Numbers 3:9

9 You shall give the Levites to Aaron and his descendants; they are unreservedly given to him from among the Israelites.

Numbers 3:9 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 3:9

And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons,
&c.] To be their ministers and servants:

they [are] wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel:
even all of them entirely, none excepted; the whole tribe which were not in the priestly office; those were separated from the rest of the tribes of Israel, and appointed for the service of the priests: or they were "given, given" F17; which is repeated not only to show that they were wholly given, as we render it, but to denote the certainty of it, that they were really given; and especially to declare the freeness of the gift; the priests had them as free gifts, nor did they pay them any thing for, their service; they were maintained another way, namely, by the tithes of the people; and indeed the priests received a tithe out of the tithe of the Levites; so far were they from contributing any thing to their support, or in consideration of the service they did them.


FOOTNOTES:

F17 (Mynwtn Mynwtn) "dati, dati", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius.

Numbers 3:9 In-Context

7 They shall perform duties for him and for the whole congregation in front of the tent of meeting, doing service at the tabernacle;
8 they shall be in charge of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and attend to the duties for the Israelites as they do service at the tabernacle.
9 You shall give the Levites to Aaron and his descendants; they are unreservedly given to him from among the Israelites.
10 But you shall make a register of Aaron and his descendants; it is they who shall attend to the priesthood, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.
11 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.