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The Fourth Book of Moses: Numbers

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- Chapter 3 -

(Leviticus 10:1–7)
1
These are the generations of Aaron and Moses, in the day when the Lord spoke to Moses on mount Sinai.
2
And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: his firstborn Nadab, then Abihu, and Eleazar, and Ithamar.
3
These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests who were anointed and whose hands were filled and consecrated in order to exercise the priesthood.
4
For Nadab and Abihu died without children, when they offered, in the sight of the Lord, a strange fire, in the desert of Sinai. And so, Eleazar and Ithamar exercised the priesthood in the sight of Aaron, their father.

The Duties of the Levites

5
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
6
“Bring forward the tribe of Levi, and cause them to stand in the sight of Aaron the priest, in order to minister to him. And let them keep watch outside,
7
and let them observe whatever pertains to the ritual for the multitude, in front of the tabernacle of the testimony,
8
and let them take care of the vessels of the tabernacle, serving in its ministry.
9
And you shall give the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons; for they have been delivered to them by the sons of Israel.
10
But you shall appoint Aaron and his sons over the service of the priesthood. The outsider who approaches to minister shall be put to death.”
11
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
12
“I have taken the Levites from the sons of Israel. For the Levites, and all the firstborn who open the womb among the sons of Israel, shall be mine.
13
For every firstborn is mine. From the time that I struck the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I have sanctified for myself whatever is born first in Israel. From man, even to beast, they are mine. I am the Lord.”

The Numbering of the Levites

14
And the Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, saying:
15
“Number the sons of Levi by the houses of their fathers and their families, every male from one month and above.”
16
Moses numbered them, just as the Lord had instructed,
17
and there were found the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari.
18
The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei.
19
The sons of Kohath: Amram, and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.
20
The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi.

The Gershonites

(Numbers 4:21–28; 1 Chronicles 23:7–11)
21
From Gershon were two families: the Libnites, and the Shimeites.
22
The people of these were numbered, of the male sex, from one month and above: seven thousand five hundred.
23
These shall encamp behind the tabernacle, toward the west,
24
under the leader Eliasaph the son of Lael.
25
And they shall keep watch over the tabernacle of the covenant:
26
the tabernacle itself, and its covering; the tent that is drawn before the doors of the covering of the covenant; and the curtains of the atrium; likewise, the tent that is suspended at the entrance of the atrium of the tabernacle; and whatever pertains to the ritual of the altar; the cords of the tabernacle and all its implements.

The Kohathites

(Numbers 4:1–20; 1 Chronicles 23:12–20)
27
The kinship of Kohath includes the peoples of the Amramites and Izharites and Hebronites and Uzzielites. These are the families of the Kohathites, having been counted by their names,
28
all those of the male gender, from one month and above: eight thousand six hundred. They shall keep watch over the Sanctuary,(a)
29
and they shall encamp toward the south side.
30
And their leader shall be Elisaphan the son of Uzziel.
31
And they shall take care of the ark, and the table and the lampstand, the altars and the vessels of the Sanctuary, by which they minister, and the veil, and all the articles of this kind.
32
But the leader of the leaders of the Levites, Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, shall be over those who watch over the care of the Sanctuary.

The Merarites

(Numbers 4:29–33; 1 Chronicles 23:21–23)
33
And truly, from Merari are the peoples of the Mahlites and Mushites, having been counted by their names,
34
all those of the male gender, from one month and above: six thousand two hundred.
35
Their leader is Suriel the son of Abihaiel. They shall make camp on the north side.
36
Under their care shall be the panels of the tabernacle, and the bars, and the columns with their bases, and all the things which pertain to service of this kind,
37
and the columns of the surrounding atrium with their bases, and the tent pegs with their cords.

Moses and Aaron

38
Moses and Aaron, with their sons, shall make camp before the tabernacle of the covenant, that is, on the east side, holding the custody of the Sanctuary in the midst of the sons of Israel. Whatever foreigner approaches it shall die.
39
All the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by their families according to the precept of the Lord, of the male gender, from one month and above, were twenty-two thousand.

The Redemption of the Firstborn

40
And the Lord said to Moses: “Number the firstborn of the male sex from the sons of Israel, from one month and above, and you shall take their total.
41
And you shall bring the Levites to me, in place of all the firstborn of the sons of Israel, and you shall bring their cattle to me, in place of all the firstborn of the cattle of the sons of Israel. I am the Lord.”
42
Moses took a census, just as the Lord had instructed, of the firstborn of the sons of Israel.
43
And the males by their names, from one month and above, were twenty-two thousand two hundred seventy-three.
44
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
45
“Take the Levites, in place of the firstborn of the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites, in place of their cattle, and so the Levites shall be mine. I am the Lord.
46
But for the price of the two hundred and seventy-three, which exceed the number of the Levites compared to the number of firstborn of the sons of Israel,(b)
47
you shall take five shekels for each head, by the measure of the Sanctuary. A shekel has twenty obols.
48
And you shall give the money to Aaron and his sons as the price of those that are in excess.”
49
Therefore, Moses took the money for those that were in excess, and whom they had redeemed from the Levites
50
in place of the firstborn of the sons of Israel: one thousand three hundred sixty-five shekels, according to the weight of the Sanctuary.
51
And he gave it to Aaron and his sons, according to the word by which the Lord had instructed him.

Footnotes

(a)3:28 More than one tribe is given the duty of keeping watch over the Sanctuary, perhaps because a watch was needed on all four sides.(Conte)
(b)3:46 The total number of Levites was actually 22,300; but the number reported as the total was 22,000. This may be due to rounding: the numbers 7,500 and 8,600 and 6,200 are probably rounded to the nearest hundred; then, the 22,300 is rounded down to the nearest thousand. Getting an exact number in a census of a very large group is very difficult. Some children are passing their first month, so they enter into the count of the census; some persons die as the census is taking place. It might take weeks or months to take a census, especially since their main occupation in the desert of Sinai was tasks needed to survive. It may also be that these numbers are symbolic; 100 is subtracted from each of the three tribes (300) to make 22,000. Notice that the number of the sons of Israel, 20 years and older, excluding the Levites, is 603,550 men; but the number of the first born males one month and older is only 22,273. This is one first born for every 27 or so males of 20 years and up, so that would be an even greater proportion if we knew how many males were between one month and 20 years. In ancient times, and up until the early 20th century, the mortality rate for infants and children was high. In human history, most persons died in childhood, until the 20th century. So the number of surviving first born sons is low.(Conte)
(Leviticus 10:1–7)
1
Now this is the history of the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spoke with Moses in 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 priests who were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest’s office.
4
Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered strange fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest’s office in the presence of Aaron their father.

The Duties of the Levites

5
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
6
“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him.
7
They shall keep his requirements, and the requirements 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 obligations of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.
9
You shall give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons. They are wholly given to him on the behalf of the children of Israel.
10
You shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall keep their priesthood, but the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.”
11
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
12
“Behold,(a) I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn who open the womb among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine,
13
for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I made holy to me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and animal. They shall be mine. I am the LORD.”

The Numbering of the Levites

14
The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,
15
“Count the children of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their families. You shall count every male from a month old and upward.”
16
Moses counted them according to the LORD’s word, as he was commanded.
17
These were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18
These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei.
19
The sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20
The sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ houses.

The Gershonites

(Numbers 4:21–28; 1 Chronicles 23:7–11)
21
Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimeites. These are the families of the Gershonites.
22
Those who were counted of them, according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward, even those who were counted of them were seven thousand five hundred.
23
The families of the Gershonites shall encamp behind the tabernacle westward.
24
Eliasaph the son of Lael shall be the prince of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites.
25
The duty of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting shall be the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for the door of the Tent of Meeting,
26
the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court which is by the tabernacle and around the altar, and its cords for all of its service.

The Kohathites

(Numbers 4:1–20; 1 Chronicles 23:12–20)
27
Of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites. These are the families of the Kohathites.
28
According to the number of all the males from a month old and upward, there were eight thousand six hundred keeping the requirements of the sanctuary.
29
The families of the sons of Kohath shall encamp on the south side of the tabernacle.
30
The prince of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.
31
Their duty shall be the ark, the table, the lamp stand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which they minister, the screen, and all its service.
32
Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be prince of the princes of the Levites, with the oversight of those who keep the requirements of the sanctuary.

The Merarites

(Numbers 4:29–33; 1 Chronicles 23:21–23)
33
Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites. These are the families of Merari.
34
Those who were counted of them, according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward, were six thousand two hundred.(b)
35
The prince of the fathers’ house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They shall encamp on the north side of the tabernacle.
36
The appointed duty of the sons of Merari shall be the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, all its instruments, all its service,
37
the pillars of the court around it, their sockets, their pins, and their cords.

Moses and Aaron

38
Those who encamp before the tabernacle eastward, in front of the Tent of Meeting toward the sunrise, shall be Moses, with Aaron and his sons, keeping the requirements of the sanctuary for the duty of the children of Israel. The outsider who comes near shall be put to death.
39
All who were counted of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the commandment of the LORD, by their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty-two thousand.

The Redemption of the Firstborn

40
The LORD said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names.
41
You shall take the Levites for me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the livestock of the children of Israel.”
42
Moses counted, as the LORD commanded him, all the firstborn among the children of Israel.
43
All the firstborn males according to the number of names from a month old and upward, of those who were counted of them, were twenty-two thousand two hundred seventy-three.
44
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
45
“Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock; and the Levites shall be mine. I am the LORD.
46
For the redemption of the two hundred seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel who exceed the number of the Levites,
47
you shall take five shekels apiece for each one; according to the shekel (c) of the sanctuary you shall take them (the shekel is twenty gerahs (d));
48
and you shall give the money, with which their remainder is redeemed, to Aaron and to his sons.”
49
Moses took the redemption money from those who exceeded the number of those who were redeemed by the Levites;
50
from the firstborn of the children of Israel he took the money, one thousand three hundred sixty-five shekels,(e) according to the shekel of the sanctuary;
51
and Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and to his sons, according to the LORD’s word, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Footnotes

(a)3:12 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.
(b)3:34 + 22,000 is the sum rounded to 2 significant digits. The sum of the Gershonites, Kohathites, and Merarites given above is 22,300, but the traditional Hebrew text has the number rounded to 2 significant digits, not 3 significant digits.
(c)3:47 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces.
(d)3:47 A gerah is about 0.5 grams or about 7.7 grains.
(e)3:50 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces, so 1365 shekels is about 13.65 kilograms or about 30 pounds.
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