Numbers 3

1 These also are the generations of Aaron and of Moses in the day that the LORD spoke with Moses in Mount Sinai.

2 And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, anointed priests, whose hands he filled to administer the priesthood.

4 But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons; and Eleazar and Ithamar exercised the priesthood in the sight of Aaron, their father.

5 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

6 Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them before Aaron, the priest, that they may minister unto him.

7 And they shall keep his commandment and the commandment of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the testimony, to minister in the service of the tabernacle.

8 And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the testimony and the charge of the sons of Israel, to minister in the service of the tabernacle.

9 And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons; they are completely given unto him out of the sons of Israel.

10 And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons that they shall guard their priesthood; and the stranger that comes near shall be put to death.

11 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

12 Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of all the firstborn that open the womb among the sons of Israel; therefore the Levites shall be mine;

13 because all the firstborn are mine; from the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both of men and of animals; they shall be mine: I am the LORD.

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.

19 And the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

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

21 Of Gershon was the family of Libni and the family of Shimei; these are the families of Gershon.

22 Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, those that were numbered of them were seven thousand five hundred.

23 The families of Gershon shall pitch behind the tabernacle to the west;

24 and the prince of the house of the father of the Gershonites, Eliasaph, son of Lael.

25 And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the testimony shall be the tabernacle and the tent, the covering thereof, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the testimony,

26 and the hangings of the court and the curtain for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and the cords of it for all the service thereof.

27 And of Kohath was the family of Amram and the family of Izehar and the family of Hebron and the family of Uzziel; these are the families of the Kohathites.

28 In the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were eight thousand six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary.

29 The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle towards the Negev;

30 and the prince of the house of the father of the families of Kohath, Elizaphan, son of Uzziel.

31 And their charge shall be the ark and the table and the lampstand and the altars and the vessels of the sanctuary with which they minister, and the veil, with all its service.

32 And Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, shall be principal over the princes of the Levites and have the oversight of those that keep the charge of the sanctuary.

33 Of Merari was the family of Mahli and the family of Mushi; these are the families of Merari.

34 And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand two hundred;

35 and the prince of the house of the father of the families of Merari, Zuriel the son of Abihail: these shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle to the Aquilon.

36 And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle and the bars thereof and the pillars thereof and the sockets thereof and all the instruments thereof, with all its service,

37 and the pillars of the court round about and their sockets and their stakes and their cords.

38 And those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, before the tabernacle of the testimony towards the sunrise, shall be Moses and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the sons of Israel; and the stranger that comes near shall be put to death.

39 All that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron, according to the word of the LORD, numbered by their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty-two thousand.

40 And the LORD said unto Moses, Number all the firstborn of the males of the sons of Israel from a month old and upward and take the number of their names.

41 And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am the LORD) instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel and the animals of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the animals of the sons of Israel.

42 And Moses numbered, as the LORD commanded him, all the firstborn among the sons of Israel.

43 And all the firstborn males by the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those that were numbered of them, were twenty-two thousand two hundred seventy-three.

44 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

45 Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel and the animals of the Levites instead of their animals, and the Levites shall be mine; I am the LORD.

46 And for the ransoms of the two hundred seventy-three of the firstborn of the sons of Israel, who are more than the Levites,

47 thou shalt take five shekels apiece by the poll, after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them (the shekel is of twenty gerahs).

48 And thou shalt give the money, of the ransoms of the odd number of them, unto Aaron and to his sons.

49 And Moses took the ransom money of those that were over and above the ones that were redeemed by the Levites

50 and received of the firstborn of the sons of Israel, in money, a thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary.

51 And Moses gave the money of the ransoms unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Numbers 3 Commentary

Chapter 3

The sons of Aaron, The Levites taken instead of the first-born. (1-13) The Levites numbered by their families, Their duties. (14-39) The first-born are numbered. (40-51)

Verses 1-13 There was much work belonging to the priests' office, and there were now only Aaron and his two sons to do it; God appoints the Levites to attend them. Those whom God finds work for, he will find help for. The Levites were taken instead of the first-born. When He that made us, saves us, as the first-born of Israel were saved, we are laid under further obligations to serve him faithfully. God's right to us by redemption, confirms the right he has to us by creation.

Verses 14-39 The Levites were in three classes, according to the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; and these were subdivided into families. The posterity of Moses were not at all honoured or privileged, but stood upon the level with other Levites; thus it was plain, that Moses did not seek the advancement of his own family, or to secure any honours to it. The tribe of Levi was by much the least of all the tribes. God's chosen are but a little flock in comparison with the world.

Verses 40-51 The number of the first-born, and that of the Levites, came near to each other. Known unto God are all his works beforehand; there is an exact proportion between them, and so it will appear, when they are compared together. The small number of first-born, over and above the number of the Levites, were to be redeemed, and the redemption-money given to Aaron. The church is called the church of the first-born, which is redeemed, not as they were, with silver and gold; but, being devoted by sin to the justice of God, is ransomed with the precious blood of the Son of God. All men are the Lord's by creation, and all true christians are his by redemption. Each should know his own post and duty; nor can any service required by such a Master be rightly accounted mean or hard.

Chapter Summary

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.