31 And their charge `is' the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary with which they serve, and the vail, and all its service.
`And they have made an ark of shittim wood; two cubits and a half its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height; and thou hast overlaid it `with' pure gold, within and without thou dost overlay it, and thou hast made on it a ring of gold round about. `And thou hast cast for it four rings of gold, and hast put `them' on its four feet, even two rings on its one side, and two rings on its second side; and thou hast made staves of shittim wood, and hast overlaid them `with' gold, and hast brought the staves into the rings on the sides of the ark, to bear the ark by them, in the rings of the ark are the staves, they are not turned aside from it; and thou hast put unto the ark the testimony which I give unto thee. `And thou hast made a mercy-seat of pure gold, two cubits and a half its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth; and thou hast made two cherubs of gold, beaten work dost thou make them, at the two ends of the mercy-seat; and make thou one cherub at the end on this side, and one cherub at the end on that; at the mercy-seat ye do make the cherubs on its two ends. `And the cherubs have been spreading out wings on high, covering the mercy-seat over with their wings, and their faces `are' one towards another -- towards the mercy-seat are the faces of the cherubs. `And thou hast put the mercy-seat on the ark above, and unto the ark thou dost put the testimony which I give unto thee; and I have met with thee there, and have spoken with thee from off the mercy-seat (from between the two cherubs, which `are' on the ark of the testimony) all that which I command thee concerning the sons of Israel. `And thou hast made a table of shittim wood, two cubits its length, and a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height, and hast overlaid it `with' pure gold, and hast made for it a crown of gold round about, and hast made for it a border of a handbreadth round about, and hast made a crown of gold to its border round about. `And thou hast made to it four rings of gold, and hast put the rings on the four corners, which `are' to its four feet; over-against the border are the rings for places for staves to bear the table; and thou hast made the staves of shittim wood, and hast overlaid them with gold, and the table hath been borne with them; and thou hast made its dishes, and its bowls, and its covers, and its cups, with which they pour out; of pure gold thou dost make them; and thou hast put on the table bread of the presence before Me continually. `And thou hast made a candlestick of pure gold, of beaten work is the candlestick made; its base, and its branch, its calyxes, its knops, and its flowers are of the same; and six branches are coming out of its sides, three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the second side; three calyxes made like almonds in the one branch, a knop and a flower, and three calyxes made like almonds in one branch, a knop and a flower; so for the six branches which are coming out from the candlestick. `And in the candlestick `are' four calyxes made like almonds, its knops and its flowers; and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, `are' to the six branches which are coming out of the candlestick; their knops and their branches are of the same, all of it one beaten work of pure gold; and thou hast made its seven lamps, and `one' hath caused its lights to go up, and it hath given light over-against its front. `And its snuffers and its snuff dishes `are' of pure gold; of a talent of pure gold he doth make it, with all these vessels. And see thou and do `them' by their pattern which thou art shewn in the mount.
`And thou hast made a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen, work of a designer; he maketh it `with' cherubs; and thou hast put it on four pillars of shittim wood, overlaid `with' gold, their pegs `are' of gold, on four sockets of silver. `And thou hast put the vail under the hooks, and hast brought in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony; and the vail hath made a separation for you between the holy and the holy of holies.
`And thou hast made the altar of shittim wood, five cubits the length, and five cubits the breadth -- the altar is square -- and three cubits its height. And thou hast made its horns on its four corners, its horns are of the same, and thou hast overlaid it `with' brass. And thou hast made its pots to remove its ashes, and its shovels, and its bowls, and its forks, and its fire-pans, even all its vessels thou dost make of brass. `And thou hast made for it a grate of net-work of brass, and hast made on the net four rings of brass on its four extremities, and hast put it under the compass of the altar beneath, and the net hath been unto the middle of the altar. `And thou hast made staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and hast overlaid them `with' brass. And the staves have been brought into the rings, and the staves have been on the two sides of the altar in bearing it. Hollow with boards thou dost make it, as it hath been shewed thee in the mount, so do they make `it'.
`And thou hast made an altar `for' making perfume; `of' shittim wood thou dost make it; a cubit its length, and a cubit its breadth, (it is square), and two cubits its height; its horns `are' of the same. `And thou hast overlaid it with pure gold, its top, and its sides round about, and its horns; and thou hast made to it a crown of gold round about; and two rings of gold thou dost make to it under its crown; on its two ribs thou dost make `them', on its two sides, and they have become places for staves, to bear it with them. `And thou hast made the staves of shittim wood, and hast overlaid them with gold; and thou hast put it before the vail, which `is' by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy-seat which `is' over the testimony, whither I am met with thee. `And Aaron hath made perfume on it, perfume of spices, morning by morning; in his making the lamps right he doth perfume it, and in Aaron's causing the lamps to go up between the evenings, he doth perfume it; a continual perfume before Jehovah to your generations. `Ye do not cause strange perfume to go up upon it, and burnt-offering, and present, and libation ye do not pour out on it; and Aaron hath made atonement on its horns, once in a year, by the blood of the sin-offering of atonements; once in a year doth he make atonement for it, to your generations; it `is' most holy to Jehovah.'
And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, `See, I have called by name Bezaleel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I fill him `with' the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all work, to devise devices to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in graving of stone for settings, and in graving of wood to work in all work. `And I, lo, I have given with him Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, and in the heart of every wise-hearted one I have given wisdom, and they have made all that which I have commanded thee. `The tent of meeting, and the ark of testimony, and the mercy-seat which `is' on it, and all the vessels of the tent, and the table and its vessels, and the pure candlestick and all its vessels, and the altar of the perfume, and the altar of the burnt-offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its base, and the coloured garments, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, for acting as priests in; and the anointing oil, and the perfume of the spices for the sanctuary; according to all that I have commanded thee -- they do.' And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, `And thou, speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, Only, My sabbaths ye do keep, for it `is' a sign between Me and you, to your generations, to know that I, Jehovah, am sanctifying you; and ye have kept the sabbath, for it `is' holy to you, he who is polluting it is certainly put to death -- for any who doeth work in it -- that person hath even been cut off from the midst of his people. `Six days is work done, and in the seventh day `is' a sabbath of holy rest to Jehovah; any who doeth work in the sabbath-day is certainly put to death, and the sons of Israel have observed the sabbath; to keep the sabbath to their generations `is' a covenant age-during, between Me and the sons of Israel it `is' a sign -- to the age; for six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, and in the seventh day He hath ceased, and is refreshed.' And He giveth unto Moses, when He finisheth speaking with him in mount Sinai, two tables of the testimony, tables of stone, written by the finger of God.
And he maketh the vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen, work of a designer he hath made it, `with' cherubs; and he maketh for it four pillars of shittim `wood', and overlayeth them with gold; their pegs `are' of gold; and he casteth for them four sockets of silver.
And they bring in the tabernacle unto Moses, the tent, and all its vessels, its hooks, its boards, its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets; and the covering of rams' skins, which are made red, and the covering of badgers' skins, and the vail of the covering; the ark of the testimony and its staves, and the mercy-seat; the table, all its vessels, and the bread of the presence; the pure candlestick, its lamps, the lamps of arrangement, and all its vessels, and the oil for the light. And the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the spice-perfume, and the covering of the opening of the tent; the brazen altar and the brazen grate which it hath, its staves, and all its vessels, the laver and its base. The hangings of the court, its pillars, and its sockets; and the covering for the gate of the court, its cords, and its pins; and all the vessels of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; the coloured clothes to minister in the sanctuary, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to act as priest in. According to all that Jehovah hath commanded Moses, so have the sons of Israel done all the service;
`On the first day of the month, in the first month, thou dost raise up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and hast set there the ark of the testimony, and hast covered over the ark with the vail, and hast brought in the table, and set its arrangement in order, and hast brought in the candlestick, and caused its lamps to go up. `And thou hast put the golden altar for perfume before the ark of the testimony, and hast put the covering of the opening to the tabernacle, and hast put the altar of the burnt-offering before the opening of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and hast put the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar, and hast put water there. `And thou hast set the court round about, and hast placed the covering of the gate of the court, and hast taken the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle, and all that `is' in it, and hallowed it, and all its vessels, and it hath been holy; and thou hast anointed the altar of the burnt-offering, and all its vessels, and sanctified the altar, and the altar hath been most holy; and thou hast anointed the laver and its base, and sanctified it. `And thou hast brought near Aaron and his sons unto the opening of the tent of meeting, and hast bathed them with water; and thou hast clothed Aaron with the holy garments, and anointed him, and sanctified him, and he hath acted as priest to Me. `And his sons thou dost bring near, and hast clothed them with coats, and anointed them as thou hast anointed their father, and they have acted as priests to Me, and their anointing hath been to be to them for a priesthood age-during, to their generations.' And Moses doth according to all that Jehovah hath commanded him; so he hath done.
`This `is' the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, the holy of holies: that Aaron and his sons have come in, in the journeying of the camp, and have taken down the vail of the hanging, and have covered with it the ark of the testimony; and have put on it a covering of badger skin, and have spread a garment completely of blue above, and have placed its staves. `And on the table of the presence they spread a garment of blue, and have put on it the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and the cups of the libation, and the bread of continuity is on it, and they have spread over them a garment of scarlet, and have covered it with a covering of badger skin, and have placed its staves, and have taken a garment of blue, and have covered the candlestick of the lamp, and its lights, and its snuffers, and its snuff-dishes, and all its oil vessels wherewith they minister to it; and they have put it and all its vessels unto a covering of badger skin, and have put `it' on the bar. `And on the golden altar they spread a garment of blue, and have covered it with a covering of badger skin, and have placed its staves; and have taken all the vessels of ministry wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and have put `them' unto a garment of blue, and have covered them with a covering of badger skin, and have put `them' on the bar, and have removed the ashes of the altar, and have spread over it a garment of purple; and have put on it all its vessels wherewith they minister about it, the censers, the hooks, and the shovels, and the bowls, all the vessels of the altar, and have spread on it a covering of badger skin, and have placed its staves: `And Aaron hath finished -- his sons also -- covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, in the journeying of the camp, and afterwards do the sons of Kohath come in to bear `it', and they do not come unto the holy thing, that they have died; these `things are' the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting. `And the oversight of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, `is' the oil of the lamp, and the spice-perfume, and the present of continuity, and the anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that `is' in it, in the sanctuary, and in its vessels.'
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 3
Commentary on Numbers 3 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Muster of the Tribe of Levi. - As Jacob had adopted the two sons of Joseph as his own sons, and thus promoted them to the rank of heads of tribes, the tribe of Levi formed, strictly speaking, the thirteenth tribe of the whole nation, and was excepted from the muster of the twelve tribes who were destined to form the army of Jehovah, because God had chosen it for the service of the sanctuary. Out of this tribe God had not only called Moses to be the deliverer, lawgiver, and leader of His people, but Moses' brother Aaron, with the sons of the latter, to be the custodians of the sanctuary. And now, lastly, the whole tribe was chosen, in the place of the first-born of all the tribes, to assist the priests in performing the duties of the sanctuary, and was numbered and mustered for this its special calling.
Numbers 3:1
In order to indicate at the very outset the position which the Levites were to occupy in relation to the priests (viz., Aaron and his descendants), the account of their muster commences not only with the enumeration of the sons of Aaron who were chosen as priests (Numbers 3:2-4), but with the heading: “ These are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day (i.e., at the time) when Jehovah spake with Moses in Mount Sinai (Numbers 3:1). The toledoth (see at Genesis 2:4) of Moses and Aaron are not only the families which sprang from Aaron and Moses, but the Levitical families generally, which were named after Aaron and Moses, because they were both of them raised into the position of heads or spiritual fathers of the whole tribe, namely, at the time when God spoke to Moses upon Sinai. Understood in this way, the notice as to the time is neither a superfluous repetition, nor introduced with reference to the subsequent numbering of the people in the steppes of Moab (Numbers 26:57.). Aaron is placed before Moses here (see at Exodus 6:26.), not merely as being the elder of the two, but because his sons received the priesthood, whilst the sons of Moses, on the contrary, were classed among the rest of the Levitical families (cf. 1 Chronicles 23:14).
Numbers 3:2-4
Names of the sons of Aaron, the “ anointed priests (see Leviticus 8:12), whose hand they filled to be priests, ” i.e., who were appointed to the priesthood (see at Leviticus 7:37). On Nadab and Abihu, see Leviticus 10:1-2. As they had neither of them any children when they were put to death, Eleazar and Ithamar were the only priests “ in the sight of Aaron their father, ” i.e., during his lifetime. “ In the sight of: ” as in Genesis 11:28.
The Levites are placed before Aaron the priest, to be his servants.
Numbers 3:6
“ Bring near: ” as in Exodus 28:1. The expression לפני עמד is frequently met with in connection with the position of a servant, as standing before his master to receive his commands.
Numbers 3:7-8
They were to keep the charge of Aaron and the whole congregation before the tabernacle, to attend to the service of the dwelling, i.e., to observe what Aaron (the priest) and the whole congregation were bound to perform in relation to the service at the dwelling-place of Jehovah. “ To keep the charge: ” see Numbers 1:53 and Genesis 26:5. In Numbers 3:8 this is more fully explained: they were to keep the vessels of the tabernacle, and to attend to all that was binding upon the children of Israel in relation to them, i.e., to take the oversight of the furniture, to keep it safe and clean.
Numbers 3:9
Moses was also to give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. “ They are wholly given to him out of the children of Israel: ” the repetition of נתוּנם here and in Numbers 8:16 is emphatic, and expressive of complete surrender ( Ewald , §313). The Levites, however, as nethunim, must be distinguished from the nethinim of non-Israelitish descent, who were given to the Levites at a later period as temple slaves, to perform the lowest duties connected with the sanctuary (see at Joshua 9:27).
Numbers 3:10
Aaron and his sons were to be appointed by Moses to take charge of the priesthood; as no stranger, no one who was not a son of Aaron, could approach the sanctuary without being put to death (cf. Numbers 1:53 and Leviticus 22:10).
God appointed the Levites for this service, because He had decided to adopt them as His own in the place of all the first-born of Egypt. When He slew the first-born of Egypt, He sanctified to Himself all the first-born of Israel, of man and beast, for His own possession (see Exodus 13:1-2). By virtue of this sanctification, which was founded upon the adoption of the whole nation as His first-born son, the nation was required to dedicate to Him its first-born sons for service at the sanctuary, and sacrifice all the first-born of its cattle to Him. But now the Levites and their cattle were to be adopted in their place, and the first-born sons of Israel to be released in return (Numbers 3:40.). By this arrangement, through which the care of the service at the sanctuary was transferred to one tribe, which would and should henceforth devote itself with undivided interest to this vocation, not only was a more orderly performance of this service secured, than could have been effected through the first-born of all the tribes; but so far as the whole nation was concerned, the fulfilment of its obligations in relation to this service was undoubtedly facilitated. Moreover, the Levites had proved themselves to be the most suitable of all the tribes for his post, through their firm and faithful defence of the honour of the Lord at the worship of the golden calf (Exodus 32:26.). It is in this spirit, which distinguished the tribe of Levi, that we may undoubtedly discover the reason why they were chosen by God for the service of the sanctuary, and not in the fact that Moses and Aaron belonged to the tribe, and desired to form a hierarchical caste of the members of their own tribe, such as was to be found among other nations: the magi, for example, among the Medes, the Chaldeans among the Persians, and the Brahmins among the Indians. יהוה אני לי , “ to Me, to Me, Jehovah ” (Numbers 3:13, Numbers 3:41, and Numbers 3:45; cf. Ges. §121, 3).
The muster of the Levites included all the males from a month old and upwards, because they were to be sanctified to Jehovah in the place of the first-born; and it was at the age of a month that the latter were either to be given up or redeemed (comp. Numbers 3:40 and Numbers 3:43 with Numbers 18:16). In Numbers 3:17-20 the sons of Levi and their sons are enumerated, who were the founders of the mishpachoth among the Levites, as in Exodus 6:16-19.
The Gershonites were divided into two families, containing 7500 males. They were to encamp under their chief Eliasaph, behind the tabernacle, i.e., on the western side (Numbers 3:23, Numbers 3:24), and were to take charge of the dwelling-place and the tent, the covering, the curtain at the entrance, the hangings round the court with the curtains at the door, and the cords of the tent, “ in relation to all the service thereof ” (Numbers 3:25.); that is to say, according to the more precise injunctions in Numbers 4:25-27, they were to carry the tapestry of the dwelling (the inner covering, Exodus 26:1.), and of the tent (i.e., the covering made of goats' hair, Exodus 26:7.), the covering thereof (i.e., the covering of rams' skins dyed red, and the covering of sea-cow skin upon the top of it, Exodus 27:16), the hangings of the court and the curtain at the entrance (Exodus 27:9, Exodus 27:16), which surrounded the altar (of burnt-offering) and the dwelling round about, and their cords, i.e., the cords of the tapestry, coverings, and curtains (Exodus 27:14), and all the instruments of their service, i.e., the things used in connection with their service ( Exodus 27:19), and were to attend to everything that had to be done to them; in other words, to perform whatever was usually done with those portions of the sanctuary that are mentioned here, especially in setting up the tabernacle or taking it down. The suffix in מיתריו (Numbers 3:26) does not refer to the court mentioned immediately before; for, according to Numbers 3:37, the Merarites were to carry the cords of the hangings of the court, but to the “dwelling and tent,” which stand farther off. In the same way the words, “ for all the service thereof, ” refer to all those portions of the sanctuary that are mentioned, and mean “everything that had to be done or attended to in connection with these things.”
The Kohathites , who were divided into four families, and numbered 8600, were to encamp on the south side of the tabernacle, and more especially to keep the charge of the sanctuary (Numbers 3:28), viz., to take care of the ark of the covenant, the table (of shew-bread), the candlestick, the altars (of incense and burnt-offering), with the holy things required for the service performed in connection therewith, and the curtain (the veil before the most holy place), and to perform whatever had to be done (“all the service thereof,” see at Numbers 3:26), i.e., to carry the said holy things after they had been rolled up in covers by the priests (see Numbers 4:5.).
As the priests also formed part of the Kohathites, their chief is mentioned as well, viz., Eleazar the eldest son of Aaron the high priest, who was placed over the chiefs of the three Levitical families, and called פּקדּה , oversight of the keepers of the charge of the sanctuary, ” i.e., authority, superior, of the servants of the sanctuary.
The Merarites , who formed two families, comprising 6200 males, were to encamp on the north side of the tabernacle, under their prince Zuriel , and to observe the boards, bolts, pillars, and sockets of the dwelling-place ( Exodus 26:15, Exodus 26:26, Exodus 26:32, Exodus 26:37), together with all the vessels thereof (the plugs and tools), and all that had to be done in connection therewith, also the pillars of the court with their sockets, the plugs and the cords (Exodus 27:10, Exodus 27:19; Exodus 35:18); that is to say, they were to take charge of these when the tabernacle was taken down, to carry them on the march, and to fix them when the tabernacle was set up again (Numbers 4:31-32).
Moses and Aaron, with the sons of the latter (the priests), were to encamp in front, before the tabernacle, viz., on the eastern side, “ as keepers of the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel, ” i.e., to attend to everything that was binding upon the children of Israel in relation to the care of the sanctuary, as no stranger was allowed to approach it on pain of death (see Numbers 1:51).
Numbers 3:39
The number of the Levites mustered, 22,000, does not agree with the numbers assigned to the three families, as 7500 + 8600 + 6200 = 22,300. But the total is correct; for, according to Numbers 3:46, the number of the first-born, 22,273, exceeded the total number of the Levites by 273. The attempt made by the Rabbins and others to reconcile the two, by supposing the 300 Levites in excess to be themselves first-born, who were omitted in the general muster, because they were not qualified to represent the first-born of the other tribes, is evidently forced and unsatisfactory. The whole account is so circumstantial, that such a fact as this would never have been omitted. We must rather assume that there is a copyist's error in the number of one of the Levitical families; possibly in Numbers 3:28 we should read שׁלשׁ for שׁשׁ (8300 for 8600). The puncta extraordinaria above ואהרן are intended to indicate that this word is either suspicious or spurious (see at Genesis 33:5); and it is actually omitted in Sam ., Syr ., and 12 MSS, but without sufficient reason: for although the divine command to muster the Levites (Numbers 3:5 and Numbers 3:14) was addressed to Moses alone, yet if we compare Numbers 4:1, Numbers 4:34, Numbers 4:37, Numbers 4:41, Numbers 4:45, where the Levites qualified for service are said to have been mustered by Moses and Aaron, and still more Numbers 4:46, where the elders of Israel are said to have taken part in the numbering of the Levites as well as in that of the twelve tribes (Numbers 1:3-4), there can be no reason to doubt that Aaron also took part in the mustering of the whole of the Levites, for the purpose of adoption in the place of the first-born of Israel; and no suspicion attaches to this introduction of his name in Numbers 3:39, although it is not mentioned in Numbers 3:5, Numbers 3:11, Numbers 3:14, Numbers 3:40, and Numbers 3:44.
After this, Moses numbered the first-born of the children of Israel, to exchange them for the Levites according to the command of God, which is repeated in Numbers 3:41 and Numbers 3:44-45 from Numbers 3:11-13, and to adopt the latter in their stead for the service at the sanctuary (on Numbers 3:41 and Numbers 3:45, cf. Numbers 3:11-13). The number of the first-born of the twelve tribes amounted to 22,273 of a month old and upwards (Numbers 3:43). Of this number 22,000 were exchanged for the 22,000 Levites, and the cattle of the Levites were also set against the first-born of the cattle of the tribes of Israel, though without their being numbered and exchanged head for head. In Numbers 3:44 and Numbers 3:45 the command of God concerning the adoption of the Levites is repeated, for the purpose of adding the further instructions with regard to the 273, the number by which the first-born of the tribes exceeded those of the Levites. “ And as for the redemption of the 273 (lit., the 273 to be redeemed) of the first-born of the children of Israel which were more than the Levites, thou shalt take five shekels a head, ” etc. This was the general price established by the law for the redemption of the first-born of men (see Numbers 18:16). On the sacred shekel, see at Exodus 30:13. The redemption money for 273 first-born, in all 1365 shekels, was to be paid to Aaron and his sons as compensation for the persons who properly belonged to Jehovah, and had been appointed as first-born for the service of the priests.
“ The redeemed of the Levites ” are the 22,000 who were redeemed by means of the Levites. In Numbers 3:50, the Chethibh הפּדים is the correct reading, and the Keri הפּדים an unnecessary emendation. The number of the first-born and that of the Levites has already been noticed in the introduction to Numbers 1.