Numbers 3:40

40 The Lord said to Moses, "Count all the firstborn sons in Israel one month old or older, and list their names.

Numbers 3:40 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 3:40

And the Lord said unto Moses
After he had taken the number of the Levites:

number all the firstborn of the children of Israel, from a month old
and upward, and take the number of their names;
that they might be compared with the number of the Levites, and the difference between them observed.

Numbers 3:40 In-Context

38 Moses, Aaron, and his sons camped east of the Holy Tent, toward the sunrise, in front of the Meeting Tent. They were responsible for the Holy Place for the Israelites. Anyone else who came near the Holy Place was to be put to death.

39 Moses and Aaron counted the Levite men by their families, as the Lord commanded, and there were 22,000 males one month old or older.

40 The Lord said to Moses, "Count all the firstborn sons in Israel one month old or older, and list their names.

41 Take the Levites for me instead of the firstborn sons of Israel; take the animals of the Levites instead of the firstborn animals from the rest of Israel. I am the Lord."

42 So Moses did what the Lord commanded and counted all the firstborn sons of the Israelites.