4 This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: it is most holy.
but this shall ye do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they draw near unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden;
And the prince of the father's house of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. And their charge was the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, and the curtain, and all that belongs to its service.
And when Aaron and his sons have ended covering the sanctuary, and all the utensils of the sanctuary, when the camp setteth forward, then afterwards the sons of Kohath shall come to carry it; but they shall not touch the holy things, lest they die. This is what the sons of Kohath have to carry in the tent of meeting.
This shall be the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving, and in carrying:
from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the labour, to perform the service of the tent of meeting.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 4
Commentary on Numbers 4 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 4
In the former chapter an account was taken of the whole tribe of Levi, in this we have an account of those of that tribe who were in the prime of their time for service, betwixt thirty and fifty years old.
Num 4:1-20
We have here a second muster of the tribe of Levi. As that tribe was taken out of all Israel to be God's peculiar, so the middle-aged men of that tribe were taken from among the rest to be actually employed in the service of the tabernacle. Now observe,
Num 4:21-33
We have here the charge of the other two families of the Levites, which, though not so honourable as the first, yet was necessary, and was to be done regularly.
Num 4:34-49
We have here a particular account of the numbers of the three families of the Levites respectively, that is, of the effective men, between thirty years old and fifty. Observe,