The Levitical Census
14 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai:
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"Register the Levites by their ancestral houses and their clans. You are to register every male one month old or more."
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So Moses registered them in obedience to the Lord as he had been commanded:
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These were Levi's sons by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
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These were the names of Gershon's sons by their clans: Libni and Shimei.
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Kohath's sons by their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
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Merari's sons by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans by their ancestral houses.
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The Libnite clan and the Shimeite clan came from Gershon; these were the Gershonite clans.
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Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 7,500.
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The Gershonite clans camped behind the tabernacle on the west side,
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and the leader of the Gershonite family was Eliasaph son of Lael.
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The Gershonites' duties at the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting,
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the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance to the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, and the tent ropes-all the work relating to these.
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The Amramite clan, the Izharite clan, the Hebronite clan, and the Uzzielite clan came from Kohath; these were the Kohathites.
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Counting every male one month old or more, there were 8,600 responsible for the duties of the sanctuary.
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The clans of the Kohathites camped on the south side of the tabernacle,
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and the leader of the family of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel.
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Their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the sanctuary utensils that were used with these, and the screen-and all the work relating to them.
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The chief of the Levite leaders was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest; he had oversight of those responsible for the duties of the sanctuary.
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The Mahlite clan and the Mushite clan came from Merari; these were the Merarite clans.
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Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 6,200.
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The leader of the family of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they camped on the north side of the tabernacle.
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The assigned duties of Merari's descendants involved the tabernacle's supports, crossbars, posts, bases, all its equipment, and all the work related to these,
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in addition to the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes.
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Moses, Aaron, and his sons, who performed the duties of the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Israelites, camped in front of the tabernacle on the east, in front of the tent of meeting toward the sunrise. Any unauthorized person who came near [it] was to be put to death.
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The total number of all the Levite males one month old or more that Moses and Aaron registered by their clans at the Lord's command was 22,000.