Numbers 18:20

20 Then the Lord said to Aaron: You shall have no allotment in their land, nor shall you have any share among them; I am your share and your possession among the Israelites.

Numbers 18:20 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 18:20

And the Lord spake unto Aaron
What is said, being what concerned the tribe of Levi, at the head of which Aaron was, even concerning the maintenance of the Levites:

thou shalt have no inheritance in their land;
in the land of Israel when they come to possess it, as the rest of the tribes had:

neither shalt thou have any part among them;
any part of the land when it is divided by lot, as it was in the times of Joshua, when taken from the Canaanites; no tract of land was peculiarly assigned to them as were to the other tribes, as fields, nor vineyards; they had cities appointed them, and they had houses and fields devoted to the Lord which fell to them, and others they had by gift or legacy, or by purchase, as had Jeremiah the priest and Barnabas the Levite, ( Jeremiah 32:9 ) ( Acts 4:36 Acts 4:37 ) ; but they had no share in the distribution of the land of Canaan at the time of the division of it among the tribes; no, not even in the spoil of the cities of the land of Canaan, when they were conquered; this Maimonides F14 says they were warned not to take; and a son of Levi that took any part of the spoil was to be beaten; but the spoil of other lands, subdued by the kings of Israel, they might take, as other Israelites did: the reason of all this was, because they had a sufficient provision made for them in another way, and that they might not be entangled in worldly affairs, or spend their time in the culture of fields and vineyards, but wholly give themselves to the service of God in his house:

I [am] thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel;
in things temporal, the offerings, tithes, firstfruits which were given to the Lord, being bestowed upon them; and in things spiritual, they being employed in the work and service of God, and having a peculiar nearness to him, and communion with him: so all that are made priests unto God, as all believers in Christ are, ( 1 Peter 2:5 1 Peter 2:9 ) , have God for their portion and inheritance; God, in his persons and in all his perfections, and under every character, as the God of nature, providence, and grace, is the portion of his people; and a rich, large, and satisfying portion he is, and which is inexhaustible, and will endure for ever; he is their portion in life and at death, in time and to all eternity; see ( Psalms 73:26 ) ( 142:5 ) ( Leviticus 3:14 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F14 Hilchot Shemittah Veyobel, c. 13. sect. 10, 11.

Numbers 18:20 In-Context

18 but their flesh shall be yours, just as the breast that is elevated and as the right thigh are yours.
19 All the holy offerings that the Israelites present to the Lord I have given to you, together with your sons and daughters, as a perpetual due; it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and your descendants as well.
20 Then the Lord said to Aaron: You shall have no allotment in their land, nor shall you have any share among them; I am your share and your possession among the Israelites.
21 To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for a possession in return for the service that they perform, the service in the tent of meeting.
22 From now on the Israelites shall no longer approach the tent of meeting, or else they will incur guilt and die.
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.