13 And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the LORD.
14 Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.
15 And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering.
16 For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me.
17 For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.
18 And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel.
19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary.
13 And thou shalt set H5975 the Levites H3881 before H6440 Aaron, H175 and before H6440 his sons, H1121 and offer H5130 them for an offering H8573 unto the LORD. H3068
14 Thus shalt thou separate H914 the Levites H3881 from among H8432 the children H1121 of Israel: H3478 and the Levites H3881 shall be mine.
15 And after H310 that shall the Levites H3881 go in H935 to do the service H5647 of the tabernacle H168 of the congregation: H4150 and thou shalt cleanse H2891 them, and offer H5130 them for an offering. H8573
16 For they are wholly given H5414 unto me from among H8432 the children H1121 of Israel; H3478 instead of such as open H6363 every womb, H7358 even instead of the firstborn H1060 of all the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 have I taken H3947 them unto me.
17 For all the firstborn H1060 of the children H1121 of Israel H3478 are mine, both man H120 and beast: H929 on the day H3117 that I smote H5221 every firstborn H1060 in the land H776 of Egypt H4714 I sanctified H6942 them for myself.
18 And I have taken H3947 the Levites H3881 for all the firstborn H1060 of the children H1121 of Israel. H3478
19 And I have given H5414 the Levites H3881 as a gift H5414 to Aaron H175 and to his sons H1121 from among H8432 the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 to do H5647 the service H5656 of the children H1121 of Israel H3478 in the tabernacle H168 of the congregation, H4150 and to make an atonement H3722 for the children H1121 of Israel: H3478 that there be no plague H5063 among the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 when the children H1121 of Israel H3478 come nigh H5066 unto the sanctuary. H6944
13 And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for a wave-offering unto Jehovah.
14 Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine.
15 And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tent of meeting: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for a wave-offering.
16 For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of all that openeth the womb, even the first-born of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me.
17 For all the first-born among the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.
18 And I have taken the Levites instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel.
19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tent of meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel; that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary.
13 and thou hast caused the Levites to stand before Aaron, and before his sons, and hast waved them -- a wave-offering to Jehovah;
14 and thou hast separated the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and the Levites have become Mine;
15 and afterwards do the Levites come in to serve the tent of meeting, and thou hast cleansed them, and hast waved them -- a wave-offering.
16 `For they are certainly given to Me out of the midst of the sons of Israel, instead of him who openeth any womb -- the first-born of all -- from the sons of Israel I have taken them to Myself;
17 for Mine `is' every first-born among the sons of Israel, among man and among beast; in the day of my smiting every first-born in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself;
18 and I take the Levites instead of every first-born among the sons of Israel:
19 `And I give the Levites gifts to Aaron and to his sons, from the midst of the sons of Israel, to do the service of the sons of Israel in the tent of meeting, and to make atonement for the sons of Israel, and there is no plague among the sons of Israel in the sons of Israel's drawing nigh unto the sanctuary.'
13 And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them as a wave-offering to Jehovah.
14 And thou shalt separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, that the Levites may be mine.
15 And afterwards shall the Levites come in to do the service of the tent of meeting. And thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them as a wave-offering.
16 For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of every one that breaketh open the womb, instead of every firstborn among the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me.
17 For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are mine, both of man and beast; on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I hallowed them to myself.
18 And I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel.
19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons, from among the children of Israel, to perform the service of the children of Israel in the tent of meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel; that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel draw near to the sanctuary.
13 You shall set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them as a wave offering to Yahweh.
14 Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine.
15 "After that, the Levites shall go in to do the service of the Tent of Meeting: and you shall cleanse them, and offer them as a wave offering.
16 For they are wholly given to me from among the children of Israel; instead of all who open the womb, even the firstborn of all the children of Israel, I have taken them to me.
17 For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are mine, both man and animal. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for myself.
18 I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel.
19 I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the Tent of Meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel; that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come near to the sanctuary."
13 Then the Levites are to be put before Aaron and his sons, to be offered as a wave offering to the Lord.
14 So you are to make the Levites separate from the children of Israel, and the Levites will be mine.
15 After that, the Levites will go in to do whatever has to be done in the Tent of meeting; you are to make them clean and give them as a wave offering.
16 For they have been given to me from among the children of Israel; in place of every mother's first son, the first to come to birth in Israel, I have taken them for myself.
17 For every mother's first son among the children of Israel is mine, the first male birth of man or beast: on the day when I sent death on all the first sons in the land of Egypt, I made them mine.
18 And in place of the first sons among the children of Israel, I have taken the Levites.
19 And I have given them to Aaron and to his sons, from among the children of Israel, to undertake for them all the work of the Tent of meeting, and to take away sin from the children of Israel so that no evil may come on them when they come near the holy place.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Numbers 8
Commentary on Numbers 8 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 8
Nu 8:1-4. How the Lamps Are to Be Lighted.
1. the Lord spake unto Moses—The order of this chapter suggests the idea that the following instructions were given to Moses while he was within the tabernacle of the congregation, after the princes had completed their offering. But from the tenor of the instructions, it is more likely that they were given immediately after the Levites had been given to the priests (see on Nu 3:1-4:49), and that the record of these instructions had been postponed till the narrative of other transactions in the camp had been made [Patrick].
2. Speak unto Aaron, &c.—The candlestick, which was made of one solid, massive piece of pure gold, with six lamps supported on as many branches, a seventh in the center surmounting the shaft itself (Ex 25:31; 37:17), and completed according to the pattern shown in the mount, was now to be lighted, when the other things in the sanctuary began to be applied to religious service. It was Aaron's personal duty, as the servant of God, to light His house, which, being without windows, required the aid of lights (2Pe 1:19). And the course he was ordered to follow was first to light the middle lamp from the altar-fire, and then the other lamps from each other—a course symbolical of all the light of heavenly truth being derived from Christ, and diffused by His ministers throughout the world (Re 4:5).
the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick—The candlestick stood close to the boards of the sanctuary, on the south side, in full view of the table of showbread on the north (Ex 26:35), having one set of its lamps turned towards the east, and another towards the west; so that all parts of the tabernacle were thus lighted up.
Nu 8:5-22. The Consecration of the Levites.
6, 7. Take the Levites … and cleanse them—This passage describes the consecration of the Levites. Although the tribe was to be devoted to the divine service, their hereditary descent alone was not a sufficient qualification for entering on the duties of the sacred office. They were to be set apart by a special ceremony, which, however, was much simpler than that appointed for the priests; neither washing nor anointing, nor investiture with official robes, was necessary. Their purification consisted, along with the offering of the requisite sacrifices (Le 1:4; 3:2; 4:4), in being sprinkled by water mixed with the ashes of a red heifer (Nu 19:9), and shaved all over, and their clothes washed—a combination of symbolical acts which was intended to remind them of the mortification of carnal and worldly desires, and the maintenance of that purity in heart and life which became the servants of God.
9, 10. thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together, &c.—As it was plainly impossible that the whole multitude of the Israelites could do this, a select portion of them must be meant. This party, who laid their hands upon the Levites, are supposed by some to have been the first-born, who by that act, transferred their peculiar privilege of acting as God's ministers to the Levitical tribe; and by others, to have been the princes, who thus blessed them. It appears, from this passage, that the imposition of hands was a ceremony used in consecrating persons to holy offices in the ancient, as, from the example of our Lord and His apostles, it has been perpetuated in the Christian Church.
11-13. And Aaron shall offer the Levites—Hebrew, "as a wave offering"; and it has been thought probable that the high priest, in bringing the Levites one by one to the altar, directed them to make some simple movements of their persons, analogous to what was done at the presentation of the wave offerings before the Lord. Thus were they first devoted as an offering to God, and by Him surrendered to the priests to be employed in His service. The consecration ceremonial was repeated in the case of every Levite who was taken (as was done at a later period) to assist the priests in the tabernacle and temple. (See on 2Ch 29:34).
14. and the Levites shall be mine—that is, exempt from all military duty or secular work—free from all pecuniary imposition and wholly devoted to the custody and service of the sanctuary.
15. after that, shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation—into the court, to assist the priests; and at removal into the tabernacle—that is, into the door of it—to receive the covered furniture.
19. to make an atonement for the children of Israel, &c.—to aid the priests in that expiatory work; or, as the words may be rendered, "to make redemption for" the Levites being exchanged or substituted for the first-born for this important end, that there might be a sanctified body of men appointed to guard the sanctuary, and the people not allowed to approach or presumptuously meddle with holy things, which would expose them to the angry judgments of Heaven.
24. from twenty and five years old, &c.—(Compare Nu 4:3). They entered on their work in their twenty-fifth year, as pupils and probationers, under the superintendence and direction of their senior brethren; and at thirty they were admitted to the full discharge of their official functions.
25. from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, &c.—that is, on the laborious and exhausting parts of their work.
26. But shall minister with their brethren—in the performance of easier and higher duties, instructing and directing the young, or superintending important trusts. "They also serve who only wait" [Milton].