5 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
6 Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him;
7 and they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole assembly, before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle.
8 And they shall keep all the utensils of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.
9 And thou shalt give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given to him out of the children of Israel.
10 And Aaron and his sons shalt thou appoint that they may attend to their priest's office; and the stranger that cometh near shall be put to death.
11 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
12 And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn that breaketh open the womb among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine;
13 for every firstborn is mine. On the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and beast; mine shall they be: I am Jehovah.
14 And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,
15 Number the sons of Levi according to their fathers' houses, after their families; every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them.
16 And Moses numbered them, according to the commandment of Jehovah, -- as he had been commanded.
17 And these are the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari.
18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon according to their families: Libni and Shimei.
19 And the sons of Kohath according to their families: Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.
20 And the sons of Merari according to their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers' houses.
21 Of Gershon, the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: 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, those that were numbered of them were seven thousand five hundred.
23 The families of the Gershonites encamped behind the tabernacle westward.
24 And the prince of the father's house of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael.
25 And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting was: the tabernacle and the tent, its covering, and the curtain of the entrance to the tent of meeting.
26 And the hangings of the court, and the curtain of the entrance to the court, which surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, and the cords thereof for all its service.
27 And of Kohath, the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izharites, and 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, who kept the charge of the sanctuary.
29 The families of the sons of Kohath encamped on the side of the tabernacle southward.
30 And the prince of the father's house of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.
31 And their charge was the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, and the curtain, and all that belongs to its service.
32 And the prince of princes of the Levites was Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest: he had the oversight of them that kept 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 those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand two hundred.
35 And the prince of the father's house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They encamped on the side of the tabernacle northward.
36 And the charge of the sons of Merari consisted in the oversight of the boards of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its bases, and all its furniture, and all that belongs to its service,
37 and the pillars of the court round about, and their bases, and their pegs, and their cords.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 3
Commentary on Numbers 3 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 3
This chapter and the next are concerning the tribe of Levi, which was to be mustered and marshalled by itself, and not in common with the other tribes, intimating the particular honour put upon them and the particular duty and service required from them. The Levites are in this chapter considered,
Num 3:1-13
Here,
Num 3:14-39
The Levites being granted to Aaron to minister to him, they are here delivered to him by tale, that he might know what he had, and employ them accordingly. Observe,
Num 3:40-51
Here is the exchange made of the Levites for the first-born.