3.21–39 The levitical clans are to encamp between the tabernacle and the Israelites on three sides of the tabernacle and are given the responsibility to protect and to transport the tabernacle and its accessories, including the tent of meeting.
3.21–26 The first levitical clan discussed is the Gershonites; see v. 17.
3.23, 25–26 The Gershonites encamp on the west side of the tabernacle and have custody over the accessories made of fabric (see also 4.25–26): the tabernacle, the innermost tent housing the ark, made of blue (or violet), purple, and crimson linen curtains with a cherubim design (Ex 26.1); the tent of meeting, made of goat-hair curtains (Ex 26.7), and its ram-skin and leather covering (Ex 26.14); the linen screen for the entrance to the tent (Ex 26.36); the linen hangings for the court surrounding the tabernacle (Ex 27.9); and the linen screen for the entrance to the court (Ex 27.16) and its cords (Ex 39.40).
3.27–32 Kohathites. See v. 17.
3.28 Eight thousand six hundred. The Septuagint has “eight thousand three hundred,” which accords with the total of twenty-two thousand reported in v.39. The difference between the Hebrew words for “six” and “three” is only one consonant.
3.29, 31 The Kohathites camp on the south side of the tabernacle and have custody over the most sacred items: the ark itself (Ex 25.10–22) and its immediate surroundings—the table that holds the bread of the Presence (Ex 25.23–30; 35.13; 39.36); the lampstand (Ex 25.31–40); the two horned altars, one covered with bronze in the court (Ex 27.1–8) and one covered with gold for burning incense (Ex 30.1–10); the vessels of the sanctuary, also translated “utensils” (e.g., Ex 27.19; 30.17–21, 26–29;37.16; 38.3), enumerated in Num 4.5–15; and the screen (not one of the screens in vv. 25–26, but rather the curtain that sets off the holiest portion of the tabernacle, otherwise always called the “curtain,” the “screening curtain,” the “curtain for the screen,” or the “curtain for screening,” e.g., Ex 26.31–35; 35.12; 39.34; 40.21).
3.32 Eleazar (see also 4.16), like Aaron and Moses, is a Kohathite (Ex 6.16, 18, 20, 23).
3.33–37 Merarites; see v. 17.
3.35–36 The Merarites camp on the north side of the tabernacle and have custody over the supporting structure of the tabernacle, i.e., the wooden frames, bars, pillars, silver bases, and accessories (Ex 26.15–30; 35.10–11; 39.33; 40.18; see also Num 4.31), and of the surrounding court, its wooden pillars, its bronze bases and pegs, and its cords (Ex 27.10–19; 35.17–18; 39.40).
3.38 The preeminent position to the east of the tabernacle is taken by Moses, Aaron, and the descendants of Aaron, set apart from the other Levites (see 3.5–10). Outsider. See 1.51.
3.39 Twenty-two thousand. The numbers in the text actually total twenty-two thousand, three hundred; see 3.28.
3.40–51 The Levites are substitutes for firstborn males (3.14–15).
3.41 Even the Levites’ livestock are substituted for the livestock of the firstborn (see also v. 45, but cf. 18.17).
3.43 The number of firstborn males (22, 273) is very low compared to the census numbers reported in 1.17–46.
3.46–48 Since each Levite could redeem only one firstborn male, a ransom of five shekels each had to be paid for the 273 above and beyond the number of Levites (unless that number should actually be 300 higher; see vv. 28, 39). Archaeological evidence suggests that the shekel in ancient Israel weighed about 11.4 grams, though it is possible that there were two systems at work simultaneously, as in ancient Mesopotamia, and that the shekel of the sanctuary (v. 47) was heavier than the common shekel (see also the “shekels by the king’s weight” in 2 Sam 14.26).
3.49–50 The ransom money will be paid by the firstborn (v. 50) or by a portion of them (v. 49).
NUMBERS 4
The Kohathites
1The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2Take a census of the Kohathites separate from the other Levites, by their clans and their ancestral houses, 3from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who qualify to do work relating to the tent of meeting. 4The service of the Kohathites relating to the tent of meeting concerns the most holy things.
5When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the screening curtain, and cover the ark of the covenanta with it; 6then they shall put on it a covering of fine leather,b and spread over that a cloth all of blue, and shall put its poles in place. 7Over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular bread also shall be on it; 8then they shall spread over them a crimson cloth, and cover it with a covering of fine leather,c and shall put its poles in place. 9They shall take a blue cloth, and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its snuffers, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied; 10and they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of fine leather,d and put it on the carrying frame. 11Over the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of fine leather,e and shall put its poles in place; 12and they shall take all the utensils of the service that are used in the sanctuary, and put them in a blue cloth, and cover them with a covering of fine leather,f and put them on the carrying frame. 13They shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it; 14and they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the firepans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of fine leather,g and shall put its poles in place. 15When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the Kohathites shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, or they will die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the Kohathites are to carry.
16Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle and all that is in it, in the sanctuary and in its utensils.
17Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 18You must not let the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites. 19This is how you must deal with them in order that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each to a particular task or burden. 20But the Kohathitesh must not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment; otherwise they will die.
The Gershonites and Merarites
21Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 22Take a census of the Gershonites also, by their ancestral houses and by their clans; 23from thirty years old up to fifty years old you shall enroll them, all who qualify to do work in the tent of meeting. 24This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: 25They shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tent of meeting with its covering, and the outer covering of fine leatheri that is on top of it, and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords, and all the equipment for their service; and they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. 27All the service of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry, and in all that they have to do; and you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. 28This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites relating to the tent of meeting, and their responsibilities are to be under the oversight of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
29As for the Merarites, you shall enroll them by their clans and their ancestral houses; 30from thirty years old up to fifty years old you shall enroll them, everyone who qualifies to do the work of the tent of meeting. 31This is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, 32and the pillars of the court all around with their bases, p
egs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their related service; and you shall assign by name the objects that they are required to carry. 33This is the service of the clans of the Merarites, the whole of their service relating to the tent of meeting, under the hand of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
Census of the Levites
34So Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation enrolled the Kohathites, by their clans and their ancestral houses, 35from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who qualified for work relating to the tent of meeting; 36and their enrollment by clans was two thousand seven hundred fifty. 37This was the enrollment of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served at the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses.
38The enrollment of the Gershonites, by their clans and their ancestral houses, 39from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who qualified for work relating to the tent of meeting—40their enrollment by their clans and their ancestral houses was two thousand six hundred thirty. 41This was the enrollment of the clans of the Gershonites, all who served at the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the commandment of the LORD.
42The enrollment of the clans of the Merarites, by their clans and their ancestral houses, 43from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who qualified for work relating to the tent of meeting—44their enrollment by their clans was three thousand two hundred. 45This is the enrollment of the clans of the Merarites, whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses.
46All those who were enrolled of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the leaders of Israel enrolled, by their clans and their ancestral houses, 47from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who qualified to do the work of service and the work of bearing burdens relating to the tent of meeting, 48their enrollment was eight thousand five hundred eighty. 49According to the commandment of the LORD through Moses they were appointed to their several tasks of serving or carrying; thus they were enrolled by him, as the LORD commanded Moses.
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a Or treaty, or testimony; Heb eduth
b Meaning of Heb uncertain
c Meaning of Heb uncertain
d Meaning of Heb uncertain
e Meaning of Heb uncertain
f Meaning of Heb uncertain
g Meaning of Heb uncertain
h Heb they
i Meaning of Heb uncertain
4.1–49 The second levitical census, to determine the number of Levites between the ages of thirty and fifty, the years during which they are qualified to perform their priestly duties (but cf. 8.24–26).
4.2–4 In 3.14–37 Gershon was counted first because Gershon is the “firstborn” (3.17, 21–26). Here, the Kohathites are counted first and are singled out from the other Levites because they have custody over the most holy things (v. 4; see also 3.31).
4.5–14 The most holy things are prepared for the march by Aaron and his sons.
4.5 Screening curtain. See note on 3.29, 31.
4.6 The poles for carrying the ark (Ex 25.13–15).
4.7 Table of the bread of the Presence. See note on 3.29, 31. The plates…drink offering. See Ex 25.29; 37.16. The regular bread is the bread that is continually on the table (Ex 25.30; Lev 24.5–9).
4.8 Poles, for carrying the table (Ex 25.28).
4.9 Lampstand. See 3.31.
4.11 Golden altar, for burning incense. See note on 3.29, 31 (its poles, Ex 30.4–5).
4.12 The utensils of the service that are used in the sanctuary are those that are used inside the tent itself and are most sacred (see 3.31). The blue (or violet) cloth and fine leather indicate the very sacred status of these items, which are placed within the tent while the camp is at rest.
4.13–14 The altar here is the bronze altar for sacrifice in the court that surrounds the tabernacle (see note on 3.29, 31) with its utensils (Ex 27.3) and its poles (Ex 27.6–7).
4.15 Or they will die. See Ex 19.20–24 (cf. Ex 19.12–13); 1 Sam 6.19 (Hebrew in text note b); 2 Sam 6.6–15.
4.16 See 3.32.
4.19 Burden, i.e., that which he is to transport.
4.21–28 The census of the Gershonites aged thirty to fifty and the items they are to transport; see 3.21–26.
4.28 As Eleazar is supervisor for the Kohathites and any work having to do with the tabernacle itself, Aaron’s other living son, Ithamar (see 3.1–4), is responsible for the Gershonites and the Merarites (v. 33) and the rest of the levitical service.
4.29–33 The census of the Merarites aged thirty to fifty and the items they are to transport; see 3.33–37.
4.33 See v. 28.
4.36, 40, 44, 48 The numbers here refer only to male Levites aged thirty to fifty; cf. 3.22, 28, 34, 39.
NUMBERS 5
Unclean Persons
1The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2Command the Israelites to put out of the camp everyone who is leprous,a or has a discharge, and everyone who is unclean through contact with a corpse; 3you shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp; they must not defile their camp, where I dwell among them. 4The Israelites did so, putting them outside the camp; as the LORD had spoken to Moses, so the Israelites did.
Confession and Restitution
5The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 6Speak to the Israelites: When a man or a woman wrongs another, breaking faith with the LORD, that person incurs guilt 7and shall confess the sin that has been committed. The person shall make full restitution for the wrong, adding one-fifth to it, and giving it to the one who was wronged. 8If the injured party has no next of kin to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for wrong shall go to the LORD for the priest, in addition to the ram of atonement with which atonement is made for the guilty party. 9Among all the sacred donations of the Israelites, every gift that they bring to the priest shall be his. 10The sacred donations of all are their own; whatever anyone gives to the priest shall be his.
Concerning an Unfaithful Wife
11The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 12Speak to the Israelites and say to them: If any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him, 13if a man has had intercourse with her but it is hidden from her husband, so that she is undetected though she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her since she was not caught in the act; 14if a spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself; or if a spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife, though she has not defiled herself; 15then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. And he shall bring the offering required for her, one-tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
16Then the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD; 17the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. 18The priest shall set the woman before the LORD, dishevel the woman’s hair, and place in her hands the grain offering of remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. In his own hand the priest shall have the water of bitterness that brings the curse. 19Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, “If no man has lain with you, if you have not turned aside to uncleanness while under your husband’s authority, be immune to this water of bitterness that brings the curse. 20But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has had intercourse with you,” 21—let the priest make the woman take the oath of the curse and say to the woman—“the LORD make you an execration and an oath among your people, when the LORD makes your uterus drop, your womb discharge; 22now may this water that brings the curse enter your bowels and make your womb discharge, your uterus drop!” And the woman shall say, “Amen. Amen.”
23Then the priest shall put these curses
in writing, and wash them off into the water of bitterness. 24He shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings the curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter her and cause bitter pain. 25The priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand, and shall elevate the grain offering before the LORD and bring it to the altar; 26and the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering, as its memorial portion, and turn it into smoke on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water. 27When he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and has been unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain, and her womb shall discharge, her uterus drop, and the woman shall become an execration among her people. 28But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be immune and be able to conceive children.
29This is the law in cases of jealousy, when a wife, while under her husband’s authority, goes astray and defiles herself, 30or when a spirit of jealousy comes on a man and he is jealous of his wife; then he shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall apply this entire law to her. 31The man shall be free from iniquity, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.
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a A term for several skin diseases; precise meaning uncertain
5.1–4 The entire encampment is treated as sacred because of the presence of the tabernacle, the place, the Lord says, where I dwell among them (v. 3). Any impurity, therefore, that is “contagious” must be kept outside the camp. Here the possibility of contagion comes from people ritually “unclean” because of a skin condition (Lev 13, esp. vv. 45–46), because of a bodily discharge (presumably, as in Lev 15, from the genitalia), or because of contact with a corpse (see Num 19.11–20).
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