31 And their charge `is' the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary with which they serve, and the vail, and all its service.
`And they have made an ark of shittim wood; two cubits and a half its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height; and thou hast overlaid it `with' pure gold, within and without thou dost overlay it, and thou hast made on it a ring of gold round about. `And thou hast cast for it four rings of gold, and hast put `them' on its four feet, even two rings on its one side, and two rings on its second side; and thou hast made staves of shittim wood, and hast overlaid them `with' gold, and hast brought the staves into the rings on the sides of the ark, to bear the ark by them, in the rings of the ark are the staves, they are not turned aside from it; and thou hast put unto the ark the testimony which I give unto thee. `And thou hast made a mercy-seat of pure gold, two cubits and a half its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth; and thou hast made two cherubs of gold, beaten work dost thou make them, at the two ends of the mercy-seat; and make thou one cherub at the end on this side, and one cherub at the end on that; at the mercy-seat ye do make the cherubs on its two ends. `And the cherubs have been spreading out wings on high, covering the mercy-seat over with their wings, and their faces `are' one towards another -- towards the mercy-seat are the faces of the cherubs. `And thou hast put the mercy-seat on the ark above, and unto the ark thou dost put the testimony which I give unto thee; and I have met with thee there, and have spoken with thee from off the mercy-seat (from between the two cherubs, which `are' on the ark of the testimony) all that which I command thee concerning the sons of Israel. `And thou hast made a table of shittim wood, two cubits its length, and a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height, and hast overlaid it `with' pure gold, and hast made for it a crown of gold round about, and hast made for it a border of a handbreadth round about, and hast made a crown of gold to its border round about. `And thou hast made to it four rings of gold, and hast put the rings on the four corners, which `are' to its four feet; over-against the border are the rings for places for staves to bear the table; and thou hast made the staves of shittim wood, and hast overlaid them with gold, and the table hath been borne with them; and thou hast made its dishes, and its bowls, and its covers, and its cups, with which they pour out; of pure gold thou dost make them; and thou hast put on the table bread of the presence before Me continually. `And thou hast made a candlestick of pure gold, of beaten work is the candlestick made; its base, and its branch, its calyxes, its knops, and its flowers are of the same; and six branches are coming out of its sides, three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the second side; three calyxes made like almonds in the one branch, a knop and a flower, and three calyxes made like almonds in one branch, a knop and a flower; so for the six branches which are coming out from the candlestick. `And in the candlestick `are' four calyxes made like almonds, its knops and its flowers; and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, `are' to the six branches which are coming out of the candlestick; their knops and their branches are of the same, all of it one beaten work of pure gold; and thou hast made its seven lamps, and `one' hath caused its lights to go up, and it hath given light over-against its front. `And its snuffers and its snuff dishes `are' of pure gold; of a talent of pure gold he doth make it, with all these vessels. And see thou and do `them' by their pattern which thou art shewn in the mount.
`And thou hast made a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen, work of a designer; he maketh it `with' cherubs; and thou hast put it on four pillars of shittim wood, overlaid `with' gold, their pegs `are' of gold, on four sockets of silver. `And thou hast put the vail under the hooks, and hast brought in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony; and the vail hath made a separation for you between the holy and the holy of holies.
`And thou hast made the altar of shittim wood, five cubits the length, and five cubits the breadth -- the altar is square -- and three cubits its height. And thou hast made its horns on its four corners, its horns are of the same, and thou hast overlaid it `with' brass. And thou hast made its pots to remove its ashes, and its shovels, and its bowls, and its forks, and its fire-pans, even all its vessels thou dost make of brass. `And thou hast made for it a grate of net-work of brass, and hast made on the net four rings of brass on its four extremities, and hast put it under the compass of the altar beneath, and the net hath been unto the middle of the altar. `And thou hast made staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and hast overlaid them `with' brass. And the staves have been brought into the rings, and the staves have been on the two sides of the altar in bearing it. Hollow with boards thou dost make it, as it hath been shewed thee in the mount, so do they make `it'.
`And thou hast made an altar `for' making perfume; `of' shittim wood thou dost make it; a cubit its length, and a cubit its breadth, (it is square), and two cubits its height; its horns `are' of the same. `And thou hast overlaid it with pure gold, its top, and its sides round about, and its horns; and thou hast made to it a crown of gold round about; and two rings of gold thou dost make to it under its crown; on its two ribs thou dost make `them', on its two sides, and they have become places for staves, to bear it with them. `And thou hast made the staves of shittim wood, and hast overlaid them with gold; and thou hast put it before the vail, which `is' by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy-seat which `is' over the testimony, whither I am met with thee. `And Aaron hath made perfume on it, perfume of spices, morning by morning; in his making the lamps right he doth perfume it, and in Aaron's causing the lamps to go up between the evenings, he doth perfume it; a continual perfume before Jehovah to your generations. `Ye do not cause strange perfume to go up upon it, and burnt-offering, and present, and libation ye do not pour out on it; and Aaron hath made atonement on its horns, once in a year, by the blood of the sin-offering of atonements; once in a year doth he make atonement for it, to your generations; it `is' most holy to Jehovah.'
And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, `See, I have called by name Bezaleel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I fill him `with' the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all work, to devise devices to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in graving of stone for settings, and in graving of wood to work in all work. `And I, lo, I have given with him Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, and in the heart of every wise-hearted one I have given wisdom, and they have made all that which I have commanded thee. `The tent of meeting, and the ark of testimony, and the mercy-seat which `is' on it, and all the vessels of the tent, and the table and its vessels, and the pure candlestick and all its vessels, and the altar of the perfume, and the altar of the burnt-offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its base, and the coloured garments, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, for acting as priests in; and the anointing oil, and the perfume of the spices for the sanctuary; according to all that I have commanded thee -- they do.' And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, `And thou, speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, Only, My sabbaths ye do keep, for it `is' a sign between Me and you, to your generations, to know that I, Jehovah, am sanctifying you; and ye have kept the sabbath, for it `is' holy to you, he who is polluting it is certainly put to death -- for any who doeth work in it -- that person hath even been cut off from the midst of his people. `Six days is work done, and in the seventh day `is' a sabbath of holy rest to Jehovah; any who doeth work in the sabbath-day is certainly put to death, and the sons of Israel have observed the sabbath; to keep the sabbath to their generations `is' a covenant age-during, between Me and the sons of Israel it `is' a sign -- to the age; for six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, and in the seventh day He hath ceased, and is refreshed.' And He giveth unto Moses, when He finisheth speaking with him in mount Sinai, two tables of the testimony, tables of stone, written by the finger of God.
And he maketh the vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen, work of a designer he hath made it, `with' cherubs; and he maketh for it four pillars of shittim `wood', and overlayeth them with gold; their pegs `are' of gold; and he casteth for them four sockets of silver.
And they bring in the tabernacle unto Moses, the tent, and all its vessels, its hooks, its boards, its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets; and the covering of rams' skins, which are made red, and the covering of badgers' skins, and the vail of the covering; the ark of the testimony and its staves, and the mercy-seat; the table, all its vessels, and the bread of the presence; the pure candlestick, its lamps, the lamps of arrangement, and all its vessels, and the oil for the light. And the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the spice-perfume, and the covering of the opening of the tent; the brazen altar and the brazen grate which it hath, its staves, and all its vessels, the laver and its base. The hangings of the court, its pillars, and its sockets; and the covering for the gate of the court, its cords, and its pins; and all the vessels of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; the coloured clothes to minister in the sanctuary, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to act as priest in. According to all that Jehovah hath commanded Moses, so have the sons of Israel done all the service;
`On the first day of the month, in the first month, thou dost raise up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and hast set there the ark of the testimony, and hast covered over the ark with the vail, and hast brought in the table, and set its arrangement in order, and hast brought in the candlestick, and caused its lamps to go up. `And thou hast put the golden altar for perfume before the ark of the testimony, and hast put the covering of the opening to the tabernacle, and hast put the altar of the burnt-offering before the opening of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and hast put the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar, and hast put water there. `And thou hast set the court round about, and hast placed the covering of the gate of the court, and hast taken the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle, and all that `is' in it, and hallowed it, and all its vessels, and it hath been holy; and thou hast anointed the altar of the burnt-offering, and all its vessels, and sanctified the altar, and the altar hath been most holy; and thou hast anointed the laver and its base, and sanctified it. `And thou hast brought near Aaron and his sons unto the opening of the tent of meeting, and hast bathed them with water; and thou hast clothed Aaron with the holy garments, and anointed him, and sanctified him, and he hath acted as priest to Me. `And his sons thou dost bring near, and hast clothed them with coats, and anointed them as thou hast anointed their father, and they have acted as priests to Me, and their anointing hath been to be to them for a priesthood age-during, to their generations.' And Moses doth according to all that Jehovah hath commanded him; so he hath done.
`This `is' the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, the holy of holies: that Aaron and his sons have come in, in the journeying of the camp, and have taken down the vail of the hanging, and have covered with it the ark of the testimony; and have put on it a covering of badger skin, and have spread a garment completely of blue above, and have placed its staves. `And on the table of the presence they spread a garment of blue, and have put on it the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and the cups of the libation, and the bread of continuity is on it, and they have spread over them a garment of scarlet, and have covered it with a covering of badger skin, and have placed its staves, and have taken a garment of blue, and have covered the candlestick of the lamp, and its lights, and its snuffers, and its snuff-dishes, and all its oil vessels wherewith they minister to it; and they have put it and all its vessels unto a covering of badger skin, and have put `it' on the bar. `And on the golden altar they spread a garment of blue, and have covered it with a covering of badger skin, and have placed its staves; and have taken all the vessels of ministry wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and have put `them' unto a garment of blue, and have covered them with a covering of badger skin, and have put `them' on the bar, and have removed the ashes of the altar, and have spread over it a garment of purple; and have put on it all its vessels wherewith they minister about it, the censers, the hooks, and the shovels, and the bowls, all the vessels of the altar, and have spread on it a covering of badger skin, and have placed its staves: `And Aaron hath finished -- his sons also -- covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, in the journeying of the camp, and afterwards do the sons of Kohath come in to bear `it', and they do not come unto the holy thing, that they have died; these `things are' the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting. `And the oversight of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, `is' the oil of the lamp, and the spice-perfume, and the present of continuity, and the anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that `is' in it, in the sanctuary, and in its vessels.'
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on Numbers 3
Commentary on Numbers 3 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 3
In this chapter an account is given of the genealogy of the priests and Levites, and of the gift of the Levites to the priests, of the numbering of them, and the service they were to perform; and first of the priests, the sons of Aaron, Numbers 3:1; and then of the Levites, as given unto them, to wait upon them, and assist them, Numbers 3:5; and these were taken instead of the firstborn, Numbers 3:11; and ordered to be numbered, which was done accordingly by their families, Numbers 3:14; and the sum of each is given, and the particular work assigned to them; of the Gershonites, Numbers 3:21; of the Kohathites, Numbers 3:27; of the Merarites, Numbers 3:33; the sum total of them is given, Numbers 3:39; then the firstborn of the children of Israel, from a month old are ordered to be numbered, and were, Numbers 3:40; and these appearing to be more in number than the Levites, by two hundred seventy three a direction is given that the two hundred seventy three should be redeemed at the rate of five, shekels apiece, and the money paid to Aaron and his sons, Numbers 3:44; which was accordingly done, Numbers 3:49.
These also are the generations of Aaron and Moses,.... The descendants of them, those of the former, who is named first, because the eldest, were priests, and those of the latter Levites, and who are not very plainly pointed at, but are included among the Amramites, Numbers 3:27; the posterity of Moses being very obscure, only Levites, and these not particularly named but swallowed up among the Kohathites: find the following account was as it stood:
in the day that the Lord spoke with Moses in mount Sinai; and not, altogether as it then, was when he spoke to him in the wilderness, of Sinai, for then Aaron had four sons, but now two of them were dead as is after observed; and it seems to be for the sake of this circumstance chiefly that this clause is so put.
And these are the names of the sons of Aaron,.... The Targum of Jonathan adds, disciples of Moses, the master of the Israelites; none of the posterity of Moses being expressly, named; Jarchi observes, that the sons of Aaron are called the generations of Moses, because he taught them the law; for whoever, he says, teaches his neighbour's son, the law, the Scripture accounts of him as if he begat him, see 1 Corinthians 4:15,
Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar; as in Exodus 6:23.
These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests that were anointed,.... With the holy, anointing oil, with which they were anointed when, Aaron was and they only, see Exodus 30:30,
whom he consecrated to minister in the priest's office; that is, whom Moses consecrated, by anointing them, putting the priest's garments on them, offering sacrifice for them, and filling their hands with sacrifices which is the phrase here used for consecration: see Exodus 29:15.
And Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord,...., By flaming fire, as the Targum of Jonathan adds, see Leviticus 10:2; and so were not alive at this time when the account of the priests and Levites was taken:
when they offered strange fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai; after the tabernacle was set up, and the service of it begun, and quickly after their unction and consecration: of this strange fire; see Gill on Numbers 10:1,
and they had no children; which is observed, partly to show the punishment of them, and the reproach upon their names, that they died childless, and had none to succeed them in the priesthood; for as the Jewish writersF14Torat Cohanim apud Ceseph Misnah in Maimon. Melachim, c. 1. sect. 7. Chaskuniin in loc. observe if they had left any behind them, those would have come into the office before Eleazar and Ithamar; and partly to show that all the priests in succeeding ages sprung from those next mentioned:
and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest's office, in the sight of Aaron their father; in his presence, under his inspection, and by his direction, he seeing and observing that they did everything according to the laws delivered by Moses, relating to, the office of the priesthood; or while he was yet alive, as Aben Ezra, they were concerned with him, and acted under him in the priestly office; and so the Septuagint version renders it, "with Aaron their father"F15Which is approved by Noldius, p. 731. ; but a Jewish writerF16Chaskuni. interprets it in a different manner, "in the room of Aaron their father"; as if it respected not any conjunction with him in the then present exercise of their office in his lifetime, but their succession in it after his death; but the former seems most correct.
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... After he had given him the order for the numbering the children of Israel, and for the manner of their encampment and journeying:
saying; as follows.
Bring the tribe of Levi near,.... Separate them from the rest, set them apart for special service about, the sanctuary, let them have a place nearer to it than the other tribes, or offer them, that is, to the Lord, as in Numbers 8:11; as well as bring them near to Aaron; so it follows:
and present them before Aaron the priest; that he may receive them as a gift unto him, as servants to wait upon him; and! that he may appoint and declare unto them their work, and set them about it:
that they may minister unto him; in guarding the tabernacle taking care of the vessels of it, taking it down, carrying it, from place to place, and setting it up as there was occasion for it.
And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation,.... The charge of Aaron and of all the people of Israel, which was to secure the sanctuary from being polluted or plundered: this the Levites were to be employed about, and thereby ease the high priest and the other priests, and the people, of what otherwise would have been incumbent on them:
before the tabernacle of the congregation; not within it, neither in the holy place, nor in the most holy place, where they might not enter, to do any service peculiar thereunto, but at the door of the tabernacle, and in the court of it, and in the rooms and chambers in it: and do the service of the tabernacle; not to offer sacrifices on the altar of the burnt offering, which stood in the court, and much less to burn incense on the altar of incense, and to him the lamps, and set on the shewbread in the holy place; and still less to enter into the most holy place, and do there what was to be done on the day of atonement; but to do all that is before observed, and to bring the people's offerings to the priest, and to assist in slaying them; and to keep all profane and polluted persons out of it, the tabernacle, as we find in later times; they were porters at it, and some of them were singers in it, and had the care of various things belonging to it: see 1 Chronicles 9:14.
And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation,.... Take care of them that none be lost or come to any damage, especially while it was moving, and carried from place to place; then the several parts of it, as well as the vessels in it, were committed to their care and charge, the particulars of which see in Numbers 3:25,
and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle; See Gill on Numbers 3:7.
And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons,.... To be their ministers and servants:
they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel: even all of them entirely, none excepted; the whole tribe which were not in the priestly office; those were separated from the rest of the tribes of Israel, and appointed for the service of the priests: or they were "given, given"F17נתונים נתונים "dati, dati", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius. ; which is repeated not only to show that they were wholly given, as we render it, but to denote the certainty of it, that they were really given; and especially to declare the freeness of the gift; the priests had them as free gifts, nor did they pay them any thing for, their service; they were maintained another way, namely, by the tithes of the people; and indeed the priests received a tithe out of the tithe of the Levites; so far were they from contributing any thing to their support, or in consideration of the service they did them.
And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons,.... To the priestly office; this was done before, but is renewed for the confirmation of it, and repeated to put them in mind of it, that they be careful to execute it, as follows:
and they shall wait on their priest's office, to do what was peculiar to it, both in the holy and in the most holy place, at the altar, and within, the vail, where the Levites had nothing to do; and this is observed that the priests might take notice, that by the gift of the Levites to them, they were not excused from doing any part of service which was proper to them as priests; for they were given them that they might more readily attend their office, and be wholly employed in it; just as, under the Gospel dispensation, deacons were appointed to take care of the secular affairs of the church, that the apostles might give up themselves to the word of God and prayer, Acts 6:2,
and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death; that comes nigh to perform any part of the priest's office peculiar to him as to offer sacrifice, burn incense, &c. whether he be a common Israelite, or even a Levite, as Korah was; any that was not a priest was reckoned a stranger, and so to be put to death for intruding into the office, as the above mentioned person was: so Aben Ezra interprets it of anyone that came nigh to a priest, to be with him or join with him in the execution of his office, whether an Israelite or a Levite, he shall die: the Targum of Jonathan adds, by flaming fire before the Lord.
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... Continued to speak unto him, and give him the reason of his appointing the Levites to minister to the priests and serve the tabernacle:
saying: as follows.
And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel,.... Separated them from others, and set them apart for the service of the sanctuary; this was his own act and deed, and which he did of his own will and pleasure, who is a sovereign Being, and might and would do whatsoever he pleased, nor should any object unto him, or contradict him: and this he did:
instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel; he made an exchange of those for the Levites; upon the destruction of the firstborn of Egypt, and saving the firstborn of Israel, he claimed the latter as his own in a special sense, and now he gave up his right to them, and instead thereof took the Levites; nor could the people of Israel reasonably object to this, nor be uneasy at it, but rather be pleased with it; since hereby they were not only freed from the charge of redeeming their firstborn, but since they were the Lord's, he might have appointed them to be servants to the priests; and every Israelite would choose rather, no doubt, to part with a tribe for this service than to have their firstborn sons employed in it; and there were none so fit as the tribe of Levi, not only because it was a small tribe, but because the priests were of this tribe, to whom they were to minister; and therefore as there was a connection between them, the Levites would readily serve them: it is a notion that has obtained both among Jews and Christians, that the firstborn before this time were priests in the family, but now the Levites were taken in their room; and Jarchi particularly observes, that when the firstborn sinned in the business of the calf, they were rejected, and the Levites, who did not commit idolatry, were chosen in their room; but it does not appear, before the fixing the priesthood in Aaron's family, that the firstborn in a family were priests, and officiated as such, but rather the father and head of the family for the whole, or everyone for himself, as in Adam's family, he and his two sons; and moreover, it was a recent thing, and only among the Hebrews, that the firstborn were in a peculiar manner the Lord's, not as priests, only to be redeemed, and now the Levites were redeemed in their room; it was not to be priests, but the servants of the priestsF18Vid. Outram. de Sacrificiis, l. 1. c. 4. sect. 1,2,3. :
therefore the Levites shall be mine; whom he gave to the priests to assist them in their work, which was for him and his glory.
Because all the firstborn are mine,.... Not merely in a general way, as all creatures are his, but in a special manner as his own, and that for the following reason:
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; that is, sanctified or set them apart as his own special property, or ordered the people of Israel so to do, Exodus 13:2; for as when he destroyed the firstborn of the Egyptians, he saved the firstborn of Israel, he had a special claim upon them as his; and though it was in the night when he destroyed the firstborn of Egypt, yet it was the night which preceded that day, and was a part of that day, even the fifteenth of Nisan, when the instructions were given to sanctify all the firstborn; though, as Aben Ezra observes, "day" signifies "time", so that it was at or about the same time that the one and the other were done:
mine they shall be; this was declared when they were ordered to be sanctified to him, but now they were to be exchanged for the Levites:
I am the Lord; who have sovereign power to do as he would in claiming the firstborn, and then in exchanging them for the Levites, and appointing the Levites to minister to the priests, and serve in the tabernacle.
And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai,.... At the same time he gave the order, and made the declaration before mentioned, and in the place where now the children of Israel were, and from whence they shortly removed:
saying; as follows.
Number the children of Levi,.... Who were left out of the general muster of the children of Israel, but now were to be numbered alone, and in a different manner, and for, a different purpose, the Lord having a special regard auto, them, and special service for them:
after the house of their fathers, by their families; into which the tribe was divided; house seems to be put for "houses", which were principal ones; and these were divided into families, which branched from them, and according to these, denominated from their fathers, and not their, mothers, were they to be numbered; for as the Jewish writers often say, a mother's family is no family; wherefore, if a Levite woman married into any other tribe, as she might, her, descendants were not taken into this accounts only such whose fathers were Levites, see Numbers 1:2,
every male from a month old and upwards shalt thou number them; the reason of this was, because the firstborn, for whom they were to be exchanged, were at a month old claimed by the Lord as his, and to be redeemed; and as this numbering was on, another account than, that of the children of Israel, who were numbered from twenty years of age and upwards, that they might on occasion be called out to war, from which the Levites were exempted, and the numbering of them was for the service of the sanctuary; so from their youth they were to be brought up and trained for this, that they might be fit for it, and enter upon it at a proper age.
And Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord,.... Took the account of all of a month old in the several houses and families of the tribe of Levi; though Moses is only here mentioned, yet it seems from Numbers 3:39; that Aaron was concerned with him in it; yea, in an after numbering of the Levites who were fit for business from thirty to fifty years of age, the chief of the children of Israel were assisting to him and Aaron, Numbers 4:46,
as he commanded; he was obedient to the divine will in all things, and so in this, though it was his own tribe and his own posterity, which in all successive ages were to be no other than ministering servants to the priests, and to have no inheritance in the land of Israel.
And these were the sons of Levi, by their names,.... The immediate offspring and descendants of that patriarch:
Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari; these went down with him into Egypt, Genesis 46:11.
And these are the names of the sons of Gershon, by their families,.... Or to Gershon belonged two families, called after the names of his sons, who were now numbered, namely:
Libni and Shimei; and who are elsewhere mentioned as his sons, Exodus 6:17; and from hence were the families of the Libnites and Shimites, as in Numbers 3:21.
And the sons of Kohath, by their families,.... Who was the second son of Levi:
Amram, and Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel; so in Exodus 6:18; and from whom were named the family of the Amramites, to which Moses and Aaron belonged; and the families of the Izeharites, Hebronites, and Uzzielites, as they are called, Numbers 3:27.
And the sons, of Merari, by their families,.... The third son of Levi:
Mahli and Mushi; the same as in Exodus 6:19; from whom were denominated the families of the Mahlites and Mushites, who, as the preceding families, were numbered at this time: these
are the families of the Levites, according to the house of their fathers; in all eight families.
Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites,.... The first son of Levi:
these are the family of the Gershonites; that were now, numbered.
Those that were numbered of them,.... Of the two families that sprung from Gershon:
according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upwards: in the said families:
even those that were numbered of them, were seven thousand and five hundred; 7,500 men, which was neither the least nor the largest number of the sons of Levi.
The families of the Gershonites,.... The two before mentioned, the Libnites and Shimites:
shall pitch behind the tabernacle westward; this was their situation when encamped; they were placed in the rear of the camp of the Levites, between the tabernacle and the camp of Ephraim, which was westward also, Numbers 1:18.
And the chief of the house of the fathers of the Gershonites,.... Who had the chief authority over them, and the chief direction of them in what they were to do:
shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael; but who he was, or of which family of the Gershonites, whether of the Libnites or Shimites, is not said here or elsewhere; nor do the Jewish writers, who affect to know every thing, pretend to tell us.
And the charge of the sons of Gershom,.... The Libnites and Shimites:
in the tabernacle of the congregation; or with respect to the things of it, when it was taken down and committed to them; for otherwise they had no place in it, nor might they enter into it, or do any service therein:
shall be the tabernacle and the tent; the former intends not the boards of it, which were the charge of the Merarites, Numbers 3:36; but the curtains, as Aben Ezra, or the under curtains, as Jarchi calls them, which were made of fine twined linen, Exodus 26:1; and the latter is to be understood of the eleven curtains, as Aben Ezra, the curtains of goats hair, which were made for the roof of the tabernacle, as Jarchi observes, see Exodus 26:7,
the covering thereof: made of rams' skins, and badgers' skins, which were thrown over the tent, Exodus 26:14,
and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation; the vail, as Jarchi calls it; not what divided the holy and most holy places, for that fell to the charge of the Kohathites, Numbers 3:31; but the vail or hanging which was at the door of the tent, or which led into the holy place, Exodus 26:36.
And the hangings of the court,.... Which formed the great open court that encompassed the tabernacle, and was an hundred cubits long and fifty broad; Exodus 27:9,
and the curtain for the door of the court: which was an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, Exodus 27:16,
which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about: this refers to the court, the hangings, and curtains of the door of it, which are spoken of; and this court surrounded the tabernacle, and the altar which was without the tabernacle, as Aben Ezra observes, and which was the altar of burnt offering that stood within this court; for the particle על sometimes signifies "about"F19Vid. Nold. Partic. Ebr. Concord. p. 992. , and the word סביב, "around", being joined with it, requires this sense:
and the cords of it; which seem to be the cords of the court, which fastened the hangings and curtains to brass pins, or stakes fixed in the ground to keep them tight, that the wind might not move them to and fro; but Jarchi says, these were the cords of the tabernacle and tent, and not of the court; and indeed the tabernacle had its cords as well as the court, Exodus 38:18; the cords of the court were in the charge of the Merarites, Numbers 3:37,
for all the service thereof: for that part of the tabernacle and court which the Gershonites had in their care and custody.
And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites,.... So called from Amram, the first son of Kohath, and father of Aaron and Moses; so that Moses and Aaron, and their children, are included in this family:
and the family of Izeharites; of which family was Korah, Numbers 16:1,
and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; which four families had their names from Kohath's four sons, Numbers 3:19,
these are the families of the Kohathites; which were as many as both the other sons of Levi.
In the number of all the males, from a month old and upwards, were eight thousand and six hundred,.... 8,600 men, which was the largest number of any of the houses of the Levites; but considering it had double the number of families in it, the increase was not so large in proportion, at least to Gershon, whose two families wanted but 1,100 of these four:
keeping the charge of the sanctuary; of the holy and most holy places, and the vessels and instruments belonging thereunto; not that the males of a month old were keeping them, but when they were grown up and were capable of it, they had the charge thereof, in which they were instructed and trained up from their youth.
The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward. Or to the right, which was the more honourable place, excepting the east or front, which was reserved for Moses and Aaron, and his sons, and who were one of these families; and is the reason why this honour was conferred upon them, as well as they had the more honourable charge, having the holy places and holy things committed to their care; and one from among them was appointed over all the Levites, and the chief of them, as they had also, when they came into the land of Canaan, almost as many cities of refuge as both their other brethren had: their situation about the tabernacle was between that and the camp of Reuben, and this accounts for it, how Korah who was of one of the families of the Kohathites, became so intimately acquainted with, and joined in a conspiracy with Dathan and Abiram, who were of the tribe of Reuben, Numbers 16:1.
And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. The same man, who, with his brother Mishael, carried Nadab and Abihu out of the camp, and buried them, Leviticus 10:4; he descended from the last and youngest of the families of the Kohathites; and some think this was one reason at least of Korah's dissatisfaction, and of his entering into a conspiracy against Moses and Aaron, because one of a younger family of his house was preferred to this dignity before him.
And their charge shall be the ark,.... That is, when the tabernacle was taken down, and carried from place to place, this, and the following things, were committed to their care and custody, the ark with the mercy seat, and all appertaining thereunto, which were in the holy of holies:
and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars; the table of shewbread, and the candlestick of pure gold, with its lamps, and the altar of incense, all which stood in the holy place, and the altar of burnt offering, which was in the court, for both altars were their charge:
and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister; all the vessels which belonged to the above things; for the table, candlestick, and altars, all had vessels appertaining to them:
and the hanging; that is, the vail, as Jarchi interprets it, which divided between the, holy and the most holy place; all the other hangings for the court, and the door of it, and for the door of the tabernacle, were the charge of the Gershonites, Numbers 3:25,
and all the service thereof; what belonged to the things in this part of the tabernacle.
And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest,.... Who was of the first of these families, the Amramites:
shall be chief over the chief of the Levites; over the three chiefs of the three houses of the Levites, who were Eliasaph the son of Lael, the chief of the Gershonites; and Elizaphan the son of Uzziel, the chief of the Kohathites; and Zuriel the son of Abihail, the chief of the Merarites:
and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary; the Kohathites, who had the care of the things belonging to the holy and most holy places; and these were particularly under the inspection of Eleazar, because they were things the priests had a, special concern in; see Numbers 4:32.
Of Merari were the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites,.... So called from his two sons Mahli and Mushi, Numbers 3:20,
these are the families of Merari; the youngest son of Levi, Numbers 3:17.
And those that were numbered of them,.... Of the above two families:
according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred; 6,200 men; the least number of them all.
And the chief of the house of the father of the families of Merari,.... I think it should rather be rendered, "and the chief of the house", that is, of the Merarites, "the father to the families of Merari"; the common father to them all, having the chief authority and power over them, and so in Numbers 3:24,
shall be Zuriel the son of Abihail; of whom we read nowhere else, nor is it certain of which family he was, whether of the Mahlites or Mushites:
these shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward; to the left of it, between that and the camp of Dan.
And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle,.... Both of the holy and the most holy place, which were the walls of the tabernacle, and which were covered with curtains; these when taken down for journeying were committed to the care of the Merarites; and because these, with what, follow, were a heavy carriage, they were allowed wagons to carry them; and who on this account had more wagons given them than to the Gershonites, for the Kohathites had none, Numbers 7:6,
and the bars thereof; which kept the boards tight and close, see Exodus 26:26,
and the pillars thereof; the pillars on which the vail was hung, that divided between the holy and most holy place, and, on which the hanging was put for the door of the vail, Exodus 26:32,
and the sockets thereof; in which both the boards and pillars were put, Exodus 26:19.
And the pillars of the court round about,.... Of the great court which went round the tabernacle, on which pillars the hangings were hung:
and their sockets; into which the, pillars were put; of both which see Exodus 27:9,
and their pins, and their cords, the pins were fixed in the ground, and the cords fastened the hangings of the court to them, whereby they were kept tight and unmoved by the winds; see Exodus 27:19.
And those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east,.... At which was the entrance into the tabernacle:
even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward; that is, before the court of the tabernacle, where the people assembled together:
shall be Moses, Aaron, and his sons; Moses the chief ruler, and Aaron the high priest, and his sons priests under him; these had the most honourable place of all, beings at the front of the tabernacle, between that and the camp of Judah. There is an extraordinary prick on the word Aaron, to show, as Jarchi says, that he was not in the number of Levites, though of the tribe of Levi, being high priest:
keeping the charge of the sanctuary, for the charge of the children of Israel; either in their room and stead, which otherwise they must have kept; or rather for their safety and security, keeping out all persons from entering into the sanctuary, who had no business there, that they died not, as it follows:
and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death; that is, whoever came nigh to enter into the holy place, and did, who was no priest, though an Israelite, and even a Levite, or into the most holy place, excepting the high priest, it was death unto him, either by the civil magistrate, or by the hand of heaven; so the Targum of Jonathan.
All that were numbered of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron,
numbered at the commandment of the Lord, throughout their families,.... Whence it appears, that Moses was not alone, but Aaron with him, in numbering the Levites, and that by the appointment of the Lord. The word "Aaron", in the Hebrew text, has a dot on every letter, for what reason it is not certain; the word itself is left out in the Samaritan and Syriac versions:
all the males, from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand; 22,000 men; but by putting the sums together they amount to three hundred more; for of the Gershonites there were 7,500, and of the Kohathites 8,600, and of the Merarites 6,200, in all 22,300; which difficulty some endeavour to remove by saying, as Aben Ezra observes, that the Scripture takes a short way, mentioning the thousands, and leaving out the hundreds but this, he says, is not right, nor is it the way of the Scripture in this chapter: and in an after account of the firstborn of the Israelites, not only the hundreds are mentioned, but the broken number of seventy three. Others think there is a corruption crept into the text somewhere in the particular numbers, through the inadvertency of some copyist; and suppose it to be in the number of the Kohathites, where they fancy שש, six, is put instead of שלש, three: but there is no occasion to suppose either of these, for which there is no foundation, since the reason why three hundred are left out in the sum total may be, because there were so many firstborn among the Levites, and these could not be exchanged for the firstborn of the other tribes; they, as such, being the Lord's, and one firstborn could not redeem another; and so it is said in the TalmudF20T. Bab. Becoroth, fol. 5. 1. , these three hundred were firstborn, and there is no firstborn redeems a firstborn, or frees from the redemption price of five shekels.
And the Lord said unto Moses,.... After he had taken the number of the Levites:
number all the firstborn of the children of Israel, from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names; that they might be compared with the number of the Levites, and the difference between them observed.
And thou shall take the Levites for me,.... For his service, to minister to his priests, and serve in his tabernacle:
I am the Lord; who has a right to all, and can claim who he pleases for himself in a special manner, and therefore could and did take the Levites to himself:
instead of the firstborn among the children of Israel; these he had taken to him before, and ordered to be sanctified unto him, and for whom a redemption price was paid to his priests for the support of them, and the tabernacle service, and now it was his will to make an exchange of these for the Levites:
and the cattle of the Levites, instead of all the firstling among the cattle of the children of Israel: every firstling of clean cattle was the Lord's, and given to his priests, and the firstlings of unclean cattle were redeemed with a lamb, and which were given to the same; and now instead of these he requires the cattle of the Levites; not that they should be deprived of their use of them, or that they should be taken and sacrificed, but that they should be with them devoted to him, and they should possess them in his right.
And Moses numbered, as the Lord commanded him,.... No doubt assisted by others, though not mentioned:
all the firstborn among the children of Israel; which some think were only those that were born since they came out of Egypt, as Bonfrerius, Bishop Patrick, and others.
And all the firstborn males,.... For such only were ordered to be numbered, and not firstborn females:
by the number of names; which were particularly taken:
from a month old and upward; for before that time they were not sanctified to the Lord, nor subject to the redemption price:
of those that were numbered of them were twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen; 22,273 men; so that there were two hundred seventy three more than the Levites, Numbers 3:39.
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... After the number was taken, and gave him directions what to do upon it:
saying; as follows.
Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel,.... The Lord had declared before that he had taken them, and now he bids Moses take them, who had numbered them, and give them to Aaron, instead of the firstborn, whose numbers were also taken for this purpose:
and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; but not to be given to Aaron and his sons, or to the priests for their use, but to remain with the Levites for their use, who were now separated from the other tribes, and taken into the service of God; and as they were dedicated to God, so their cattle likewise for their support as his ministers:
and the Levites shall be mine; in a special manner his, being devoted to his service:
I am the Lord; who had a right to do this, and expected to be obeyed in it.
And for those that are to be redeemed, &c. With money, there being not Levites enough to answer to them, and exchange for them:
of the two hundred and threescore and thirteen of the firstborn of the children of Israel, which are more than the Levites; for the sum total of the Levites, as given, was but 22,000, Numbers 3:39, whereas the sum total of the firstborn of Israel were 22,273, Numbers 3:43, so that there were, two hundred seventy three more of the latter than of the former; and what was to be done with these next follows.
Thou shall even take five shekels apiece the poll,.... Or head; every firstborn, or his parent for him, was bound to pay five shekels, which were about eleven or twelve shillings of our money, and which was afterwards settled as the price of such a redemption, Numbers 18:16,
after the shekel of the sanctuary shall thou take them; being full weight according to the standard there kept:
the shekel is twenty gerahs; See Gill on Leviticus 27:25.
And thou shalt give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed,.... Or the superfluous number, the number of them that exceeded the Levites, namely, two hundred seventy three; the price of their redemption is ordered to be given
unto Aaron, and to his sons; since the Levites were taken in lieu of the firstborn, whose redemption money belonged to the priests; and seeing the Levites were given to Aaron and his sons on that consideration, and there being a deficiency of them to answer to the firstborn, it was but right and just that the redemption price of the superfluous number should be paid to them.
And Moses took the redemption money,.... Of five shekels per head:
of them that were over and above redeemed by the Levites; or were more than those redeemed by them. A Levite redeemed a firstborn, or freed him from the redemption price, being taken in lieu of him: 22,000 Levites were answerable to 22,000 firstborn of Israel; but as there were no more Levites than the above number, there remained two hundred seventy three firstborn to be redeemed by money, and it was the redemption money of these Moses took.
Of the firstborn of the children of Israel took he the money,.... Or "for the firstborn", as the Vulgate Latin version renders it, and so the Hebrew particle מאת is sometimes usedF21Vid. Nold. Partic. Ebr. Concord. p. 579. ; for children of a month old or little more could not pay the money, but their parents for them, which was paid by them, and Moses received it for the superfluous number of two hundred seventy three; but it is a matter of doubt of whom this was exacted, and by whom paid, and who could be reckoned as this superfluous number, unless they were the last two hundred seventy three that were numbered: some have thought this was paid out of the public stock, which was a ready way of doing it, but whether reasonable is not so manifest, since these firstborn were the properties of particular persons; the more commonly received method of doing it with the Jewish writers was, according to Jarchi and Abarbinel, and so in the TalmudF23T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 17. 1. by lot; the former of which describes the manner of doing it thus, 22,000 pieces (of paper or parchment) were brought, and on them written, "a son of Levi", or "a Levite", and two hundred seventy three other pieces, and on them were written, "five shekels"; these were mixed together and put into an urn or box, and then they were bid to come and take out the pieces, and according as the lot was, they were allowed as redeemed by the Levites, or paid the redemption money: and as this was a method much in use with the Hebrews, it is not improbable:
a thousand three hundred and threescore and five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; 1,365 shekels, which is exactly the number of shekels that two hundred seventy three should pay, reckoning five shekels per head; which Jarchi counts thus, for two hundred firstborn, a thousand shekels; for seventy firstborn, three hundred fifty; and for three firstborn fifteen, shekels, which in all amounted to about an hundred seventy pounds of our money.
And Moses gave the money of them that were redeemed,.... That were redeemed this way, and not by Levites, as in Numbers 3:49, but by money, paying five shekels a head:
unto Aaron and his sons; to whom the Levites were given; and this money, as a recompence for the deficiency of the number of them, to answer to the firstborn exchanged for them:
according to the word of the Lord; Numbers 3:48,
as the Lord commanded Moses; so did he, being a faithful servant in all things in the house of God; he did not convert it to his own use, or to any other use than to what God had appointed it.