1Now these are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that Jehovah spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab, the firstborn; and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he consecrated to serve as priests. 4Nadab and Abihu died before Jehovah when they offered strange fire before Jehovah in the wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the presence of Aaron their father. 5And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying: 6Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. 7And they shall keep his charge and the charge of the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle. 8And they shall have charge of all the utensils of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. 9And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are assigned to him from among the sons of Israel. 10Thus you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall have charge of the priesthood; but the stranger who comes near shall be put to death. 11And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying: 12And behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the sons of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine, 13because all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated to Myself every firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They are Mine: I am Jehovah. 14And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying: 15Number the sons of Levi by their fathers' houses, by their families; you shall number every male from a month old and above. 16So Moses numbered them at the mouth of Jehovah, as he had been commanded. 17And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, 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, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20And the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These, the families of the Levites by their fathers' houses. 21From Gershon came the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimites; these were the families of the Gershonites. 22Those who were numbered, according to the number of all the males from a month old and above; of those who were numbered there were seven thousand five hundred. 23The families of the Gershonites were to encamp behind the tabernacle westward. 24And the leader of the fathers' house of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael. 25The charge of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting was the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the door of the tent of meeting, 26the screen for the door of the court, the hangings of the court which are around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords, according to all their work. 27From Kohath came the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites. 28The number of all the males, from a month old and above, were eight thousand six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary. 29The families of the sons of Kohath were to encamp on the south side of the tabernacle. 30And the leader of the fathers' house of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. 31Their charge was the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, the veil, and all their service. 32And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was chief over the leaders of the Levites, with oversight of those who kept charge of the sanctuary. 33From Merari came the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari. 34And those who were numbered, according to the number of all the males from a month old and above, were six thousand two hundred. 35The leader of the fathers' house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. These were to encamp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36And the oversight and charge of the sons of Merari was the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, its utensils, all their service, 37and the pillars of the court all around, with their sockets, their pegs, and their cords. 38And those who were to encamp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting, were Moses, Aaron, and his sons, keeping charge of the sanctuary, to keep the charge of the children of Israel. And the stranger who comes near shall be put to death. 39All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the mouth of Jehovah, by their families, all the males from a month old and above, were twenty-two thousand. 40And Jehovah said to Moses: Number all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and above, and take the number of their names. 41And you shall take the Levites for Me (I am Jehovah) instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the children of Israel. 42So Moses numbered all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, as Jehovah had commanded him. 43And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names from a month old and above, of those who were 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 firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites are Mine: I am Jehovah. 46And for the redemption of the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the sons of Israel, who are more than the Levites, 47you shall take five shekels per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary, the shekel of twenty gerahs. 48And you shall give the money, with which the excess number of them is redeemed, to Aaron and his sons. 49So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those who were redeemed by the Levites. 50From the firstborn of the sons of Israel he took the money, one thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 51And Moses gave their redemption money to Aaron and his sons, at the mouth of Jehovah, as Jehovah had 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.