Numbers 3:9-19

9 And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons; they are completely given unto him out of the sons of Israel.

10 And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons that they shall guard their priesthood; and the stranger that comes near shall be put to death.

11 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

12 Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of all the firstborn that open the womb among the sons of Israel; therefore the Levites shall be mine;

13 because all the firstborn are mine; from the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both of men and of animals; they shall be mine: I am the LORD.

14 The LORD also spoke unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,

15 Number the sons of Levi by the houses of their fathers, by their families; thou shalt number every male from a month old and upward.

16 And Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded.

17 And 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 families: Libni and Shimei.

19 And the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

Numbers 3:9-19 Meaning and Commentary

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.