Numbers 3:16

16 And Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded.

Numbers 3:16 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 3:16

And Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord,
&c.] 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.

Numbers 3:16 In-Context

14 The LORD also spoke unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,

15 Number the sons of Levi by the houses of their fathers, by their families; thou shalt number every male from a month old and upward.

16 And Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded.

17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari.

18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei.