Numbers 4:5

5 "When the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and they shall take down ¹the veil of the screen and cover the ²ark of the testimony with it;

Numbers 4:5 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 4:5

And when the camp setteth forward
Upon the cloud's removing and the trumpets blowing:

Aaron shall come, and his sons;
into the holy place:

and they shall take down the covering vail:
the vail that divided between the holy and the most holy place, which covered all in the holy of holies out of sight:

and cover the ark of testimony with it;
together with the mercy seat and cherubim on it, that they might not be seen nor touched by the Levites when they carried them. Now though the high priest himself might not go into the most holy place but once a year, on the day of atonement, yet on this occasion, when the tabernacle was to be taken down, and the things in it to be removed, both he and his sons might enter without danger; since, as Bishop Patrick observes, the divine Majesty was gone from thence in the cloud which gave the signal for the motion of the camp, and the taking down of the tabernacle.

Numbers 4:5 In-Context

3 from thirty years and upward, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tent of meeting.

4 "This is the work of the descendants of Kohath in the tent of meeting, concerning the most holy things.

5 "When the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and they shall take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it;

6 and they shall lay a covering of porpoise skin on it, and shall spread over it a cloth of pure blue, and shall insert its poles.

7 "Over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall also spread a cloth of blue and put on it the dishes and the pans and the sacrificial bowls and the jars for the drink offering, and the continual bread shall be on it.

Cross References

• 1. Exodus 40:5; Leviticus 16:2; 2 Chronicles 3:14; Matthew 27:51; Hebrews 9:3
• 2. Exodus 25:10-16