31 And ye shall eat H398 it in every place, H4725 ye and your households: H1004 for it is your reward H7939 for H2500 your service H5656 in the tabernacle H168 of the congregation. H4150
Or G2228 saith he G3004 it altogether G3843 for G1223 our G2248 sakes? G1223 For G1223 our G2248 sakes, G1223 no doubt, G1063 this is written: G1125 that G3754 he that ploweth G722 should G3784 plow G722 in G1909 hope; G1680 and G2532 that he that thresheth G248 in hope G1680 should be partaker G3348 of G1909 his G846 hope. G1680 If G1487 we G2249 have sown G4687 unto you G5213 spiritual things, G4152 is it a great thing G3173 if G1487 we G2249 shall reap G2325 your G5216 carnal things? G4559 If G1487 others G243 be partakers G3348 of this power G1849 over you, G5216 are not G3756 we G2249 rather? G3123 Nevertheless G235 we have G5530 not G3756 used G5530 this G5026 power; G1849 but G235 suffer G4722 all things, G3956 lest G3363 we should G1325 G5100 hinder G1464 the gospel G2098 of Christ. G5547 Do ye G1492 not G3756 know G1492 that G3754 they which minister G2038 about holy things G2413 live G2068 of the things of G1537 the temple? G2411 and they which wait G4332 at the altar G2379 are partakers G4829 with the altar? G2379 Even G2532 so G3779 hath G1299 the Lord G2962 ordained G1299 that they which preach G2605 the gospel G2098 should live G2198 of G1537 the gospel. G2098
Let G515 the elders G4245 that rule G4291 well G2573 be counted worthy G515 of double G1362 honour, G5092 especially G3122 they who labour G2872 in G1722 the word G3056 and G2532 doctrine. G1319 For G1063 the scripture G1124 saith, G3004 Thou shalt G5392 not G3756 muzzle G5392 the ox G1016 that treadeth out the corn. G248 And, G2532 The labourer G2040 is worthy G514 of his G846 reward. G3408
Thou shalt truly H6237 tithe H6237 all the increase H8393 of thy seed, H2233 that the field H7704 bringeth forth H3318 year H8141 by year. H8141 And thou shalt eat H398 before H6440 the LORD H3068 thy God, H430 in the place H4725 which he shall choose H977 to place H7931 his name H8034 there, the tithe H4643 of thy corn, H1715 of thy wine, H8492 and of thine oil, H3323 and the firstlings H1062 of thy herds H1241 and of thy flocks; H6629 that thou mayest learn H3925 to fear H3372 the LORD H3068 thy God H430 always. H3117
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Numbers 18
Commentary on Numbers 18 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 18
Nu 18:1-7. The Charge of the Priests and Levites.
1. the Lord said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father's house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary—Security is here given to the people from the fears expressed (Nu 17:12), by the responsibility of attending to all sacred things being devolved upon the priesthood, together with the penalties incurred through neglect; and thus the solemn responsibilities annexed to their high dignity, of having to answer not only for their own sins, but also for the sins of the people, were calculated in a great measure to remove all feeling of envy at the elevation of Aaron's family, when the honor was weighed in the balance with its burdens and dangers.
2-7. thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi—The departments of the sacred office, to be filled respectively by the priests and Levites, are here assigned to each. To the priests was committed the charge of the sanctuary and the altar, while the Levites were to take care of everything else about the tabernacle. The Levites were to attend the priests as servants—bestowed on them as "gifts" to aid in the service of the tabernacle—while the high and dignified office of the priesthood was a "service of gift." "A stranger," that is, one, neither a priest nor a Levite, who should intrude into any departments of the sacred office, should incur the penalty of death.
Nu 18:8-20. The Priests' Portion.
8-13. the Lord spake unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of my heave offerings—A recapitulation is made in this passage of certain perquisites specially appropriated to the maintenance of the priests. They were parts of the votive and freewill offerings, including both meat and bread, wine and oil, and the first-fruits, which formed a large and valuable item.
14. Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine—provided it was adapted for food or consumable by use; for the gold and silver vessels that were dedicated as the spoils of victory were not given to the priests, but for the use and adornment of the sacred edifice.
19. it is a covenant of salt—that is, a perpetual ordinance. This figurative form of expression was evidently founded on the conservative property of salt, which keeps meat from corruption; and hence it became an emblem of inviolability and permanence. It is a common phrase among Oriental people, who consider the eating of salt a pledge of fidelity, binding them in a covenant of friendship. Hence the partaking of the altar meats, which were appropriated to the priests on condition of their services and of which salt formed a necessary accompaniment, was naturally called "a covenant of salt" (Le 2:13).
Nu 18:21-32. The Levites' Portion.
21, 22. I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve—Neither the priests nor the Levites were to possess any allotments of land but to depend entirely upon Him who liberally provided for them out of His own portion; and this law was subservient to many important purposes—such as that, being exempted from the cares and labors of worldly business, they might be exclusively devoted to His service; that a bond of mutual love and attachment might be formed between the people and the Levites, who, as performing religious services for the people, derived their subsistence from them; and further, that being the more easily dispersed among the different tribes, they might be more useful in instructing and directing the people.
23. But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: they shall bear their iniquity—They were to be responsible for the right discharge of those duties that were assigned to them, and consequently to bear the penalty that was due to negligence or carelessness in the guardianship of the holy things.
26. the Levites … offer … a tenth of the tithe—Out of their own they were to pay tithes to the priests equally as the people gave to them. The best of their tithes was to be assigned to the priests, and afterwards they enjoyed the same liberty to make use of the remainder that other Israelites had of the produce of their threshing-floors and wine-presses.
32. ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, &c.—Neglect in having the best entailed sin in the use of such unhallowed food. And the holy things would be polluted by the reservation to themselves of what should be offered to God and the priests.