Numbers 3:16

16 Moses counted them just as he was instructed by the mouth of God.

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 God spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai:
15 "Count the Levites by their ancestral families and clans. Count every male a month old and older."
16 Moses counted them just as he was instructed by the mouth of God.
17 These are the names of the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18 These are the names of the Gershonite clans: Libni and Shimei.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.