17 And these are sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari.
And these `are' the names of the sons of Levi, as to their births: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari: and the years of the life of Levi `are' a hundred and thirty and seven years. The sons of Gershon `are' Libni, and Shimi, as to their families. And the sons of Kohath `are' Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel: and the years of the life of Kohath `are' a hundred and thirty and three years. And the sons of Merari `are' Mahli and Mushi: these `are' families of Levi, as to their births.
and wine for a libation, a fourth of the hin thou dost prepare for the burnt-offering or for a sacrifice, for the one lamb; or for a ram thou dost prepare a present of flour, two-tenth deals, mixed with oil, a third of the hin; and wine for a libation, a third part of the hin, thou dost bring near -- a sweet fragrance to Jehovah. `And when thou makest a son of the herd a burnt-offering or a sacrifice, at separating a vow or peace-offerings to Jehovah, then he hath brought near for the son of the herd a present of flour, three-tenth deals, mixed with oil, a half of the hin; and wine thou bringest near for a libation, a half of the hin -- a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah; thus it is done for the one ox, or for the one ram, or for a lamb of the sheep or of the goats. `According to the number that ye prepare, so ye do to each, according to their number; every native doth thus with these, at bringing near a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah; and when a sojourner sojourneth with you, or whoso `is' in your midst to your generations, and he hath made a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah, as ye do so he doth. `One statute is for you of the congregation and for the sojourner who is sojourning, a statute age-during to your generations: as ye `are' so is the sojourner before Jehovah; one law and one ordinance is to you and to the sojourner who is sojourning with you.' And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, `Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, In your coming in unto the land whither I am bringing you in, then it hath been, in your eating of the bread of the land, ye heave up a heave-offering to Jehovah; the beginning of your dough a cake ye heave up -- a heave-offering; as the heave-offering of a threshing-floor, so ye do heave it. Of the beginning of your dough ye do give to Jehovah a heave-offering -- to your generations. `And when ye err, and do not all these commands which Jehovah hath spoken unto Moses, the whole that Jehovah hath charged upon you by the hand of Moses, from the day that Jehovah hath commanded, and henceforth, to your generations,
And he turneth back unto him, and lo, he is standing by his burnt-offering, he and all the princes of Moab. And he taketh up his simile, and saith: `From Aram he doth lead me -- Balak king of Moab; From mountains of the east: Come -- curse for me Jacob, And come -- be indignant `with' Israel. What -- do I pierce? -- God hath not pierced! And what -- am I indignant? -- Jehovah hath not been indignant! For from the top of rocks I see it, And from heights I behold it; Lo a people! alone it doth tabernacle, And among nations doth not reckon itself. Who hath counted the dust of Jacob, And the number of the fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of upright ones, And let my last end be like his!' And Balak saith unto Balaam, `What hast thou done to me? to pierce mine enemies I have taken thee -- and lo, thou hast certainly blessed;' and he answereth and saith, `That which Jehovah doth put in my mouth -- it do I not take heed to speak?' And Balak saith unto him, `Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, whence thou dost see it, only its extremity thou dost see, and all of it thou dost not see, and pierce it for me thence;' and he taketh him `to' the field of Zophim, unto the top of Pisgah, and buildeth seven altars, and offereth a bullock and a ram on the altar. And he saith unto Balak, `Station thyself here by thy burnt-offering, and I -- I meet `Him' there;' and Jehovah cometh unto Balaam, and setteth a word in his mouth, and saith, `Turn back unto Balak, and thus thou dost speak.' And he cometh unto him, and lo, he is standing by his burnt-offering, and the princes of Moab with him, and Balak saith to him: `What hath Jehovah spoken?' And he taketh up his simile, and saith: `Rise, Balak, and hear; Give ear unto me, son of Zippor! God `is' not a man -- and lieth, And a son of man -- and repenteth! Hath He said -- and doth He not do `it'? And spoken -- and doth He not confirm it? Lo, to bless I have received: Yea, He blesseth, and I `can'not reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, Nor hath He seen perverseness in Israel; Jehovah his God `is' with him, And a shout of a king `is' in him. God is bringing them out from Egypt, As the swiftness of a Reem is to him; For no enchantment `is' against Jacob, Nor divination against Israel, At the time it is said of Jacob and Israel, What hath God wrought!
And Balaam seeth that `it is' good in the eyes of Jehovah to bless Israel, and he hath not gone as time by time to meet enchantments, and he setteth towards the wilderness his face; and Balaam lifteth up his eyes, and seeth Israel tabernacling, by its tribes, and the Spirit of God is upon him, and he taketh up his simile, and saith: `An affirmation of Balaam son of Beor -- And an affirmation of the man whose eyes are shut -- An affirmation of him who is hearing sayings of God -- Who a vision of the Almighty seeth, Falling -- and eyes uncovered: How good have been thy tents, O Jacob, Thy tabernacles, O Israel; As valleys they have been stretched out, As gardens by a river; As aloes Jehovah hath planted, As cedars by waters; He maketh water flow from his buckets, And his seed `is' in many waters; And higher than Agag `is' his king, And exalted is his kingdom. God is bringing him out of Egypt; As the swiftness of a Reem is to him, He eateth up nations his adversaries, And their bones he breaketh, And `with' his arrows he smiteth, He hath bent, he hath lain down as a lion, And as a lioness: who doth raise him up? He who is blessing thee `is' blessed, And he who is cursing thee `is' cursed.' And the anger of Balak burneth against Balaam, and he striketh his hands; and Balak saith unto Balaam, `To pierce mine enemies I called thee, and lo, thou hast certainly blessed -- these three times; and now, flee for thyself unto thy place; I have said, I do greatly honour thee, and lo, Jehovah hath kept thee back from honour.' And Balaam saith unto Balak, `Did I not also unto thy messengers whom thou hast sent unto me, speak, saying, If Balak doth give to me the fulness of his house of silver and gold, I am not able to pass over the command of Jehovah, to do good or evil of mine own heart -- that which Jehovah speaketh -- it I speak? and, now, lo, I am going to my people; come, I counsel thee `concerning' that which this people doth to thy people, in the latter end of the days.' And he taketh up his simile, and saith: `An affirmation of Balaam son of Beor -- And an affirmation of the man whose eyes `are' shut -- An affirmation of him who is hearing sayings of God -- And knowing knowledge of the Most High; A vision of the Almighty he seeth, Falling -- and eyes uncovered: I see it, but not now; I behold it, but not near; A star hath proceeded from Jacob, And a sceptre hath risen from Israel, And hath smitten corners of Moab, And hath destroyed all sons of Sheth. And Edom hath been a possession, And Seir hath been a possession, `for' its enemies, And Israel is doing valiantly; And `one' doth rule out of Jacob, And hath destroyed a remnant from Ar.' And he seeth Amalek, and taketh up his simile, and saith: `A beginning of the Goyim `is' Amalek; And his latter end -- for ever he perisheth.' And he seeth the Kenite, and taketh up his simile, and saith: `Enduring `is' thy dwelling, And setting in a rock thy nest, But the Kenite is for a burning; Till when doth Asshur keep thee captive?' And he taketh up his simile, and saith: `Alas! who doth live when God doth this? And -- ships `are' from the side of Chittim, And they have humbled Asshur, And they have humbled Eber, And it also for ever is perishing.' And Balaam riseth, and goeth, and turneth back to his place, and Balak also hath gone on his way.
And these `are' numbered ones of the Levite by their families: of Gershon `is' the family of the Gershonite; of Kohath the family of the Kohathite; of Merari the family of the Merarite. These `are' families of the Levite: the family of the Libnite, the family of the Hebronite, the family of the Mahlite, the family of the Mushite, the family of the Korathite. And Kohath hath begotten Amram,
And the heads of the fathers of the Levites draw nigh unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the sons of Israel, and they speak unto them in Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, saying, `Jehovah commanded by the hand of Moses to give to us cities to dwell in, and their suburbs for our cattle.' And the sons of Israel give to the Levites, out of their inheritance, at the command of Jehovah, these cities and their suburbs: And the lot goeth out for the families of the Kohathite, and there are for the sons of Aaron the priest (of the Levites), out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, by lot thirteen cities, and for the sons of Kohath who are left, out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half of the tribe of Manasseh, by lot ten cities: And for the sons of Gershon `are', out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, by lot, thirteen cities. For the sons of Merari, for their families, `are', out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities. And the sons of Israel give to the Levites these cities and their suburbs, as Jehovah commanded by the hand of Moses, by lot. And they give out of the tribe of the sons of Judah, and out of the tribe of the sons of Simeon, these cities which are called by name; and they are for the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathite, of the sons of Levi, for theirs hath been the first lot; and they give to them the city of Arba father of Anak (it `is' Hebron), in the hill-country of Judah, and its suburbs round about it; and the field of the city and its villages they have given to Caleb son of Jephunneh for his possession. And to the sons of Aaron the priest they have given the city of refuge `for' the man-slayer, Hebron and its suburbs, and Libnah and its suburbs, and Jattir and its suburbs, and Eshtemoa and its suburbs, and Holon and its suburbs, and Debir and its suburbs, and Ain and its suburbs, and Juttah and its suburbs, Beth-Shemesh and its suburbs; nine cities out of these two tribes. And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon and its suburbs, Geba and its suburbs, Anathoth and its suburbs, and Almon and its suburbs -- four cities; all the cities of the sons of Aaron the priests, `are' thirteen cities and their suburbs. And for the families of the sons of Kohath, the Levites, who are left of the sons of Kohath, even the cities of their lot are of the tribe of Ephraim; and they give to them the city of refuge `for' the man-slayer, Shechem and its suburbs, in the hill-country of Ephraim, and Gezer and its suburbs, and Kibzaim and its suburbs, and Beth-Horon and its suburbs -- four cities. And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh and its suburbs, Gibbethon and its suburbs, Aijalon and its suburbs, Gath-Rimmon and its suburbs -- four cities. And out of the half of the tribe of Manasseh, Taanach and its suburbs, and Gath-Rimmon and its suburbs -- two cities; all the cities `are' ten and their suburbs, for the families of the sons of Kohath who are left. And for the sons of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half of the tribe of Manasseh, the city of refuge `for' the man-slayer, Golan in Bashan and its suburbs, and Beeshterah and its suburbs -- two cities. And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon and its suburbs, Dabarath and its suburbs, Jarmuth and its suburbs, En-Gannim and its suburbs -- four cities. And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal and its suburbs, Abdon and its suburbs, Helkath and its suburbs, and Rehob and its suburbs -- four cities. And out of the tribe of Naphtali, the city of refuge `for' the man-slayer, Kedesh in Galilee and its suburbs, and Hammoth-Dor and its suburbs, and Kartan and its suburbs -- three cities; all the cities of the Gershonite, for their families, `are' thirteen cities and their suburbs. And for the families of the sons of Merari, the Levites, who are left, `are,' out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam and its suburbs, Kartah and its suburbs, Dimnah and its suburbs, Nahalal and its suburbs -- four cities. And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer and its suburbs, and Jahazah and its suburbs, Kedemoth and its suburbs, and Mephaath and its suburbs -- four cities. And out of the tribe of Gad, the city of refuge `for' the man-slayer, Ramoth in Gilead and its suburbs, and Mahanaim and its suburbs, Heshbon and its suburbs, Jazer and its suburbs -- `in' all four cities. All the cities for the sons of Merari, for their families, who are left of the families of the Levites -- their lot is twelve cities. All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the sons of Israel `are' forty and eight cities, and their suburbs. These cities are each city and its suburbs round about it; so to all these cities. And Jehovah giveth to Israel the whole of the land which He hath sworn to give to their fathers, and they possess it, and dwell in it; and Jehovah giveth rest to them round about, according to all that which He hath sworn to their fathers, and there hath not stood a man in their presence of all their enemies, the whole of their enemies hath Jehovah given into their hand; there hath not fallen a thing of all the good thing which Jehovah spake unto the house of Israel -- the whole hath come.
Sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel.
Sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari. And these `are' names of sons of Gershom: Libni and Shimei. And sons of Kohath: Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel. Sons of Merari; Mahli and Mushi. And these `are' families of the Levite according to their fathers;
And the heads of the people dwell in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people have caused to fall lots to bring in one out of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts in the cities, and the people give a blessing to all the men who are offering themselves willingly to dwell in Jerusalem. And these `are' heads of the province who have dwelt in Jerusalem, and in cities of Judah, they have dwelt each in his possession in their cities; Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the Nethinim, and the sons of the servants of Solomon. And in Jerusalem have dwelt of the sons of Judah, and of the sons of Benjamin. Of the sons of Judah: Athaiah son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalaleel, of the sons of Perez; and Masseiah son of Baruch, son of Col-Hozeh, son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Zechariah, son of Shiloni; all the sons of Perez who are dwelling in Jerusalem `are' four hundred sixty and eight, men of valour. And these `are' sons of Benjamin: Sallu son of Meshullam, son of Joed, son of Pedaiah, son of Kolaiah, son of Maaseiah, son of Ithiel, son of Jesaiah; and after him Gabbai, Sallai, nine hundred twenty and eight. And Joel son of Zichri `is' inspector over them, and Judah son of Senuah `is' over the city -- second. Of the priests: Jedaiah son of Joiarib, Jachin, Seraiah son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, leader of the house of God, and their brethren doing the work of the house `are' eight hundred twenty and two; and Adaiah son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchiah,
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Numbers 3
Commentary on Numbers 3 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 3
Nu 3:1-51. The Levites' Service.
1. These … are the generations of Aaron and Moses, &c.—This chapter contains an account of their families; and although that of Moses is not detailed like his brother's, his children are included under the general designation of the Amramites (Nu 3:27), a term which comprehends all the descendants of their common father Amram. The reason why the family of Moses was so undistinguished in this record is that they were in the private ranks of the Levites, the dignity of the priesthood being conferred exclusively on the posterity of Aaron; and hence, as the sacerdotal order is the subject of this chapter, Aaron, contrary to the usual style of the sacred history, is mentioned before Moses.
in the day that the Lord spake with Moses in mount Sinai—This is added, because at the date of the following record the family of Aaron was unbroken.
2-4. And these are the names of the sons of Aaron—All the sons of Aaron, four in number, were consecrated to minister in the priest's office. The two oldest enjoyed but a brief term of office (Le 10:1, 2; Nu 3:4; 26:61); but Eleazar and Ithamar, the other two, were dutiful, and performed the sacred service during the lifetime of their father, as his assistants, and under his superintendence.
5-10. Bring the tribe of Levi near—The Hebrew word "bring near" is a sacrificial term, denoting the presentation of an offering to God; and the use of the word, therefore, in connection with the Levites, signifies that they were devoted as an offering to the sanctuary, no longer to be employed in any common offices. They were subordinate to the priests, who alone enjoyed the privilege of entering the holy place; but they were employed in discharging many of the humbler duties which belonged to the sanctuary, as well as in various offices of great utility and importance to the religion and morals of the people.
9. they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel, &c.—The priests hold the place of God, and the Levites are the servants of God in the obedience they render to the priests.
11-13. I have taken the Levites, &c.—The consecration of this tribe did not originate in the legislative wisdom of Moses, but in the special appointment of God, who chose them as substitutes for the first-born. By an appointment made in memory of the last solemn judgment on Egypt (from which the Israelitish households were miraculously exempt) all the first-born were consecrated to God (Ex 13:12; 22:29), who thus, under peculiar circumstances, seemed to adopt the patriarchal usage of appointing the oldest to act as the priest of the family. But the privilege of redemption that was allowed the first-born opened the way for a change; and accordingly, on the full organization of the Mosaic economy, the administration of sacred things formerly committed to the first-born was transferred from them to the Levites, who received that honor partly as a tribute to Moses and Aaron, partly because this tribe had distinguished themselves by their zeal in the affair of the golden calf (Ex 32:29), and also because, being the smallest of the tribes, they could ill find suitable employment and support in the work. (See on De 33:8). The designation of a special class for the sacred offices of religion was a wise arrangement; for, on their settlement in Canaan, the people would be so occupied that they might not be at leisure to wait on the service of the sanctuary, and sacred things might, from various causes, fall into neglect. But the appointment of an entire tribe to the divine service ensured the regular performance of the rites of religion. The subsequent portion of the chapter relates to the formal substitution of this tribe.
I am the Lord—that is, I decree it to be so; and being possessed of sovereign authority, I expect full obedience.
14-31. Number the children of Levi—They were numbered as well as the other tribes; but the enumeration was made on a different principle—for while in the other tribes the number of males was calculated from twenty years and upward [Nu 1:3], in that of Levi they were counted "from a month old and upward." The reason for the distinction is obvious. In the other tribes the survey was made for purposes of war [Nu 1:3], from which the Levites were totally exempt. But the Levites were appointed to a work on which they entered as soon as they were capable of instruction. They are mentioned under the names of Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, sons of Levi, and chiefs or ancestral heads of three subdivisions into which this tribe was distributed. Their duties were to assist in the conveyance of the tabernacle when the people were removing the various encampments, and to form its guard while stationary—the Gershonites being stationed on the west, the Kohathites on the south, and the families of Merari on the north. The Kohathites had the principal place about the tabernacle, and charge of the most precious and sacred things—a distinction with which they were honored, probably, because the Aaronic family belonged to this division of the Levitical tribe. The Gershonites, being the oldest, had the next honorable post assigned them, while the burden of the drudgery was thrown on the division of Merari.
32. chief—rather, "chiefs" of the Levites. Three persons are mentioned as chiefs of these respective divisions [Nu 3:24, 30, 35]. And Eleazar presided over them; whence he is called "the second priest" (2Ki 25:18); and in the case of the high priest's absence from illness or other necessary occasions, he performed the duties (1Ki 4:4).
38. those that encamp, &c.—That being the entrance side, it was the post of honor, and consequently reserved to Moses and the priestly family. But the sons of Moses had no station here.
39. twenty and two thousand—The result of this census, though made on conditions most advantageous to Levi, proved it to be by far the smallest in Israel. The separate numbers stated in Nu 3:22, 28, 34, when added together, amount to twenty-two thousand three hundred. The omission of the three hundred is variously accounted for—by some, because they might be first-born who were already devoted to God and could not be counted as substitutes; and by others, because in Scripture style, the sum is reckoned in round numbers. The most probable conjecture is, that as Hebrew letters are employed for figures, one letter was, in the course of transcription, taken for another of like form but smaller value.
40-51. Number all the first-born of the males of the children of Israel, &c.—The principle on which the enumeration of the Levites had been made was now to be applied to the other tribes. The number of their male children, from a month old and upward, was to be reckoned, in order that a comparison might be instituted with that of the Levites, for the formal adoption of the latter as substitutes for the first-born. The Levites, amounting to twenty-two thousand, were given in exchange for an equal number of the first-born from the other tribes, leaving an excess of two hundred seventy-three; and as there were no substitutes for these, they were redeemed at the rate of five shekels for each (Nu 18:15, 16). Every Israelite would naturally wish that his son might be redeemed by a Levite without the payment of this tax, and yet some would have to incur the expense, for there were not Levites enough to make an equal exchange. Jewish writers say the matter was determined by lot, in this manner: Moses put into an urn twenty-two thousand pieces of parchment, on each of which he wrote "a son of Levi," and two hundred seventy-three more, containing the words, "five shekels." These being shaken, he ordered each of the first-born to put in his hand and take out a slip. If it contained the first inscription, the boy was redeemed by a Levite; if the latter, the parent had to pay. The ransom-money, which, reckoning the shekel at half a crown, would amount to 12s. 6d. each, was appropriated to the use of the sanctuary. The excess of the general over the Levitical first-born is so small, that the only way of accounting for it is, by supposing those first-born only were counted as were males remaining in their parents' household, or that those first-born only were numbered which had been born since the departure from Egypt, when God claimed all the first-born as his special property.
41. the cattle of the Levites—These, which they kept to graze on the glebes and meadows in the suburbs of their cities, to supply their families with dairy produce and animal food, were also taken as an equivalent for all the firstlings of the cattle which the Israelites at that time possessed. In consequence of this exchange the firstlings were not brought then, as afterwards, to the altar and the priests.