Numbers 3:5-39

B. THE LEVITES COUNTED AND ASSIGNED DUTIES vv. 5-39
TEXT

Numbers 3:5. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 6. Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him. 7. And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle. 8. And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. 9. And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel. 10. And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

11. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 12. And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine; 13. Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the Lord.
14. And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15. Number the children of Levi after the house of their fathers, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them. 16. And Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded. 17. And these were the sons of Levi by their names; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. 18. And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families; Libni and Shimei. 19. And the sons of Kohath by their families; Amram, and Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20. And the sons of Merari by their families; Mahli, and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to the house of their fathers.
21. Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these are the families of the Gershonites. 22. Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, even those that were numbered of them were seven thousand and five hundred. 23, The families of the Gershonites shall pitch behind the tabernacle westward. 24. And the chief of the house of the father of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael. 25. And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, the covering thereof, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, 26. And the hangings of the court, and the curtain for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and the cords of it for all the service thereof.
27. And 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 are the families of the Kohathites. 28. In the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary. 29. The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward. 30. And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son Uzziel. 31. And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the hanging, and all the service thereof. 32. And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.
33. Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari. 34. And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred. 35. And the chief of the house of the father of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: these shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward. 36. And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serveth thereto, 37. And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.
38. But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. 39. All that were numbered of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the Lord, throughout their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand.

PARAPHRASE

Numbers 3:5. And the Lord said to Moses, 6. Bring the tribe of Levi near, presenting them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. 7. They shall perform duties for him, and for the entire congregation before the Tent of Meeting, serving at the Tabernacle. 8, They shall have custody of all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting, and perform duties for the children of Israel, serving at the Tabernacle. 9. And you shall give the Levites unto Aaron and his sons: they are all given to him from among the children of Israel. 10. And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall maintain themselves in the priest's office: but any stranger who comes near is to be put to death.

11. And the Lord said to Moses, 12. Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of each firstborn son which opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore, the Levites are all mine, 13. because all of the firstborn are mine. On the day that I slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated unto Myself all of Israel's firstborn, of both man and beast. They are mine. I am the Lord.
14. And the Lord said to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, 15. Count the sons of Levi according to their fathers-' families: every male one month old or more is to be counted. 16. And Moses counted them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded. 17. And these are the names of the sons of Levi: 18. Gershon, Kohath and Merari. And these are the names of the sons of Gershon according to their families: 19. Libni and Shimei. And the sons of Kohath by families: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. 20. And the sons of Merari by families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers-' families.
21. Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimites: these are the families of the Gershonites. 22. Those who were counted of them, according to the number of all the males one month old and up, even all of those counted were seven thousand five hundred. 23. The families of the Gershonites are to pitch their tents behind the Tabernacle to the west. 24. And Eliasaph, son of Lael, is to be head of the fathers of the Gershonites; 25. And the duty of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting is to be the Tabernacle, the Tent, its covering, the curtain for the door of the Tent of Meeting, 26. the drapes of the court, the curtain for the door of the court surrounding the Tent, and the altar, and its cords; and all the service relating to these things.
27. The family of the Amramites were of Kohath, as well as the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites. 28. Counting all the males from a month of age and older, there were eight thousand six hundred who handled the duties of the Sanctuary. 29. The families of Kohath's sons were to pitch their tents on the south side of the tabernacle. 30. Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel, was the head of the house of the fathers of the families of the Kohathites. 31. And their duty was the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the curtain, and all the service relating to these things. 32. Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, was to be chief over the leaders of the Levites, having supervision of those who were in charge of the sanctuary.
33. The family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites were of Merari: these are the families of Merari. 34. Their number counting all the males from a month of age and older was six thousand two hundred. 35. Zuriel, the son of Abihail, was the head of the fathers-' house of the families of Merari; they were to pitch their tents on the north side of the Tabernacle. 36. And the duty of the sons of Merari was to care for the boards of the Tabernacle, the braces, the posts, the bases, and their accessories, with all the service relating to them, besides the posts of the surrounding court, with all their bases, pegs and cords.
38. Moses and Aaron, with their sons, were to pitch their tents in front of the Tent of Meeting on the east side; they were given charge of all the sanctuary services required for the people of Israel. Anyone else who approached was to be put to death. 39. The total number of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron counted by the Lord's commandment, including their families, all the males one month of age and older, was twenty two thousand.

COMMENTARY

The Levites are placed at the disposal and service of the priests, under the direct supervision of Aaron. Serving the Lord in His tabernacle would require an infinite number of carefully specified acts of service, involving numerous items of all sizes and types. In order that these all might be ready for use, even at a moment's notice, the Levites are charged with their supervision. This will be true while the tribes are in the wilderness, and when they have established themselves in Canaan. Without the intelligent and dedicated work of these men, the labors of the priests would have been utterly impossible.
Moses describes the Levites as the nethunims (the -totally given ones-'), Numbers 3:9. It is an emphatic term, specifying that their service is without limitation. They are gifts of God to the priests, and they are engaged in an honorable work. The term is to be distinguished from the similar nethinim (-slaves-'), non-Israelite servants who are given the grosser tasks at and about the tabernacle (see Joshua 9:27). These latter men were placed at the disposal of the Levites, completing the complement of service personnel.

When Numbers 3:10 pronounces the death sentence for any stranger who approaches the Tent of Meeting, we must understand the special meaning of the term in its context. Ordinarily, a stranger would be an alien, a non-Israelite. But the word is broader in this usage, including anyone who is not authorized to serve the Lord as a priest; hence, even the Levites themselves would be considered strangers if they presumed to act beyond their specially designated responsibilities; and the death sentence served to punctuate the limitation upon them.

For reasons of His own, God adopted the Levites rather than all of the firstborn, appointing them unto their place of honor among the tribes. The slaughter of the firstborn of the Egyptians stands as a memorial unto the particular honor shown Israel's firstborn; and the Levites become essentially typical of this preservation. In a secondary appointment, all future firstborn must be sanctifiedfirstborn sons were dedicated to the Lord at the sanctuary; firstborn animals must have been sacrificed to Him. Now, with the particular adoption of the Levites, both the Levites and their cattle are to stand in the stead of their brothers, and the firstborn sons of Israel are released (see Numbers 3:40, sqq.). The service became more orderly, concentrated in the hands of a single tribe, which should devote its entire and undivided interest to their vocation. It is commonly supposed that the tribe of Levi was chosen for this work because of their zeal in ending the worship of the golden calf. It is also proposed that the choice came because the tribe was considerably smaller than any of the others. We can only advise caution in making either suggestion a dogmatic staterment, since Scripture does not inform us of any of God's reasons. The choice may have been purely arbitrary.

The rules for mustering the Levites differ greatly from those governing other tribes: all males one month of age and older are counted. It is approximate, since at this age (one month) the firstborn were to be given up or redeemed (cf. Numbers 3:40; Numbers 3:43 and Numbers 18:16). From birth, the Levites would have a single fact firmly instilled in their hearts, that they were possessed by the Lord Himself, consecrated to His service. Theirs was a lifetime with a constant commitment.

First counted were the Gershonites, who number 7,500. They are assigned the camping post to the west of the Tent, under Eliasaph, son of Lael. For their special responsibility, they are assigned the care of the tapestry of the dwelling, or inner covering, Exodus 26:1 ff.; of the Tent, or the goats-' hair covering. Exodus 26:7 ff.; the Tent's covering of rams-' skins dyed red, and the covering of the dolphin skin over it, Exodus 26:14. They were further charged to care for the curtain at the door, Exodus 26:36, as well as the hangings for the court and the curtain for the door of the court, Exodus 27:9-16. With these, they also had custody of the cords, or tent ropes, which were secured to the pins to support the tent materials (see Exodus 35:18; Exodus 39:40). Finally, they had the responsibility for the utensils or instruments of service. Exodus 27:19. Care of these items included especially the duty of assembling or disassembling them when the people encamped or moved, as well as daily custody while the Tabernacle remained in use.

Next, the Kohathites, numbering 8,600, received their duties. Under their hands were the ark of the covenant, the table of showbread, the seven-branched lampstand, both altars (incense and sacrifice), and the articles of service for all of these items. Additionally, they were to care for the veil between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. All of the articles of furniture had to be wrapped with care when being transported (Numbers 4:5 ff.). In camp, the Kohathites were situated south of the Tent. Chief of the four families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan, son of Uzziel; but the chief of all the Levites was also a Kohathite: Eleazar, son of Aaron.

The third family counted were the Merarites, numbering 6,200, and placed north of the Tent. Zuriel was prince of the group, who had the work of the framework of the Tent: its boards, bars, pillars and sockets. They also handled the comparable units for the framework surrounding the court. While this assignment might seem somewhat less impressive than those given the other families, such would not be the case; there simply was nothing assigned which was unimportant. All of the jobs were interdependent, and the Tabernacle could not be moved or used unless the cooperation of each family was assured. Nothing is insignificant if God has asked it!
In the favored eastern position, in front of the door to the court, was the camping area of the priestsMoses, Aaron, and Aaron's sons. Not only is this a place of honor, it is also the position of greatest convenience for the priests-' responsibilities of service, and it places them where they may intercept any stranger who might, for any reason, approach unto the forbidden area.

There is a discrepancy in the totals from the census. Numbers 3:39 gives the number an even 22,000, whereas Numbers 3:40-51 show 22,300. The mistake is of long standing, and appears to have been a scribal error in transmission. Other attempts to explain the difference seem much too speculative.

QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH ITEMS

57.

Distinguish between the terms priest and Levite Show their differing functions.

58.

Why should the priests need so many to assist them?

59.

Draw up a list of the instruments of the Tabernacle, (Numbers 3:8), and tell how they were used.

60.

Define the term stranger in Numbers 3:10. Why should there be such a severe penalty for approaching unto the Tabernacle unlawfully?

61.

In what respect would setting aside the Levites recall Israel's release from Egypt?

62.

Why are the firstborn animals recognized, along with the firstborn sons of Israel?

63.

Among the other tribes, the census began with 20-year olds. However, the Levites were counted from the age of one month. Why the difference?

64.

Draw a design of the placement of the families of the sons of Levi around Tabernacle.

65.

Beside the names of the families of the Levitical families, list their assignments in assembling and disassembling the Tabernacle.

66.

What special honor was given to Aaron's son Eleazar?

67.

Name the articles for which the Merarites were responsible, and tell what each of the items was used for.

68.

For what items were the Kohathites responsible, and how were they used in the Tabernacle?

69.

What were the responsibilities of the Kohathites? How were these things prepared for travel?

70.

What special advantages were there in having Moses and Aaron and his sons camp at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting?