The Fourth Book of Moses: Numbers

⭑ Douay-Rheims :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 3 -

(Leviticus 10:1–7)

These are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the Lord spoke to Moses in mount Sinai.

And these the names of the sons of Aaron: his firstborn Nadab, then Abiu, and Eleazar, and Ithamar.

These the names of the sons of Aaron the priests that were anointed, and whose hands were filled and consecrated, to do the functions of priesthood.

Now Nadab and Abiu died, without children, when they offered strange fire before the Lord, in the desert of Sinai: and Eleazar and Ithamar performed the priestly office in the presence of Aaron their father.

The Duties of the Levites

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Bring the tribe of Levi, and make them stand in the sight of Aaron the priest to minister to him, and let them watch,

And observe whatsoever appertaineth to the service of the multitude before the tabernacle of the testimony,

And let them keep the vessels of the tabernacle, serving in the ministry thereof.

And thou shalt give the Levites for a gift,

To Aaron and to his sons, to whom they are delivered by the children of Israel. But thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons over the service of priesthood. The stranger that approacheth to minister, shall be put to death.

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

I have taken the Levites from the children of Israel, for every firstborn that openeth the womb among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine.

For every firstborn is mine: since I struck the firstborn in the land of Egypt: I have sanctified to myself whatsoever is firstborn in Israel both of man and beast, they are mine: I am the Lord.

The Numbering of the Levites

And the Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, saying:

Number the sons of Levi by the houses of their fathers and their families, every male from one month and upward.

Moses numbered them as the Lord had commanded.

And there were found sons of Levi by their names, Gerson and Caath and Merari.

The sons of Gerson: Lebni and Semei.

The sons of Caath: Amram, and Jesaar, Hebron and Oziel:

The sons of Merari: Moholi and Musi.

The Gershonites

(Numbers 4:21–28; 1 Chronicles 23:7–11)

Of Gerson were two families, the Lebnites, and the Semeites:

Of which were numbered, people of the male sex from one month and upward, seven thousand five hundred.

These shall pitch behind the tabernacle on the west,

Under their prince Eliasaph the son of Lael.

And their charge shall be in the tabernacle of the covenant:

The tabernacle itself and the cover thereof, the hanging that is drawn before the doors of the tabernacle of the covenant, and the curtains of the court: the hanging also that is hanged in the entry of the court of the tabernacle, and whatsoever belongeth to the rite of the altar, the cords of the tabernacle, and all the furniture thereof.

The Kohathites

(Numbers 4:1–20; 1 Chronicles 23:12–20)

Of the kindred of Caath come the families of the Amramites and Jesaarites and Hebronites and Ozielites. These are the families of the Caathites reckoned up by their names:

All of the male sex from one month and upward, eight thousand six hundred: they shall have the guard of the sanctuary,

And shall camp on the south side.

And their prince shall be Elisaphan the son of Oziel:

And they shall keep the ark, and the table and the candlestick, the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary, wherewith they minister, and the veil, and all the furniture of this kind.

And the prince of the princes of the Levites, Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, shall be over them that watch for the guard of the sanctuary.

The Merarites

(Numbers 4:29–33; 1 Chronicles 23:21–23)

And of Merari are the families of the Moholites, and Musites, reckoned up by their names:

All of the male kind from one month and upward, six thousand two hundred.

Their prince Suriel the son of Abihaiel: they shall camp on the north side.

Under their custody shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars, and the pillars and their sockets, and all things that pertain to this kind of service:

And the pillars of the court round about with their sockets, and the pins with their cords.

Moses and Aaron

Before the tabernacle of the covenant, that is to say on the east side, shall Moses and Aaron camp, with their sons, having the custody of the sanctuary, in the midst of the children of Israel. What stranger soever cometh unto it, shall be put to death.

All the Levites, that Moses and Aaron numbered according to the precept of the Lord, by their families, of the male kind from one month and upward, were twenty-two thousand.

The Redemption of the Firstborn

And the Lord said to Moses: Number the firstborn of the male sex of the children of Israel, from one month and upward, and thou shalt take the sum of them.

And thou shalt take the Levites to me for all the firstborn of the children of Israel, I am the Lord: and their cattle for all the firstborn of the cattle of the children of Israel:

Moses reckoned up, as the Lord had commanded, the firstborn of the children of Israel:

And the males by their names, from one month and upward, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saving:

Take the Levites for the firstborn of the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites for their cattle, and the Levites shall be mine. I am the Lord.

But for the price of the two hundred and seventy-three, of the firstborn of the children of Israel, that exceed the number of the Levites,

Thou shalt take five sides for every head, according to the weight of the sanctuary. A sicle hath twenty obols.

And then shalt give the money to Aaron and his sons, the price of them that are above.

Moses therefore took the money of them that were above, and whom they had redeemed from the Levites,

For the firstborn of the children of Israel, one thousand three hundred and sixty-five sicles, according to the weight of the sanctuary,

And gave it to Aaron and his sons, according to the word that the Lord had commanded him.

(Leviticus 10:1–7)

Now this is the history of the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spoke with Moses in Mount Sinai.

These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests who were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest’s office.

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

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him.

They shall keep his requirements, and the requirements of the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle.

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.

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.

You shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall keep their priesthood, but the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.”

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“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,

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

The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,

“Count the children of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their families. You shall count every male from a month old and upward.”

Moses counted them according to the LORD’s word, as he was commanded.

These were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei.

The sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

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)

Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimeites. These are the families of the Gershonites.

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.

The families of the Gershonites shall encamp behind the tabernacle westward.

Eliasaph the son of Lael shall be the prince of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites.

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,

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)

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.

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.

The families of the sons of Kohath shall encamp on the south side of the tabernacle.

The prince of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.

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.

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)

Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites. These are the families of Merari.

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)

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.

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,

the pillars of the court around it, their sockets, their pins, and their cords.

Moses and Aaron

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.

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

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.

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.”

Moses counted, as the LORD commanded him, all the firstborn among the children of Israel.

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.

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“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.

For the redemption of the two hundred seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel who exceed the number of the Levites,

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));

and you shall give the money, with which their remainder is redeemed, to Aaron and to his sons.”

Moses took the redemption money from those who exceeded the number of those who were redeemed by the Levites;

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;

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.

(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.