1And these are the generations of Aaron and Moses, in the day of the speaking of Jehovah 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 die. 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 firstborn 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 Libnite family, and the Shimite family. 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 pitch 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 Amramite family, and the Izharite family, of the Hebronite family, and the Uzzielite family. 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 Mahlite family and the Mushite family. 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 pitch 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 firstborn 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.
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary 1 Here, I. The family of Aaron is confirmed in the priests' office,
Num 3:10. They had been called to it before, and consecrated; here they are appointed to
wait on their priests' office: the apostle uses this phrase (
Roma 12:7),
Let us wait on our ministry. The office of the ministry requires a constant attendance and great diligence; so frequent are the returns of its work, and yet so transient its favourable opportunities, that it must be waited on. Here is repeated what was said before (
Num 1:51):
The stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death, which forbids the invading of the priest's office by any other person whatsoever; none must come nigh to minister but Aaron and his sons only, all others are strangers. It also lays a charge on the priests, as door-keepers in God's house, to take care that none should come near who were forbidden by the law; they must keep off all intruders, whose approach would be to the profanation of the holy things, telling them that if they came near it was at their peril, they would
die by the hand of God, as Uzza did. The Jews say that afterwards there was hung over the door of the temple a golden sword (perhaps alluding to that flaming sword at the entrance of the garden of Eden), on which was engraven,
The stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. II. A particular account is given of this family of Aaron; what we have met with before concerning them is here repeated. 1. The consecration of the sons of Aaron,
Num 3:3. They were all anointed to minister before the Lord, though it appeared afterwards, and God knew it, that two of them were wise and two were foolish. 2. The fall of the two elder (
Num 3:4): they
offered strange fire, and died for so doing,
before the Lord. This is mentioned here in the preamble to the law concerning the priesthood, for a warning to all succeeding priests; let them know, by this example, that God is a jealous God, and will not be mocked; the holy anointing oil was an honour to the obedient, but not a shelter to the disobedient. It is here said,
They had no children, Providence so ordering it, for their greater punishment, that none of their descendants should remain to be priests, and so bear up their name who had profaned God's name. 3. The continuance of the two younger: Eleazar and Ithamar ministered
in the sight of Aaron. It intimates, (1.) The care they took about their ministration not to make any blunders; they kept under their father's eye, and took instruction from him in all they did, because, probably, Nadab and Abihu got out of their father's sight when they offered strange fire. Note, It is good for young people to act under the direction and inspection of those that are aged and experienced. (2.) The comfort Aaron took in it; it pleased him to see his younger sons behave themselves prudently and gravely, when his two elder had miscarried. Note, It is a great satisfaction to parents to
see their children walk in the truth, 3John 1:4.
III. A grant is made of the Levites to be assistants to the priests in their work:
Give the Levites to Aaron, Num 3:9. Aaron was to have a greater propriety in, and power over, the tribe of Levi than any other of the prices had in and over their respective tribes. There was a great deal of work belonging to the priests' office, and there were now only three pairs of hands to do it all, Aaron's and his two sons'; for it does not appear that they had either of them any children at this time, at least not any that were of age to minister, therefore God appoints the Levites to attend upon them. Note, Those whom God finds work for his will find help for. Here is, 1. The service for which the Levites were designed: they were to
minister to the priests in their ministration to the Lord (
Num 3:6), and to
keep Aaron's charge (
Num 3:7), as the deacons to the bishops in the evangelical constitution, serving at tables, while the bishops waited on their ministry. The Levites killed the sacrifices, and then the priests needed only to sprinkle the blood and burn the fat: the Levites prepared the incense, the priests burnt it. They were to keep, not only Aaron's charge, but the
charge of the whole congregation. Note, It is a great trust that is reposed in ministers, not only for the glory of Christ, but for the good of his church; so that they must not only keep the charge of the great high priest, but must also be faithful to the souls of men, in trust for whom a dispensation is committed to them. 2. the consideration upon which the Levites were demanded; they were taken instead of the first-born. The preservation of the first-born of Israel, when all the first-born of the Egyptians (with whom they were many of them mingled) were destroyed, was looked upon by him who never makes any unreasonable demands as cause sufficient of the appropriating of all the first-born thenceforward to himself (
Num 3:13):
All the first-born are mine. That was sufficient to make them his, though he had given no reason for it, for he is the sole fountain and Lord of all beings and powers; but because all obedience must flow from love, and acts of duty must be acts of gratitude, before they were challenged into peculiar services they were crowned with peculiar favours. Note, When he that made us saves us we are thereby laid under further obligations to serve him and live to him. God's right to us by redemption corroborates the right he has to us by creation. Now because the first-born of a family are generally the favourites, and some would think it a disparagement to have their eldest sons servants to the priests, and attending before the door of the tabernacle, God took the tribe of Levi entire for his own, in lieu of the first-born,
Num 3:12. Note, God's institutions put no hardships upon men in any of their just interests or reasonable affections. It was presumed that the Israelites would rather part with the Levites than with the first-born, and therefore God graciously ordered the exchange; yet for us he
spared not his own Son. 14 The Levites being granted to Aaron to minister to him, they are here delivered to him by tale, that he might know what he had, and employ them accordingly. Observe,
I. By what rule they were numbered:
Every male from a month old and upward, Num 3:15. The rest of the tribes were numbered only from twenty years old and upwards, and of them those only that were
able to go forth to war; but into the number of the Levites they must take in both infants, and infirm; being exempted from the war, it was not insisted upon that they should be of age and strength for the wars. Though it appears afterwards that little more than a third part of the Levites were fit to be employed in the service of the tabernacle (about 8000 out of 22,000,
Num 4:47,
Num 4:48), yet God would have them all numbered as retainers to his family; that none may think themselves disowned and rejected of God because they are not in a capacity of doing him that service which they see others do him. The Levites of a month old could not honour God and serve the tabernacle, as those that had grown up; yet out of the mouths of babes and sucklings the Levites' praise was perfected. Let not little children be hindered from being enrolled among the disciples of Christ, for such was the tribe of Levi, of such is the kingdom of heaven, that kingdom of priests. The redemption of the first-born was reckoned from a month old (
Num 18:15,
Num 18:16), therefore from that age the Levites were numbered. They were numbered
after the house of their fathers, not their
mothers, for, if the daughter of a Levite married one of another tribe, her son was not a Levite; but we read of a spiritual priest to out God who inherited the unfeigned faith which dwelt in his mother and grandmother,
2Tim 1:5.
II. How they were distributed into three classes, according to the number of the sons of Levi, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, and these subdivided into several families,
Num 3:17-
Num 3:20.
1. Concerning each of these three classes we have an account, (1.) Of their number. The Gershonites were 7500. The Kohathites were 8600. The Merarites were 6200. The rest of the tribes had not their subordinate families numbered by themselves as those of Levi; this honour God put upon his own tribe. (2.) Of their post about the tabernacle on which they were to attend. The Gershonites pitched behind the tabernacle, westward,
Num 3:23. The Kohathites on the right hand, southward,
Num 3:29. The Merarites on the left hand, northward,
Num 3:35. And, to complete the square, Moses and Aaron, with the priests, encamped in the front, eastward,
Num 3:38. Thus was the tabernacle surrounded with its guards; and thus does the
angel of the Lord encamp round about those that fear him, those living temples,
Pss 34:7. Every one knew his place, and must therein abide with God. (3.) Of their chief or head. As each class had its own place, so each had its own prince. The commander of the Gershonites was Eliasaph (
Num 3:24); of the Kohathites Elizaphan (
Num 3:30), of whom we read (
Lev 10:4) that he was one of the bearers at the funeral of Nadab and Abihu; of the Merarites Zuriel,
Num 3:35. (4.) Of their charge, when the camp moved. Each class knew their own business; it was requisite they should, for that which is every body's work often proves nobody's work. The Gershonites were charged with the custody and carriage of all the curtains and hangings and coverings of the tabernacle and court (
Num 3:25,
Num 3:26), the Kohathites of all the furniture of the tabernacle - the ark, altar, table, etc. (
Num 3:31,
Num 3:32), the Merarites of the heavy carriage, boards, bars, pillars, etc.,
Num 3:36,
Num 3:37.
2. Here we may observe, (1.) That the Kohathites, though they were the second house, yet were preferred before the elder family of the Gershonites. Besides that Aaron and the priests were of that family, they were more numerous, and their post and charge more honourable, which probably was ordered to put an honour upon Moses, who was of that family. Yet, (2.) The posterity of Moses were not at all dignified or privileged, but stood upon the level with other Levites, that it might appear he did not seek the advancement of his own family, nor to entail any honours upon it either in church or state; he that had honour enough himself coveted not to have his name shine by that borrowed light, but rather to have the Levites borrow honour from his name. Let none think contemptibly of the Levites, though inferior to the priests, for Moses himself though it preferment enough for his sons to be Levites. Probably it was because the family of Moses were Levites only that in the title of this chapter, which is concerning that tribe (
Num 3:1), Aaron is put before Moses.
III. The sum total of the numbers of this tribe. They are computed in all 22,000,
Num 3:39. The sum of the particular families amounts to 300 more; if this had been added to the sum total, the Levites, instead of being 273 fewer than the first-born, as they were (
Num 3:43), would have been twenty-seven more, and so the balance would have fallen the other way; but it is supposed that the 300 which were struck off from the account when the exchange was to be made were the first-born of the Levites themselves, born since their coming out of Egypt, which could not be put into the exchange, because they were already sanctified to God. But that which is especially observable here is that the tribe of Levi was by much the least of all the tribes. Note, God's part in the world is too often the smallest part. His chosen are comparatively a little flock.
40 Here is the exchange made of the Levites for the first-born. 1. The first-born were numbered from a month old,
Num 3:42,
Num 3:43. Those certainly were not reckoned who, though first-born, had become heads of families themselves, but those only that were under age; and the learned bishop Patrick is decidedly of opinion that none were numbered but those only that were born since their coming out of Egypt, when the first-born were sanctified,
Exod 13:2. If there were 22,000 first-born males, we may suppose as many females, and all these brought forth in the first year after they came out of Egypt, we must hence infer that in the last year of their servitude, even when it was in the greatest extremity, there were abundance of marriages made among the Israelites; they were not discouraged by the present distress, but married in faith, expecting that God would shortly visit them with mercy, and that their children, though born in bondage, should live in liberty and honour. And it was a token of good to them, an evidence that they were blessed of the Lord, that they were not only kept alive, but greatly increased, in a barren wilderness. 2. The number of the first-born, and that of the Levites, by a special providence, came pretty near to each other; thus, when he
divided the nations, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel, Deut 32:8. Known unto God are all his works beforehand, and there is an exact proportion between them, and so it will appear when they come to be compared. The Levites' cattle are said to be taken instead of the firstlings
of the cattle of the children of Israel, that is, the Levites, with all their possessions, were devoted to God instead of the first-born and all theirs; for, when we give ourselves to God, all we have passes as appurtenances with the premises. 3. The small number of first-born which exceeded the number of the Levites (273 in all) were to be redeemed, at five shekels apiece, and the redemption-money given to Aaron; for it would not do well to have them added to the Levites. It is probable that in the exchange they began with the eldest of the first-born, and so downward, so that those were to be redeemed with money who were the 273 youngest of the first-born; more likely so than either that it was determined by lot or that the money was paid out of the public stock. The church is called the church of the
first-born, which is redeemed, not as these were, with silver and gold, but, being devoted by sin to the justice of God, is ransomed with
the precious blood of the Son of God.
