3 from a son of thirty years and upward, even till a son of fifty years, every one going in to the host, to do work in the tent of meeting.
and the pattern of all that hath been by the Spirit with him, for the courts of the house of Jehovah, and for all the chambers round about, for the treasures of the house of God, and for the treasures of the things sacrificed; and for the courses of the priests and of the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of Jehovah, and for all vessels of service of the house of Jehovah,
As to the rest, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might; put on the whole armour of God, for your being able to stand against the wiles of the devil, because we have not the wrestling with blood and flesh, but with the principalities, with the authorities, with the world-rulers of the darkness of this age, with the spiritual things of the evil in the heavenly places; because of this take ye up the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to resist in the day of the evil, and all things having done -- to stand. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about in truth, and having put on the breastplate of the righteousness, and having the feet shod in the preparation of the good-news of the peace; above all, having taken up the shield of the faith, in which ye shall be able all the fiery darts of the evil one to quench, and the helmet of the salvation receive, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the saying of God, through all prayer and supplication praying at all times in the Spirit, and in regard to this same, watching in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints --
And in the seventh year hath Jehoiada strengthened himself, and taketh the heads of the hundreds, even Azariah son of Jeroham, and Ishmael son of Jehohanan, and Azariah son of Obed, and Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zichri, with him into covenant. And they go round about in Judah, and gather the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and heads of the fathers of Israel, and come in unto Jerusalem, and all the assembly make a covenant in the house of God with the king, and he saith to them, `Lo, the son of the king doth reign, as Jehovah spake concerning the sons of David. `This `is' the thing that ye do: The third of you, going in on the sabbath, of the priests, and of the Levites, `are' for gatekeepers of the thresholds, and the third `are' at the house of the king, and the third at the gate of the foundation, and all the people `are' in the courts of the house of Jehovah. `And none doth enter the house of Jehovah except the priests, and those ministering of the Levites (they go in for they `are' holy), and all the people keep the watch of Jehovah: and the Levites have compassed the king round about, each with his weapon in his hand, and he who hath gone in unto the house is put to death; and be ye with the king in his coming in and in his going out.' And the Levites and all Judah do according to all that Jehoiada the priest hath commanded, and take each his men going in on the sabbath, with those going out on the sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest hath not let away the courses. And Jehoiada the priest giveth to the heads of the hundreds the spears, and the shields, and the bucklers that `are' king David's, that `are' in the house of God; and he stationeth the whole of the people, and each his dart in his hand, from the right shoulder of the house unto the left shoulder of the house, at the altar, and at the house, by the king, round about. And they bring out the son of the king, and put upon him the crown, and the testimony, and cause him to reign; and Jehoiada and his sons anoint him, and say, `Let the king live!'
These `are' sons of Levi, by the house of their fathers, heads of the fathers, by their appointments, in the number of names, by their polls, doing the work for the service of the house of Jehovah, from a son of twenty years and upward, for David said, `Jehovah, God of Israel, hath given rest to His people, and He doth tabernacle in Jerusalem unto the age;' and also of the Levites, `None `are' to bear the tabernacle and all its vessels for its service;' for by the last words of David they `took' the number of the sons of Levi from a son of twenty years and upward, for their station `is' at the side of the sons of Aaron, for the service of the house of Jehovah, over the courts, and over the chambers, and over the cleansing of every holy thing, and the work of the service of the house of God, and for the bread of the arrangement, and for fine flour for present, and for the thin unleavened cakes, and for `the work of' the pan, and for that which is fried, and for all `liquid' measure and `solid' measure; and to stand, morning by morning, to give thanks, and to give praise to Jehovah, and so at evening; and for all the burnt-offerings -- burnt-offerings to Jehovah for sabbaths, for new moons, and for appointed seasons, by number, according to the ordinance upon them continually, before Jehovah. And they have kept the charge of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the sons of Aaron, their brethren, for the service of the house of Jehovah.
and the Levites are numbered from a son of thirty years and upward, and their number, by their polls, is of mighty men thirty and eight thousand. Of these to preside over the work of the house of Jehovah `are' twenty and four thousand, and officers and judges six thousand, and four thousand gatekeepers, and four thousand giving praise to Jehovah, `with instruments that I made for praising,' `saith David.'
And in the seventh year hath Jehoiada sent and taketh the heads of the hundreds, of the executioners and of the runners, and bringeth them in unto him, to the house of Jehovah, and maketh with them a covenant, and causeth them to swear in the house of Jehovah, and sheweth them the son of the king, and commandeth them, saying, `This `is' the thing that ye do; The third of you `are' going in on the sabbath, and keepers of the charge of the house of the king, and the third `is' at the gate of Sur, and the third at the gate behind the runners, and ye have kept the charge of the house pulled down; and two parts of you, all going out on the sabbath -- they have kept the charge of the house of Jehovah about the king, and ye have compassed the king round about, each with his weapons in his hand, and he who is coming unto the ranges is put to death; and be ye with the king in his going out and in his coming in.' And the heads of the hundreds do according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded, and take each his men going in on the sabbath, with those going out on the sabbath, and come in unto Jehoiada the priest, and the priest giveth to the heads of the hundreds the spears and the shields that king David had, that `are' in the house of Jehovah. And the runners stand, each with his weapons in his hand, from the right shoulder of the house unto the left shoulder of the house, by the altar and by the house, by the king round about; and he bringeth out the son of the king, and putteth on him the crown, and the testimony, and they make him king, and anoint him, and smite the hand, and say, `Let the king live.'
`This `is' that which `is' the Levites': from a son of five and twenty years and upward he doth go in to serve the host in the service of the tent of meeting, and from a son of fifty years he doth return from the host of the service, and doth not serve any more, and he hath ministered with his brethren in the tent of meeting, to keep the charge, and doth not do service; thus thou dost to the Levites concerning their charge.'
and kept his charge, and the charge of all the company before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle; and they have kept all the vessels of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the sons of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 4
Commentary on Numbers 4 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Rules of Service, and Numbering of the Levites Qualified for Service. - After the adoption of the Levites for service at the sanctuary, in the place of the first-born of Israel, Moses and Aaron mustered the three families of the Levites by the command of God for the service to be performed by those who were between the ages of 30 and 50. The particulars of the service are first of all described in detail (vv. 4-33); and then the men in each family are taken, of the specified age for service (vv. 34-49). The three families are not arranged according to the relative ages of their founders, but according to the importance or sacredness of their service. The Kohathites take the lead, because the holiest parts of the tabernacle were to be carried and kept by this family, which included the priests, Aaron and his sons. The service to be performed by each of the three Levitical families is introduced in every case by a command from God to take the sum of the men from 30 years old to 50 (see Numbers 4:1-3, Numbers 4:21-23, Numbers 4:29 and Numbers 4:30).
Service of the Kohathites, and the number qualified for service . - Numbers 4:2, Numbers 4:3. “ Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi: ” i.e., by raising them out of the sum total of the Levites, by numbering them first and specially, viz., the men from 30 to 50 years of age, “ every one who comes to the service, ” i.e., who has to enter upon service “ to do work at the tabernacle .” צבא ( Angl . ' host' ) signifies military service, and is used here with special reference to the service of the Levites as the militia sacra of Jehovah.
The service of the Kohathites at the tabernacle is (relates to) “ the most holy ” (see at Exodus 30:10). This term includes, as is afterwards explained, the most holy things in the tabernacle, viz., the ark of the covenant, the table of shew-bread, the candlestick, the altar of incense and altar of burnt-offering, together with all the other things belonging to these. When the camp was broken up, the priests were to roll them up in wrappers, and hand them over in this state to the Kohathites, for them to carry (Numbers 4:5-15). First of all (Numbers 4:5, Numbers 4:6), Aaron and his sons were to take down the curtain between the holy place and the most holy (see Exodus 26:31), and to cover the ark of testimony with it (Exodus 25:10). Over this they were to place a wrapper of sea-cow skin ( tachash , see Exodus 25:5), and over this again another covering of cloth made entirely of hyacinth-coloured purple (as in Exodus 28:31). The sea-cow skin as to protect the inner curtain, which was covered over the ark, from storm and rain; the hyacinth purple, to distinguish the ark of the covenant as the throne of the glory of Jehovah. Lastly, they were to place the staves into the rings again, that is to say, the bearing poles, which were always left in their places on the ark (Exodus 25:15), but had necessarily to be taken out while it was being covered and wrapped up.
Over the table of shew-bread (Exodus 25:23) they were to spread a hyacinth cloth, to place the plates, bowls, wine-pitchers, and drink-offering bowls (Exodus 25:29) upon the top of this, and to lay shew-bread thereon; and then to spread a crimson cloth over these vessels and the shew-bread, and cover this with a sea-cow skin, and lastly to put the bearing poles in their places.
The candlestick, with its lamps, snuffers, extinguishers (Exodus 25:31-37), and all its oil-vessels (oil-cans), “ wherewith they serve it, ” i.e., prepare it for the holy service, were to be covered with a hyacinth cloth, and then with a wrapper of sea-cow skin, and laid upon the carriage. מות (Numbers 4:10 and Numbers 4:12), bearing frame, in Numbers 13:23 bearing poles.
So again they were to wrap up the altar of incense (Exodus 30:1), to adjust its bearing poles; and having wrapped it up in such coverings, along with the vessels belonging to it, to lay it upon the frame.
The altar of burnt-offering was first of all to be cleansed from the ashes; a crimson cloth was then to be covered over it, and the whole of the furniture belonging to it to be placed upon the top; and lastly, the whole was to be covered with a sea-cow skin. The only thing not mentioned is the copper laver (Exodus 30:18), probably because it was carried without any cover at all. The statement in the Septuagint and the Samaritan text, which follows Numbers 4:14. respecting its covering and conveyance upon a frame, is no doubt a spurious interpolation.
After the priests had completed the wrapping up of all these things, the Kohathites were to come up to carry them; but they were not to touch “ the holy” (the holy things), lest they should die (see Numbers 1:53; Numbers 18:3, and comp. 2 Samuel 6:6-7).
The oversight of the oil for the candlestick (Exodus 27:20), the incense ( Exodus 30:34), the continual meat-offering (Exodus 29:40), and the anointing oil ( Exodus 30:23), belonged to Eleazar as the head of all the Levites (Numbers 3:32). He had also the oversight of the dwelling and all the holy things and furniture belonging to it; and, as a comparison of Numbers 4:28 and Numbers 4:33 clearly shows, of the services of the Kohathites also.
In order to prevent as far as possible any calamity from befalling the Levites while carrying the most holy things, the priests are again urged by the command of God to do what has already been described in detail in Numbers 4:5-15, lest through any carelessness on their part they should cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites, i.e., should cause their destruction; viz., if they should approach the holy things before they had been wrapped up by Aaron and his sons in the manner prescribed and handed over to them to carry. If the Kohathites should come for only a single moment to look at the holy things, they would die. אל־תּכריתוּ , “ cut ye not off, ” i.e., “take care that the Kohathites are not cut off through your mistake and negligence” ( Ros .). “ The tribe of the families of the Kohathites: ” shebet , the tribe, is not used here, as it frequently is, in its derivative sense of tribe ( Tribus ), but in the original literal sense of stirps .
“ This do to them: ” sc., what is prescribed in Numbers 4:5-15 with reference to their service.
כּבלּע , “ like a swallow, a gulp, ” is probably a proverbial expression, according to the analogy of Job 7:19, for “ a single instant, ” of which the Arabic also furnishes examples (see A. Schultens on Job 7:19). The Sept . rendering, ἐξάπινα , conveys the actual sense. A historical illustration of Numbers 4:20 is furnished by 1 Samuel 6:19.
(Note: According to Knobel , Numbers 4:17-20 have been interpolated by the Jehovist into the Elohistic text. But the reasons for this assumption are weak throughout. Neither the peculiar use of the word shebet, to which there is no corresponding parallel in the whole of the Old Testament, nor the construction of נגשׁ with את , which is only met with in 1 Samuel 9:18 and 1 Samuel 30:21, nor the Hiphil הכרית , can be regarded as criteria of a Jehovistic usage. And the assertion, that the Elohist lays the emphasis upon approaching and touching the holy things (Numbers 4:15; Numbers 8:19; Numbers 18:3, Numbers 18:22), and not upon seeing or looking at them, rests upon an antithesis which is arbitrarily forced upon the text, since not only seeing (Numbers 4:20), but touching also (Numbers 4:19), is described as causing death; so that seeing and touching form no antithesis at all.)
The service of the Gershonites is introduced in Numbers 4:21-23 in the same manner as that of the Kohathites in Numbers 4:1-3; and in Numbers 4:24-26 it is described in accordance with the brief notice and explanation already given in Numbers 3:24-26.
Their service was to be performed “ according to the mouth (i.e., according to the appointment) of Aaron and his sons, with regard to all their carrying (all that they were to carry), and all their doing .” - “ And ye (the priests) shall appoint to them for attendance (in charge) all their carrying ,” i.e., all the things they were to carry. בּמשׁמרת פּקד , to give into keeping. The combination of פּקד with בּ and the accusative of the object is analogous to בּ נתן , to give into a persons' hand, in Genesis 27:17; and there is no satisfactory reason for any such emendations of the text as Knobel proposes.
“ Their charge ( mishmereth ) is in the hand of Ithamar, ” i.e., is to be carried out under his superintendence (cf. Exodus 38:21).
Service of the Merarites . - Numbers 4:29 and Numbers 4:30, like Numbers 4:22 and Numbers 4:23. פּקד , to muster, i.e., to number, equivalent to ראשׁ נשׁא , to take the number.
Numbers 4:31 and Numbers 4:32, like Numbers 3:36 and Numbers 3:37. “ The charge of their burden ” (their carrying), i.e., the things which it was their duty to carry.
לכל־כּליהם : with regard to all their instruments, i.e., all the things used for setting up, fastening, or undoing the beams, bolts, etc.; see Numbers 3:36 and Exodus 27:19.
Completion of the prescribed mustering, and statement of the number of men qualified for service in the three Levitical families: viz., 2750 Kohathites, 2630 Gershonites, and 3200 Merarites - in all, 8580 Levites fit for service: a number which bears a just proportion to the total number of male Levites of a month old and upwards, viz., 22,000.
“ According to the commandment of Jehovah, they appointed them through the hand of Moses (i.e., under his direction), each one to his service, and his burden, and his mustered things ( פּקדיו ), i.e., the things assigned to him at the time of the mustering as his special charge (see Exodus 38:21).