Numbers 3

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The Sons of Aaron

1 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.

2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: ¹Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, ²the anointed priests, ³whom he ordained to serve as priests.

4 ⁴But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.

Duties of the Levites

5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

6 ⁵"Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him.

7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, ⁶as they minister at the tabernacle.

8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle.

9 And ⁷you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are ⁸wholly given to him from among the people of Israel.

10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and ⁹they shall guard their priesthood. But if ¹⁰any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death."

11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

12 "Behold, ¹¹I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine,

13 for ¹²all the firstborn are mine. ¹³On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD."

14 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,

15 "List the sons of Levi, by fathers' houses and by clans; ¹⁴every male from a month old and upward you shall list."

16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded.

17 ¹⁵And 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 clans: ¹⁶Libni and Shimei.

19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: ¹⁷Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: ¹⁸Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers' houses.

21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites.

22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was^[a] 7,500.

23 ¹⁹The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west,

24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers' house of the Gershonites.

25 And the ²⁰guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved ²¹the tabernacle, ²²the tent with ²³its covering, ²⁴the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting,

26 ²⁵the hangings of the court, ²⁶the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and ²⁷its cords--all the service connected with these.

27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the ²⁸Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites.

28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary.

29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle,

30 with ²⁹Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers' house of the clans of the Kohathites.

31 And their guard duty involved ³⁰the ark, ³¹the table, ³²the lampstand, ³³the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and ³⁴the screen; all the service connected with these.

32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary.

33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari.

34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200.

35 And the chief of the fathers' house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle.

36 ³⁵And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the ³⁶frames of the tabernacle, ³⁷the bars, ³⁸the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these;

37 also ³⁹the pillars around the court, with their bases and ⁴⁰pegs and ⁴¹cords.

38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, ⁴²guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect^[b] the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death.

39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the LORD, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were ⁴³ 22,000.

Redemption of the Firstborn

40 And the LORD said to Moses, "List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names.

41 ⁴⁴And you shall take the Levites for me--I am the LORD--instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel."

42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the LORD commanded him.

43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273.

44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

45 ⁴⁵"Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD.

46 And ⁴⁶as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites,

47 you shall take ⁴⁷five shekels^[c] per head; you shall take them according to ⁴⁸the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs^[d]),

48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over."

49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites.

50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, ⁴⁹ 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary.

51 And Moses ⁵⁰gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.

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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.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Cross References 50

1. See Exodus 6:23
2. See Leviticus 8
3. See Exodus 28:41
4. Numbers 26:61; Leviticus 10:1, 2; 1 Chronicles 24:2
5. Numbers 1:50; Numbers 8:6; Numbers 18:2
6. Numbers 8:11, 15, 24, 26
7. Numbers 8:19; Numbers 18:6
8. Numbers 8:16
9. Numbers 18:7; [Romans 12:7]
10. ver. 38; See Numbers 1:51
11. ver. 41; Numbers 8:16; Numbers 18:6
12. See Exodus 13:2
13. Numbers 8:17; Exodus 13:12, 15
14. ver. 39; Numbers 26:62; [Numbers 1:47]
15. Numbers 26:57; Genesis 46:11; Exodus 6:16; 1 Chronicles 6:1, 16; 1 Chronicles 23:6
16. Exodus 6:17; 1 Chronicles 6:17; 1 Chronicles 23:7
17. Exodus 6:18; 1 Chronicles 6:2, 18; 1 Chronicles 23:12
18. Exodus 6:19; 1 Chronicles 6:19; 1 Chronicles 23:21
19. Numbers 1:53
20. Numbers 4:24-26
21. Exodus 25:9
22. Exodus 26:7; Exodus 36:14
23. Exodus 26:14
24. Exodus 26:36
25. Exodus 27:9
26. Exodus 27:16
27. ver. 37; Exodus 35:18; Exodus 39:40
28. 1 Chronicles 26:23
29. [Exodus 6:22; Leviticus 10:4]
30. Exodus 25:10
31. Exodus 25:23
32. Exodus 25:31
33. Exodus 27:1; Exodus 30:1
34. Exodus 26:36
35. Numbers 4:31, 32
36. Exodus 26:15
37. Exodus 26:26
38. Exodus 26:32, 37
39. Exodus 27:10
40. Exodus 27:19
41. ver. 26
42. See Numbers 1:53
43. [ver. 22, 28, 34; See ver. 46-49]
44. ver. 12, 45
45. ver. 12, 41
46. Numbers 18:15, 16; Exodus 13:13
47. Numbers 18:16; Leviticus 27:6
48. See Exodus 30:13
49. ver. 46, 47
50. ver. 48

Footnotes 4

[a]. Hebrew their listing was
[b]. Hebrew guard
[c]. A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
[d]. A gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram

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.