1And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2Lift the heads of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers' houses, 3from a son of thirty years and upward, even until fifty years old, all that enter upon the service, to do work in the tabernacle of the congregation. 4This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, the Holy of Holies. 5Aaron and his sons shall come in, when the camp pulls out, and shall take down the veil of the hanging, and shall cover the ark of the testimony with it. 6And he shall put a covering of dugong skins on it, and shall spread a garment entirely of blue on top, and shall put in its staves. 7And they shall spread a blue cloth on the table of the showbread, and shall put its dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and the cups of the drink offering, and the continual bread on it. 8And they shall spread a cloth of scarlet over them, and shall cover it with a covering of dugong skin, and shall put in its staves. 9And he shall take a blue cloth and shall cover the lampstand of the lamp, and its lights, and its tongs, and its firepans, and all its oil vessels with which they minister to it. 10And they shall put it and all its vessels into a covering of dugong skin, and shall put it on the bar. 11And they shall spread a blue cloth on the golden altar, and shall cover it with a covering of dugong skin, and shall put in its staves. 12And they shall take all the vessels of ministry with which they minister in the sanctuary, and shall put them into a blue cloth, and shall cover them with a covering of dugong skin, and shall put them on the bar. 13And they shall remove the ashes of the altar, and shall spread over it a purple cloth; 14and shall put on it all its vessels with which they minister around it, the firepans, the hooks, and the shovels, and the bowls, all the vessels of the altar. And they shall spread a covering of dugong skin on it, and shall put in its staves. 15And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary, and all the sanctuary vessels as the camp pulls up stakes, then afterward the sons of Kohath shall come to bear. And they shall not touch the holy thing, that they may not die. These are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation. 16And the oversight of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil of the lamp, and the sweet incense, and the continual food offering, and the anointing oil. He shall oversee all the tabernacle, and all that is in it, in the sanctuary, and its furniture. 17And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 18Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites. 19But do this to them, and they shall live and not die as they draw near the Holy of Holies. Aaron and his sons shall go in, and shall appoint them each man to his service, and to his burden. 20And they shall not go in to see when the holy thing is covered, that they may not die. 21And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 22Lift the heads of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' house, by their families, 23from a son of thirty years and upward, you shall number them, until a son of fifty years, all that enter to wait on the service, to serve in the tabernacle of the congregation. 24This is the service of the families of the Gershonites in serving and in bearing burdens. 25They shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the congregation, its covering, and the covering of dugong skins that is on its top, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation; 26and the hangings of the court, and the hanging for the door of the gate of the court by the tabernacle and by the altar all around, and their cords, and all the vessels of their service, and whatever there may be to do with them; in this they shall serve. 27At the mouth of Aaron, and of his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, and all their burden, and all their service. And you shall lay a charge on them concerning the duty of all their burden. 28This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tabernacle of the congregation; and their charge is under the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. 29You shall number the sons of Merari by their families, by their fathers' house, 30from a son of thirty years and upward, even to a son of fifty years you shall number them, everyone who is going into the service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation. 31And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation: the boards of the tabernacle, and its bars and its pillars and its sockets, 32and the pillars of the court all around, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, of all their vessels, and of all their service. And you shall number the vessels of the charge of their burden by name. 33This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, for all their service, in the tabernacle of the congregation, by the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. 34And Moses and Aaron and the ruler of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites by their families, and by their fathers' house, 35from a son of thirty years and upward, even to a son of fifty years, everyone who is going into the service, for work in the tabernacle of the congregation. 36Their numbered ones, by their families, were two thousand, seven hundred and fifty. 37These were those numbered of the families of the Kohathites, everyone who is serving in the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the mouth of Jehovah, by the hand of Moses. 38And those numbered of the sons of Gershon, by their families, and by their fathers' house, 39from a son of thirty years and upward, even to a son of fifty years, and everyone who is going into the service, for work in the tabernacle of the congregation, 40even those numbered of them, by their families, by their father's house were two thousand, six hundred and thirty. 41These were those numbered of the families of Gershon, everyone who is serving in the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the mouth of Jehovah. 42And those numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, by their families, by their fathers' house, 43from a son of thirty years and upward, even to a son of fifty years, everyone who is going into the service, for work in the tabernacle of the congregation, 44even their numbered ones by their families were three thousand and two hundred. 45These were those numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the mouth of Jehovah, by Moses' hand. 46All those numbered, whom Moses and Aaron and the rulers of Israel numbered, of the Levites, by their families, and by their fathers' house, 47from a son of thirty years and upward, even to a son of fifty years, everyone who is going in to do the work of the service, even the service of burden in the tabernacle of the congregation, 48even their numbered ones were eight thousand, five hundred and eighty; 49he numbered them by the mouth of Jehovah, by the hand of Moses, each man according to his service, and according to his burden, even they were numbered by him, as Jehovah 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).