In this chapter an account is given of the genealogy of the priests and Levites, and of the gift of the Levites to the priests, of the numbering of them, and the service they were to perform; and first of the priests, the sons of Aaron, Num.

These also are the generations of Aaron and Moses The descendants of them, those of the former, who is named first, because the eldest, were priests, and those of the latter Levites, and who are not very plainly pointed at, but are included among the Amramites, ; the posterity of Moses being very…

And these are the names of the sons of Aaron The Targum of Jonathan adds, disciples of Moses, the master of the Israelites; none of the posterity of Moses being expressly, named; Jarchi observes, that the sons of Aaron are called the generations of Moses, because he taught them the law; for…

These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests that were anointed With the holy, anointing oil, with which they were anointed when, Aaron was and they only, see ; whom he consecrated to minister in the priest’s office; that is, whom Moses consecrated, by anointing them, putting the priest’s…

And Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord , By flaming fire, as the Targum of Jonathan adds, see ; and so were not alive at this time when the account of the priests and Levites was taken: when they offered strange fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai; after the tabernacle was set up, and…

And the Lord spake unto Moses After he had given him the order for the numbering the children of Israel, and for the manner of their encampment and journeying: saying; as follows.

Bring the tribe of Levi near Separate them from the rest, set them apart for special service about, the sanctuary, let them have a place nearer to it than the other tribes, or offer them, that is, to the Lord, as in ; as well as bring them near to Aaron; so it follows: and present them before Aaron…

And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation The charge of Aaron and of all the people of Israel, which was to secure the sanctuary from being polluted or plundered: this the Levites were to be employed about, and thereby ease the high priest and the other priests, and…

And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation Take care of them that none be lost or come to any damage, especially while it was moving, and carried from place to place; then the several parts of it, as well as the vessels in it, were committed to their care and…

And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons, &c.] To be their ministers and servants: they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel: even all of them entirely, none excepted; the whole tribe which were not in the priestly office; those were separated from the rest of…

And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons To the priestly office; this was done before, but is renewed for the confirmation of it, and repeated to put them in mind of it, that they be careful to execute it, as follows: and they shall wait on their priest’s office, to do what was peculiar to it,…

And the Lord spake unto Moses Continued to speak unto him, and give him the reason of his appointing the Levites to minister to the priests and serve the tabernacle: saying: as follows.

And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel Separated them from others, and set them apart for the service of the sanctuary; this was his own act and deed, and which he did of his own will and pleasure, who is a sovereign Being, and might and would do whatsoever he…

Because all the firstborn are mine Not merely in a general way, as all creatures are his, but in a special manner as his own, and that for the following reason: for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast;…

And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai At the same time he gave the order, and made the declaration before mentioned, and in the place where now the children of Israel were, and from whence they shortly removed: saying; as follows.

Number the children of Levi Who were left out of the general muster of the children of Israel, but now were to be numbered alone, and in a different manner, and for, a different purpose, the Lord having a special regard auto, them, and special service for them: after the house of their fathers, by…

And Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord, &c.] Took the account of all of a month old in the several houses and families of the tribe of Levi; though Moses is only here mentioned, yet it seems from ; that Aaron was concerned with him in it; yea, in an after numbering of the Levites…

And these were the sons of Levi, by their names The immediate offspring and descendants of that patriarch: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari; these went down with him into Egypt, .

And these are the names of the sons of Gershon, by their families Or to Gershon belonged two families, called after the names of his sons, who were now numbered, namely, Libni and Shimei; and who are elsewhere mentioned as his sons, ; and from hence were the families of the Libnites and Shimites,…

And the sons of Kohath, by their families Who was the second son of Levi: Amram, and Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel; so in ; and from whom were named the family of the Amramites, to which Moses and Aaron belonged; and the families of the Izeharites, Hebronites, and Uzzielites, as they are called, .

And the sons, of Merari, by their families The third son of Levi; Mahli and Mushi; the same as in ; from whom were denominated the families of the Mahlites and Mushites, who, as the preceding families, were numbered at this time: these are the families of the Levites, according to the house of…

Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites The first son of Levi: these are the family of the Gershonites; that were now, numbered.

Those that were numbered of them Of the two families that sprung from Gershon: according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upwards: in the said families; even those that were numbered of them, were seven thousand and five hundred; 7,500 men, which was neither the least nor the…

The families of the Gershonites The two before mentioned, the Libnites and Shimites: shall pitch behind the tabernacle westward; this was their situation when encamped; they were placed in the rear of the camp of the Levites, between the tabernacle and the camp of Ephraim, which was westward also, .

And the chief of the house of the fathers of the Gershonites, &c.] Who had the chief authority over them, and the chief direction of them in what they were to do: shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael; but who he was, or of which family of the Gershonites, whether of the Libnites or Shimites, is not…

And the charge of the sons of Gershom The Libnites and Shimites: in the tabernacle of the congregation; or with respect to the things of it, when it was taken down and committed to them; for otherwise they had no place in it, nor might they enter into it, or do any service therein: shall be the…

And the hangings of the court Which formed the great open court that encompassed the tabernacle, and was an hundred cubits long and fifty broad; ; and the curtain for the door of the court: which was an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, ; which is by the…

And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites So called from Amram, the first son of Kohath, and father of Aaron and Moses; so that Moses and Aaron, and their children, are included in this family: and the family of Izeharites; of which family was Korah, ; and the family of the Hebronites, and the…

In the number of all the males, from a month old and upwards, were eight thousand and six hundred 8,600 men, which was the largest number of any of the houses of the Levites; but considering it had double the number of families in it, the increase was not so large in proportion, at least to…

The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward. ] Or to the right, which was the more honourable place, excepting the east or front, which was reserved for Moses and Aaron, and his sons, and who were one of these families; and is the reason why this honour…

And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. ] The same man, who, with his brother Mishael, carried Nadab and Abihu out of the camp, and buried them, (Lev. 10:4, Lev.

And their charge shall be the ark That is, when the tabernacle was taken down, and carried from place to place, this, and the following things, were committed to their care and custody, the ark with the mercy seat, and all appertaining thereunto, which were in the holy of holies: and the table, and…

And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest Who was of the first of these families, the Amramites: shall be chief over the chief of the Levites; over the three chiefs of the three houses of the Levites, who were Eliasaph the son of Lael, the chief of the Gershonites; and Elizaphan the son of Uzziel,…

Of Merari were the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites So called from his two sons Mahli and Mushi, ; these are the families of Merari; the youngest son of Levi, .

And those that were numbered of them Of the above two families: according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred; 6,200 men; the least number of them all.

And the chief of the house of the father of the families of Merari I think it should rather be rendered, “and the chief of the house”, that is, of the Merarites, “the father to the families of Merari”; the common father to them all, having the chief authority and power over them, and so in (Num.

And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle Both of the holy and the most holy place, which were the walls of the tabernacle, and which were covered with curtains; these when taken down for journeying were committed to the care of the Merarites; and…

And the pillars of the court round about Of the great court which went round the tabernacle, on which pillars the hangings were hung: and their sockets; into which the, pillars were put; of both which see ; and their pins, and their cords, the pins were fixed in the ground, and the cords fastened…

And those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, &c.] At which was the entrance into the tabernacle: even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward; that is, before the court of the tabernacle, where the people assembled together: shall be Moses, Aaron, and his sons; Moses the…

All that were numbered of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron, numbered at the commandment of the Lord, throughout their families, &c.] Whence it appears, that Moses was not alone, but Aaron with him, in numbering the Levites, and that by the appointment of the Lord.

And the Lord said unto Moses After he had taken the number of the Levites: number all the firstborn of the children of Israel, from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names; that they might be compared with the number of the Levites, and the difference between them observed.

And thou shall take the Levites for me For his service, to minister to his priests, and serve in his tabernacle: I am the Lord; who has a right to all, and can claim who he pleases for himself in a special manner, and therefore could and did take the Levites to himself: instead of the firstborn…

And Moses numbered, as the Lord commanded him No doubt assisted by others, though not mentioned: all the firstborn among the children of Israel; which some think were only those that were born since they came out of Egypt, as Bonfrerius, Bishop Patrick, and others.

And all the firstborn males For such only were ordered to be numbered, and not firstborn females: by the number of names; which were particularly taken: from a month old and upward; for before that time they were not sanctified to the Lord, nor subject to the redemption price: of those that were…

And the Lord spake unto Moses After the number was taken, and gave him directions what to do upon it: saying; as follows.

Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel The Lord had declared before that he had taken them, and now he bids Moses take them, who had numbered them, and give them to Aaron, instead of the firstborn, whose numbers were also taken for this purpose: and the cattle of…

And for those that are to be redeemed With money, there being not Levites enough to answer to them, and exchange for them: of the two hundred and threescore and thirteen of the firstborn of the children of Israel, which are more than the Levites; for the sum total of the Levites, as given, was but…

Thou shall even take five shekels apiece the poll Or head; every firstborn, or his parent for him, was bound to pay five shekels, which were about eleven or twelve shillings of our money, and which was afterwards settled as the price of such a redemption, ; after the shekel of the sanctuary shall…

And thou shalt give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed Or the superfluous number, the number of them that exceeded the Levites, namely, two hundred seventy three; the price of their redemption is ordered to be given unto Aaron, and to his sons; since the Levites were…

And Moses took the redemption money Of five shekels per head: of them that were over and above redeemed by the Levites; or were more than those redeemed by them.

Of the firstborn of the children of Israel took he the money, &c.] Or “for the firstborn”, as the Vulgate Latin version renders it, and so the Hebrew particle (מאת) is sometimes used [[19]]; for children of a month old or little more could not pay the money, but their parents for them, which was…

And Moses gave the money of them that were redeemed That were redeemed this way, and not by Levites, as in , but by money, paying five shekels a head: unto Aaron and his sons; to whom the Levites were given; and this money, as a recompence for the deficiency of the number of them, to answer to the…