Numbers, Chapter 3

Numbers Chapter 3

Verses 1-51: The Levites Assigned to the Tabernacle

1. These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.
2. These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
3. These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests.
4. Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the Wilderness of Sinai; they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of Aaron their father.
5. And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
6. “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him.
7. They shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle.
8. They shall keep all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting, and the charge of the Israelites, to do the service of the tabernacle.
9. Give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons; they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel.
10. And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall keep their priesthood: and the stranger that comes near shall be put to death.”
11. And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
12. “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn that opens the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine;
13. Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the LORD.”
14. The LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying,
15. “Number the children of Levi by the house of their fathers, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shall you number them.”
16. 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, and Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20. And the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to the house of their fathers.
21. Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimeites: these are the families of the Gershonites.
22. Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were seven thousand and five hundred.
23. The families of the Gershonites shall camp behind the tabernacle westward.
24. And the chief of the house of the father of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael.
25. And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, its covering, and the screen for the door of the tent of meeting,
26. And the hangings of the court, and the curtain for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and the cords of it for all the service thereof.
27. And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izeharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites.
28. In the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary.
29. The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward.
30. And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.
31. And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the screen, and all the service thereof.
32. And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.
33. Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari.
34. And their number, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred.
35. The chief of the house of the father of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: these shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward.
36. And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serves thereto,
37. And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.
38. But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that comes near shall be put to death.
39. All that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the LORD, by their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand.
40. And the LORD said unto Moses, “Number all the firstborn of the males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names.
41. And you shall take the Levites for me (I am the LORD) instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel.”
42. So Moses numbered all the firstborn among the children of Israel, as the LORD commanded him.
43. And all the firstborn males by the number of names from a month old and upward, of those that were numbered of them, were twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen.
44. And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,
45. “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD.
46. And for the redemption of the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel, which are more than the number of the Levites;
47. You shall take five shekels apiece per head; after the shekel of the sanctuary shall you take them: (the shekel is twenty gerahs:)
48. And you shall give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed, unto Aaron and to his sons.”
49. And Moses took the redemption money of them that were over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites:
50. Of the firstborn of the children of Israel took he the money; a thousand three hundred and threescore and five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:
51. And Moses gave the money of them that were redeemed unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Interpretation: These closing verses of Numbers 3 elaborate on the substitution of the Levites for all the firstborn among the Israelites, highlighting the special status of the Levites as dedicated to the LORD. The redemption of the firstborn, who exceed the number of Levites, with money, signifies the importance of obeying God’s command and the value placed on the firstborn since Egypt’s plague. This process, including the specific financial transaction, underscores the seriousness with which these dedications and redemptions were viewed, further reinforcing the Levites’ unique role and the sanctity of life and service to God.