Numbers 8 Footnotes

8:1-4 The seven-tiered menorah, mentioned among the transported items in 3:31 and 4:9, provided lighting for the actions of the priests within the tabernacle. The light also was a symbol of God’s presence and glory. Instructions for its construction were given in Ex 25:31-40; 37:17-24.

8:5-26 The second phase of details regarding the Levites focuses (vv. 12-19) upon the purification rituals for their dedication in substitution for the firstborn males of the Israelite tribes. The dedication was a threefold process involving ritual cleansing, ceremonial sacrifices, and presentation to the Aaronic priesthood at the entrance to the tabernacle. Critics sometimes view this material as deriving from the supposed Priestly source, thought to have been compiled to enhance the status of the Levites in response to developments during the reign of Josiah (639–609 BC). Yet the responsibilities outlined in Numbers would have had little place in the postexilic Second Temple community of Jerusalem. The details are applicable to the time of the mobile sanctuary, that is, during the wilderness period as indicated by the text.

8:15-19 The Levites functioned as assistants to the Aaronic priests, as transporters and maintenance persons for sanctuary structures and implements, and as guardians against any encroachment upon the holiness of the sanctuary. The passage reiterates the Levites’ role in substitution for the firstborn of Israel (3:46-49; Ex 13:11-16). The events of the exodus provide the historical precedent for these instructions.

8:20-22 The summary statement highlights the essential acts of Levite dedication with an emphasis on how the collective community of the Prophet Moses, the high priest Aaron, and the congregation of the Israelites faithfully did “as the LORD had commanded.”

8:23-26 The addendum to the dedication of the Levites cites retirement age as fifty and the minimum age of service as twenty-five years, whereas 4:2 suggests a minimum age of thirty. Some scholars claim that these texts stem from different pentateuchal sources, but others suggest that the Levites may have served a five-year apprenticeship. Perhaps the age limit was raised from twenty-five to a more mature thirty as a result of the deaths of the immature and presumptuous Nadab and Abihu (Lv 10:1-3). During the latter part of David’s reign two separate censuses were taken of those thirty and above and those twenty and above (1Ch 23:2-5 and vv. 24-27 respectively). Later in the reign of Hezekiah, another Levitical census was taken for those at least twenty years of age (2Ch 31:17). Hence censuses of varying ages and kinds were taken for different purposes. Even the suggested retirement age of fifty was not totally restrictive since the Levites were permitted to perform light duties in the tabernacle.