1And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, and unto Aaron, saying, 2"Take up the sum of the sons of Kohath from the midst of the sons of Levi, by their families, by the house of their fathers; 3from a son of thirty years and upward, even till a son of fifty years, every one going in to the host, to do work in the tent of meeting. 4"This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, the holy of holies: 5that Aaron and his sons have come in, in the journeying of the camp, and have taken down the vail of the hanging, and have covered with it the ark of the testimony; 6and have put on it a covering of badger skin, and have spread a garment completely of blue above, and have placed its staves. 7"And on the table of the presence they spread a garment of blue, and have put on it the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and the cups of the libation, and the bread of continuity is on it, 8and they have spread over them a garment of scarlet, and have covered it with a covering of badger skin, and have placed its staves, 9and have taken a garment of blue, and have covered the candlestick of the lamp, and its lights, and its snuffers, and its snuff-dishes, and all its oil vessels wherewith they minister to it; 10and they have put it and all its vessels unto a covering of badger skin, and have put it on the bar. 11"And on the golden altar they spread a garment of blue, and have covered it with a covering of badger skin, and have placed its staves; 12and have taken all the vessels of ministry wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and have put them unto a garment of blue, and have covered them with a covering of badger skin, and have put them on the bar, 13and have removed the ashes of the altar, and have spread over it a garment of purple; 14and have put on it all its vessels wherewith they minister about it, the censers, the hooks, and the shovels, and the bowls, all the vessels of the altar, and have spread on it a covering of badger skin, and have placed its staves: 15"And Aaron hath finished -- his sons also -- covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, in the journeying of the camp, and afterwards do the sons of Kohath come in to bear it, and they do not come unto the holy thing, that they have died; these things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting. 16"And the oversight of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, is the oil of the lamp, and the spice-perfume, and the present of continuity, and the anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that is in it, in the sanctuary, and in its vessels." 17And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 18"Ye do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathite from the midst of the Levites; 19but this do to them, and they have lived, and do not die in their drawing nigh the holy of holies: -- Aaron and his sons go in, and have set them, each man to his service, and unto his burden, 20and they go not in to see when the holy thing is swallowed, that they have died." 21And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, 22"Take up the sum of the sons of Gershon also by the house of their fathers, by their families; 23from a son of thirty years and upward, till a son of fifty years thou dost number them, every one who is going in to serve the host, to do the service in the tent of meeting. 24"This is the service of the families of the Gershonite, to serve -- and for burden, 25and they have borne the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tent of meeting, its covering, and the covering of the badger skin which is on it above, and the vail at the opening of the tent of meeting, 26and the hangings of the court, and the vail at the opening of the gate of the court which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and their cords, and all the vessels of their service, and all that is made for them -- and they have served. 27"By the command of Aaron and his sons is all the service of the sons of the Gershonite in all their burden, and in all their service; and ye have laid a charge on them concerning the charge of all their burden. 28This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonite in the tent of meeting; and their charge is under the hand of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. 29"The sons of Merari, by their families, by the house of their fathers, thou dost number them; 30from a son of thirty years and upward even unto a son of fifty years thou dost number them, every one who is going in to the host, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 31"And this is the charge of their burden, of all their service in the tent of meeting; the boards of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets, 32and the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, of all their vessels, and of all their service; and by name ye do number the vessels of the charge of their burden. 33"This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, for all their service, in the tent of meeting, by the hand of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest." 34And Moses numbereth -- Aaron also, and the princes of the company -- the sons of the Kohathite, by their families, and by the house of their fathers, 35from a son of thirty years and upward even unto a son of fifty years, every one who is going in to the host, for service in the tent of meeting, 36and their numbered ones, by their families, are two thousand seven hundred and fifty. 37These are those numbered of the families of the Kohathite, every one who is serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, by the command of Jehovah, by the hand of Moses. 38And those numbered of the sons of Gershon, by their families, and by the house of their fathers, 39from a son of thirty years and upward even unto a son of fifty years, every one who is going in to the host, for service in the tent of meeting, 40even their numbered ones, by their families, by the house of their fathers, are two thousand and six hundred and thirty. 41These are those numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, every one who is serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the command of Jehovah. 42And those numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, by their families, by the house of their fathers, 43from a son of thirty years and upward even unto a son of fifty years, every one who is going in to the host, for service in the tent of meeting, 44even their numbered ones, by their families, are three thousand and two hundred. 45These are those numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, by the command of Jehovah, by the hand of Moses. 46All those numbered, whom Moses numbered -- Aaron also, and the princes of Israel -- of the Levites, by their families, and by the house of their fathers, 47from a son of thirty years and upward even unto a son of fifty years, every one who is going in to do the work of the service, even the service of burden in the tent of meeting, 48even their numbered ones are eight thousand and five hundred and eighty; 49by the command of Jehovah hath one numbered them, by the hand of Moses, each man by his service, and by his burden, with his numbered ones, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 2 OF THE LEVITES' SERVICE. (Num. 4:1-49)
sons of Kohath, from thirty years old and upward--This age was specifically fixed (see on
Num 8:24) as the full maturity of bodily energy to perform the laborious duties assigned them in the wilderness, as well as of mental activity to assist in the management of the sacred services. And it was the period of life at which John the Baptist and Christ entered on their respective ministries.
even unto fifty--The term prescribed for active duty was a period of twenty years, at the end of which they were exempted from the physical labors of the office, though still expected to attend in the tabernacle (
Num 8:26).
all that enter into the host--so called from their number, the order and discipline maintained through their ranks, and their special duty as guards of the tabernacle. The Hebrew word, however, signifies also a station or office; and hence the passage may be rendered, "All that enter into the sacerdotal office" (
Num 4:23).
4 This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath, &c.--They are mentioned first, from their close connection with Aaron; and the special department of duty assigned to them during the journeyings of Israel accorded with the charge they had received of the precious contents of the tabernacle. But these were to be previously covered by the common priests, who, as well as the high priest, were admitted on such necessary occasions into the holy place. This was an exception to the general rule, which prohibited the entrance of any but the high priest. But when the cloud removed from the tabernacle, the sanctuary might be entered by the common priests, as to them was reserved the exclusive privilege of packing the sacred utensils; and it was not till the holy things were thus ready for carriage, that the Kohathites were allowed to approach.
5 covering veil--the inner veil, which separated the holy from the most holy place. (See on
Exod 36:35).
6 covering of badgers' skins--(See on
Exod 25:5). The covering, however, referred to was not that of the tabernacle, but one made for the special purpose of protecting the ark.
put in the staves--These golden staves were now taken out. (See on
Exod 25:15, compared with
1Kgs 8:8). The Hebrew word rendered "put in," signifies also "dispose," and probably refers here to their insertion through the openings in the coverings made for receiving them, to preserve them from the touch of the carriers as well as from the influence of the weather. It is worthy of notice that the coverings did not consist of canvas or coarse tarpaulin, but of a kind which united beauty with decency.
7 continual showbread--Though the people were in the wilderness fed upon manna, the sacred loaves were constantly made of corn, which was probably raised in small quantities from the verdant patches of the desert.
10 a bar--or bier, formed of two poles fastened by two cross pieces and borne by two men, after the fashion of a sedan chair.
12 instruments of ministry--the official dress of the priests (
Exod 31:10).
13 shall take away the ashes from the altar, &c.--The necessity of removing ashes from the altar plainly implies that sacrifices were offered in the wilderness (compare
Exod 18:12;
Exod 24:4), though that rebellious race seems frequently to have neglected the duty (
Amos 5:25). No mention is made of the sacred fire; but as, by divine command, it was to be kept constantly burning, it must have been transferred to some pan or brazier under the covering, and borne by the appointed carriers.
15 the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it, but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die--The mode of transport was upon the shoulders of the Levites (see on
Num 7:9), although afterwards wheeled vehicles were employed (
2Sam 6:3;
1Chr 15:12). And it was allowed to touch the covering, but not the things covered, on the penalty of death, which was inflicted more than once (
1Sam 6:19;
2Sam 6:6-7). This stern denunciation was designed to inspire a sentiment of deep and habitual reverence in the minds of those who were officially engaged about holy things.
16 to the office of Eleazar . . . pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, &c.--He was charged with the special duty of superintending the squadron who were employed in the carrying of the sacred furniture; besides, to his personal care were committed the materials requisite for the daily service, and which it was necessary he should have easily at his command (
Exod 29:38).
17 Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites, &c.--a solemn admonition to Moses and Aaron to beware, lest, by any negligence on their part, disorder and improprieties should creep in, and to take the greatest care that all the parts of this important service be apportioned to the proper parties, lest the Kohathites should be disqualified for their high and honorable duties. The guilt of their death would be incurred by the superintending priest, if he failed to give proper directions or allowed any irreverent familiarity with sacred things.
24 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, &c.--They were appointed to carry "the curtains of the tabernacle"--that is, the goats' hair covering of the tent--the ten curious curtains and embroidered hangings at the entrance, with their red morocco covering, &c.
28 their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron, &c.--The Levites were generally subject to the official command of the priests in doing the ordinary work of the tabernacle. But during the journeyings Eleazar, who was next in succession to his father, took the special charge of the Kohathites [
Num 4:16], while his brother Ithamar had the superintendence of the Gershonites and Merarites [
Num 4:33].
29 As for the sons of Merari--They carried the coarser and heavier appurtenances, which, however, were so important and necessary, that an inventory was kept of them--not only on account of their number and variety, but of their comparative commonness and smallness, which might have led to their being lost or missing through carelessness, inadvertency, or neglect. It was a useful lesson, showing that God disregards nothing pertaining to His service, and that even in the least and most trivial matters, He requires the duty of faithful obedience.
34 Moses and Aaron and the chief of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites, &c.--This enumeration was made on a different principle from that which is recorded in the preceding chapter [
Num 3:15]. That was confined to the males from a month old and upward, while this was extended to all capable of service in the three classes of the Levitical tribe. In considering their relative numbers, the wisdom of Divine Providence appears in arranging that, whereas in the Kohathites and Gershonites, whose burdens were few and easier, there were but about a third part of them which were fit for service; the Merarites, whose burdens were more and heavier, had above one half of them fit for this work [POOLE]. The small population of this tribe, so inferior to that of the other tribes, is attempted to be explained (see on
Num 3:39).
