Numbers 3:11-38

11 Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

12 "Now, behold, I ¹have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every ²firstborn, the first issue of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine.

13 "For ³all the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from man to beast. They shall be Mine; I am the LORD."

14 Then the LORD spoke to Moses ⁴in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,

15 "⁵Number the sons of Levi by their fathers' households, by their families; every male from a month old and upward you shall number."

16 So Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, just as he had been commanded.

17 ⁶These then are the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari.

18 These are the names of the ⁷sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei;

19 and the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel;

20 and the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers' households.

21 Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimeites; these were the families of the Gershonites.

22 Their numbered men, in the numbering of every male from a month old and upward, even their numbered men were 7,500 * * *.

23 The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle westward,

24 and the leader of the fathers' households of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael.

Duties of the Priests

25 Now ⁸the duties of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle and ⁹the tent, its covering, and ¹⁰the screen for the doorway of the tent of meeting,

26 and ¹¹the hangings of the court, and ¹²the screen for the doorway of the court which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords, according to all the service concerning them.

27 Of Kohath was the family of the Amramites and the family of the Izharites and the family of the Hebronites and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites.

28 In the numbering of every male from a month old and upward, there were 8,600 * *, performing the duties of the sanctuary.

29 The families of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the southward side of the tabernacle,

30 and the leader of the fathers' households of the Kohathite families was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.

31 Now ¹³their duties involved ¹⁴the ark, ¹⁵the table, ¹⁶the lampstand, ¹⁷the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary with which they minister, and the screen, and all the service concerning them;

32 and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was the chief of the leaders of Levi, and had the oversight of those who perform the duties of the sanctuary.

33 Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari.

34 Their numbered men in the numbering of every male from a month old and upward, were 6,200 * *.

35 The leader of the fathers' households of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to ¹⁸camp on the northward side of the tabernacle.

36 Now the appointed duties of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, all its equipment, and the service concerning them,

37 and the pillars around the court with their sockets and their pegs and their cords.

38 Now those who were to ¹⁹camp before the tabernacle eastward, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, are Moses and Aaron and his sons, performing the duties of the sanctuary for the obligation of the sons of Israel; but ²⁰the layman coming near was to be put to death.

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Numbers 3:11-38 Meaning and Commentary

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, Nu 3:1-4; and then of the Levites, as given unto them, to wait upon them, and assist them, Nu 3:5-10; and these were taken instead of the firstborn, Nu 3:11-13; and ordered to be numbered, which was done accordingly by their families, Nu 3:14-20; and the sum of each is given, and the particular work assigned to them; of the Gershonites, Nu 3:21-26; of the Kohathites, Nu 3:27-32; of the Merarites, Nu 3:33-38; the sum total of them is given, Nu 3:39; then the firstborn of the children of Israel, from a month old are ordered to be numbered, and were, Nu 3:40-43; 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, Nu 3:44-48; which was accordingly done, Nu 3:49-51.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 20

1. Numbers 3:45; Numbers 8:14
2. Exodus 13:2
3. Exodus 13:2; Leviticus 27:26; Nehemiah 10:36
4. Exodus 19:1
5. Numbers 1:47
6. Exodus 6:16-22
7. Exodus 6:17
8. Numbers 4:24-26
9. Ex 26:1, 7, 14
10. Exodus 26:36
11. Ex 27:9, 12, 14, 15
12. Exodus 27:16
13. Numbers 4:15
14. Exodus 25:10-22
15. Exodus 25:23-28
16. Exodus 25:31-40
17. Exodus 27:1, 2; Exodus 30:1-5
18. Numbers 1:53; Numbers 2:25
19. Numbers 1:53; Numbers 2:3
20. Numbers 1:51

Footnotes 7

[a]. Lit "muster," and so throughout the ch
[b]. Lit "mouth"
[c]. Lit "dwelling place," and so throughout the ch
[d]. Lit "of it"
[e]. In Ex 6:22, "Elzaphan"
[f]. Lit "of it"
[g]. Lit "stranger"