses, in the day Jehovah spoke with Moses in Mount Sinai. 2And these are the names of Aaron's sons: Nadab, the first-born; and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3These are the names of Aaron's sons, the anointed priests whose hands he consecrated to act as priests. 4And Nadab and Abihu died before Jehovah in the wilderness of Sinai, for bringing strange fire before Jehovah. And they had no sons. And Eleazar and Ithamar acted as priests in the presence of their father Aaron. 5And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 6Bring the tribe of Levi near, and you shall cause it to stand before Aaron the priest. And they shall serve him, 7and keep his charge, and the charge of all the congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle. 8And they shall keep all the vessels of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the sons of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. 9And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and to his son. Giving they shall be given to him out of the sons of Israel. 10And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall keep their priesthood. And the stranger who comes near shall be put to death. 11And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 12And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel in the place of every first-born opening a womb from the sons of Israel; and the Levites have become Mine. 13For every first-born is Mine, from the day I struck every first-born in the land of Egypt, I have set apart to Myself every first-born in Israel, from men to animal. They are Mine. I am Jehovah. 14And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15Number the sons of Levi by their families, by their fathers' house. You shall number every male from a son of a month and upward. 16And Moses numbered them according to the command of Jehovah, as he had been commanded. 17And these are the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. 18And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei. 19And the sons of Kohath, by their families: Amram, and Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20And the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These were the families of the Levites by their fathers' houses. 21Of Gershon is the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites. These were the families of the Gershonites. 22Those numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a son of a month and upward, even those numbered of them were seven thousand and five hundred. 23The families of the Gershonites were to encamp behind the tabernacle westward. 24The ruler of the fathers' house of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael. 25And the duty of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation was the tabernacle, and the tent, and its coverings, and the veil at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation; 26and the hangings of the court, and the veil at the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle and by the altar all around, and its cords, to all its service. 27And 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 were the families of the Kohathites. 28In number, all the males, from a son of a month and upward were eight thousand and six hundred, keepers of the charge of the sanctuary. 29The families of the sons of Kohath were to encamp on the side of the tabernacle southward; 30The ruler of the fathers' house of the families of the Kohathites being Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. 31And their charge was the ark, and the table, and the lampstand, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary with which they minister, and the veil, and all its service. 32Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was ruler over the rulers of the Levites, and had the oversight of those that keep the charge of the sanctuary. 33Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites. These were the families of Merari. 34And those numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a son of a month and upward were six thousand and two hundred. 35The ruler of the fathers' house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to encamp on the side of the tabernacle northward. 36The appointed duty of the sons of Merari being the boards of the tabernacle and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets, and all its vessels, and all its service; 37and the pillars of the court all around, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords. 38And those that were to encamp before the tabernacle eastward, before the tabernacle of the congregation, toward the sunrising, were Moses, and Aaron, and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the sons of Israel. And the stranger who goes near shall die. 39All numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the mouth of Jehovah, by their families, all the males from a son of a month and upward were twenty two thousand. 40And Jehovah said to Moses, Number every first-born male of the sons of Israel from a son of a month and upward, and take the number of their names. 41And you shall take the Levites for Me, I am Jehovah, instead of every first-born among the sons of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of every firstling among the livestock of the sons of Israel. 42And Moses numbered as Jehovah commanded him, all the first-born among the sons of Israel. 43And all the first-born males according to the number of names, from a son of a month and upward, of those numbered of them were twenty two thousand, two hundred and seventy three. 44And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 45Take the Levites instead of all the first-born among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. And the Levites shall be Mine; I am Jehovah. 46And from those redeemed of the two hundred and seventy three who are more than the Levites, of the first-born of the sons of Israel, 47you shall even take five shekels apiece, by the head; you shall take by the shekel of the sanctuary; twenty gerahs to the shekel. 48And you shall give the silver to Aaron, and to his sons, of the redeemed over and above among them. 49And Moses shall take the redemption silver from those that are over and above those that were redeemed by the Levites, 50from the first-born of the sons of Israel he shall take the silver, a thousand, three hundred and sixty five by the sanctuary shekel. 51And Moses shall give the silver of those redeemed to Aaron and to his sons, according to Jehovah's command, as Jehovah has commanded Moses.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 THE LEVITES' SERVICE. (Num. 3:1-51)
These . . . are the generations of Aaron and Moses, &c.--This chapter contains an account of their families; and although that of Moses is not detailed like his brother's, his children are included under the general designation of the Amramites (
Num 3:27), a term which comprehends all the descendants of their common father Amram. The reason why the family of Moses was so undistinguished in this record is that they were in the private ranks of the Levites, the dignity of the priesthood being conferred exclusively on the posterity of Aaron; and hence, as the sacerdotal order is the subject of this chapter, Aaron, contrary to the usual style of the sacred history, is mentioned before Moses.
in the day that the Lord spake with Moses in mount Sinai--This is added, because at the date of the following record the family of Aaron was unbroken.
2 And these are the names of the sons of Aaron--All the sons of Aaron, four in number, were consecrated to minister in the priest's office. The two oldest enjoyed but a brief term of office (
Lev 10:1-
Lev 10:2;
Num 3:4;
Num 26:61); but Eleazar and Ithamar, the other two, were dutiful, and performed the sacred service during the lifetime of their father, as his assistants, and under his superintendence.
5 Bring the tribe of Levi near--The Hebrew word "bring near" is a sacrificial term, denoting the presentation of an offering to God; and the use of the word, therefore, in connection with the Levites, signifies that they were devoted as an offering to the sanctuary, no longer to be employed in any common offices. They were subordinate to the priests, who alone enjoyed the privilege of entering the holy place; but they were employed in discharging many of the humbler duties which belonged to the sanctuary, as well as in various offices of great utility and importance to the religion and morals of the people.
9 they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel, &c.--The priests hold the place of God, and the Levites are the servants of God in the obedience they render to the priests.
11 I have taken the Levites, &c.--The consecration of this tribe did not originate in the legislative wisdom of Moses, but in the special appointment of God, who chose them as substitutes for the first-born. By an appointment made in memory of the last solemn judgment on Egypt (from which the Israelitish households were miraculously exempt) all the first-born were consecrated to God (
Exod 13:12;
Exod 22:29), who thus, under peculiar circumstances, seemed to adopt the patriarchal usage of appointing the oldest to act as the priest of the family. But the privilege of redemption that was allowed the first-born opened the way for a change; and accordingly, on the full organization of the Mosaic economy, the administration of sacred things formerly committed to the first-born was transferred from them to the Levites, who received that honor partly as a tribute to Moses and Aaron, partly because this tribe had distinguished themselves by their zeal in the affair of the golden calf (
Exod 32:29), and also because, being the smallest of the tribes, they could ill find suitable employment and support in the work. (See on
Deut 33:8). The designation of a special class for the sacred offices of religion was a wise arrangement; for, on their settlement in Canaan, the people would be so occupied that they might not be at leisure to wait on the service of the sanctuary, and sacred things might, from various causes, fall into neglect. But the appointment of an entire tribe to the divine service ensured the regular performance of the rites of religion. The subsequent portion of the chapter relates to the formal substitution of this tribe.
I am the Lord--that is, I decree it to be so; and being possessed of sovereign authority, I expect full obedience.
14 Number the children of Levi--They were numbered as well as the other tribes; but the enumeration was made on a different principle--for while in the other tribes the number of males was calculated from twenty years and upward [
Num 1:3], in that of Levi they were counted "from a month old and upward." The reason for the distinction is obvious. In the other tribes the survey was made for purposes of war [
Num 1:3], from which the Levites were totally exempt. But the Levites were appointed to a work on which they entered as soon as they were capable of instruction. They are mentioned under the names of Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, sons of Levi, and chiefs or ancestral heads of three subdivisions into which this tribe was distributed. Their duties were to assist in the conveyance of the tabernacle when the people were removing the various encampments, and to form its guard while stationary--the Gershonites being stationed on the west, the Kohathites on the south, and the families of Merari on the north. The Kohathites had the principal place about the tabernacle, and charge of the most precious and sacred things--a distinction with which they were honored, probably, because the Aaronic family belonged to this division of the Levitical tribe. The Gershonites, being the oldest, had the next honorable post assigned them, while the burden of the drudgery was thrown on the division of Merari.
32 chief--rather, "chiefs" of the Levites. Three persons are mentioned as chiefs of these respective divisions [
Num 3:24,
Num 3:30,
Num 3:35]. And Eleazar presided over them; whence he is called "the second priest" (
2Kgs 25:18); and in the case of the high priest's absence from illness or other necessary occasions, he performed the duties (
1Kgs 4:4).
38 those that encamp, &c.--That being the entrance side, it was the post of honor, and consequently reserved to Moses and the priestly family. But the sons of Moses had no station here.
39 twenty and two thousand--The result of this census, though made on conditions most advantageous to Levi, proved it to be by far the smallest in Israel. The separate numbers stated in
Num 3:22,
Num 3:28,
Num 3:34, when added together, amount to twenty-two thousand three hundred. The omission of the three hundred is variously accounted for--by some, because they might be first-born who were already devoted to God and could not be counted as substitutes; and by others, because in Scripture style, the sum is reckoned in round numbers. The most probable conjecture is, that as Hebrew letters are employed for figures, one letter was, in the course of transcription, taken for another of like form but smaller value.
40 Number all the first-born of the males of the children of Israel, &c.--The principle on which the enumeration of the Levites had been made was now to be applied to the other tribes. The number of their male children, from a month old and upward, was to be reckoned, in order that a comparison might be instituted with that of the Levites, for the formal adoption of the latter as substitutes for the first-born. The Levites, amounting to twenty-two thousand, were given in exchange for an equal number of the first-born from the other tribes, leaving an excess of two hundred seventy-three; and as there were no substitutes for these, they were redeemed at the rate of five shekels for each (
Num 18:15-
Num 18:16). Every Israelite would naturally wish that his son might be redeemed by a Levite without the payment of this tax, and yet some would have to incur the expense, for there were not Levites enough to make an equal exchange. Jewish writers say the matter was determined by lot, in this manner: Moses put into an urn twenty-two thousand pieces of parchment, on each of which he wrote "a son of Levi," and two hundred seventy-three more, containing the words, "five shekels." These being shaken, he ordered each of the first-born to put in his hand and take out a slip. If it contained the first inscription, the boy was redeemed by a Levite; if the latter, the parent had to pay. The ransom-money, which, reckoning the shekel at half a crown, would amount to 12s. 6d. each, was appropriated to the use of the sanctuary. The excess of the general over the Levitical first-born is so small, that the only way of accounting for it is, by supposing those first-born only were counted as were males remaining in their parents' household, or that those first-born only were numbered which had been born since the departure from Egypt, when God claimed all the first-born as his special property.
41 the cattle of the Levites--These, which they kept to graze on the glebes and meadows in the suburbs of their cities, to supply their families with dairy produce and animal food, were also taken as an equivalent for all the firstlings of the cattle which the Israelites at that time possessed. In consequence of this exchange the firstlings were not brought then, as afterwards, to the altar and the priests.