Numbers 8:25

25 and from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting on the work, and shall serve no more,

Numbers 8:25 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 8:25

And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon
the service [thereof]
The heavy service of it: and shall serve no more;
by bearing and carrying the vessels of the sanctuary upon their shoulders, as Jarchi interprets it; this, according to the Jewish writers, was only in force while the tabernacle was in the wilderness, and was moved from place to place: but when it had a fixed habitation, and that laborious service of bearing and carrying the vessels of it ceased, years made no difference in the Levites, or disqualified them for service; for it is said F24, that the Levites were not bound by this law, but in the time of the tabernacle; but when it was at Shiloh, and at Jerusalem, where there was no bearing and carrying upon the shoulder, the Levites were not rejected on account of years, only for their voice, when they had lost that, and could not sing.


FOOTNOTES:

F24 Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Cholin, c. 1. sect. 6.

Numbers 8:25 In-Context

23 The LORD spoke to Moshe, saying,
24 "This is that which belongs to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall go in to wait on the service in the work of the Tent of Meeting;
25 and from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting on the work, and shall serve no more,
26 but shall minister with their brothers in the Tent of Meeting, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites concerning their duties."
The Hebrew Names Version is in the public domain.