The Fourth Book of Moses: Numbers

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(Leviticus 10:1–7)

These are some of the things that happened to Aaron and Moses when Yahweh spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai.

Aaron had four sons. They were Nadab the oldest, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

These are the names of Aaron’s sons who were anointed priests and set apart as priests and whom he ordained to serve as priests.

But, while Yahweh was watching, Nadab and Abihu died in the wilderness of Sinai because they burned incense in a manner that was disobedient to what Yahweh had commanded. They had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar were the only sons of Aaron who were left to be priests, along with their father Aaron.

The Duties of the Levites

Then Yahweh said to Moses,

“Bring the men of the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron, in order that they may assist him.

They will serve Aaron and all the other Israelite people, while they do their work inside the sacred tent and outside it.

They must serve all the Israelite people by taking care of all the things that are inside the sacred tent.

Appoint them to help Aaron and his two sons. I have chosen them from all the Israelite people to do that.

Appoint Aaron and his two sons to do the work that priests do. But anyone else who comes close to the sacred tent to do that work must be executed.”

Yahweh also told Moses,

“Note that from all the Israelites I have chosen the men of the tribe of Levi to take the places of all the firstborn sons of the Israelite people. The male descendants of Levi belong to me,

because truly all the firstborn males belong to me. That is because on the day that I killed all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt, I spared all the firstborn sons of the Israelites and set them apart for myself. I also set apart the firstborn males of your domestic animals. They belong to me, Yahweh.”

The Numbering of the Levites

Yahweh spoke to Moses again in the wilderness of Sinai. He said,

“Count the male members of the tribe of Levi. Write down their names and the names of their clans and family groups. Count all the males who are at least one month old.”

So Moses counted them, just as Yahweh commanded.

Levi had three sons, whose names were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Gershon had two sons, Libni and Shimei. The clans who were descended from them had the same names as those two sons.

Kohath had four sons, Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. The clans who were descended from them had the same names as those four sons.

Merari had two sons, Mahli and Mushi. The clans who were descended from them had the same names as those two sons. Those are the clans who were descended from Levi.

The Gershonites

(Numbers 4:21–28; 1 Chronicles 23:7–11)

The two clans descended from Gershon are those that were descended from his sons Libni and Shimei.

In those two clans there were 7,500 males who were at least one month old.

They were told to set up their tents on the west side of the sacred tent.

The leader of those two clans was Eliasaph son of Lael.

Their work was to take care of the sacred tent, including its curtains and coverings and the curtain at its entrance,

the curtains that formed the walls around the courtyard that is around the tent and around the altar, the curtains that were at the entrance of the courtyard, and the ropes for fastening the tent. They also did all the work of taking care of the things outside the sacred tent.

The Kohathites

(Numbers 4:1–20; 1 Chronicles 23:12–20)

The clans that were descended from Kohath were those descended from his sons Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

In those four clans there were 8,600 males who were at least one month old. The work of the men of the clans was to take care of the things that are inside the sacred tent.

They set up their tents on the south side of the sacred tent.

The leader of those four clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel.

The work of the men of those clans was to take care of the sacred chest, the table on which the priest put the sacred bread, the lampstand, the altars, all the items that the priest used in the sacred tent, and the curtain that is inside the tent. Their work was also to take care of the things inside the tent.

Aaron’s son Eleazar was the leader of all the male descendants of Levi. He supervised all the work that was done at the sacred tent.

The Merarites

(Numbers 4:29–33; 1 Chronicles 23:21–23)

The clans that were descended from Merari were those descended from his sons Mahli and Mushi.

In those two clans there were 6,200 males who were at least one month old.

They were told to set up their tents on the north side of the sacred tent. The leader of those two clans was Zuriel son of Abihail.

The work of the men of those two clans was to take care of the frames that held up the tent, the crossbars, the pillars, and the bases. They also did all the work that was connected with those items.

Their work was also to take care of the posts that held up the curtains that formed the walls of the courtyard, and all the bases, tent pegs, and ropes that fastened those curtains.

Moses and Aaron

Aaron and Moses and Aaron’s sons were told to set up their tents in the area in front of the sacred tent, on the east side. Their work was to supervise the work that would be done in and around the sacred tent, for the benefit of the Israelite people. Only the priests were permitted to do that. Yahweh declared that anyone else who went near the tent to do the work that the priests do must be executed.

When Aaron and Moses counted all the males who were at least one month old, who belonged to the clans descended from Levi, the total was twenty-two thousand.

The Redemption of the Firstborn

Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Now count all the other firstborn males in Israel who are at least one month old, and write down their names.

Also, set apart for me the descendants of Levi to be substitutes for the firstborn males of the other Israelites. And set apart for me the livestock of the descendants of Levi to be substitutes for the firstborn livestock of the other Israelite people.”

So Moses did that. He counted the firstborn males of all the Israelite people, as Yahweh had commanded.

The total of those who were at least one month old was 22,273.

Then Yahweh said to Moses,

“Set apart the descendants of Levi to be substitutes for the firstborn males of the other Israelite people. The descendants of Levi belong to me, Yahweh.

There are 273 more firstborn males of the other Israelite people than of the descendants of Levi.

To pay for these 273 males, collect five pieces of silver for each of them.

Each of those pieces of silver must weigh the same as each of the silver pieces that are stored in the sacred tent. Give this silver to Aaron and his sons.”

So Moses did that. He collected the silver from those 273 males.

The total was 1,365 pieces of silver. Each silver piece weighed the same as each of the silver pieces stored in the sacred tent.

Moses gave these silver pieces to Aaron and his sons, as Yahweh had commanded.

(Leviticus 10:1–7)

Now this is the history of the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spoke with Moses in Mount Sinai.

These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests who were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest’s office.

Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered strange fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest’s office in the presence of Aaron their father.

The Duties of the Levites

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him.

They shall keep his requirements, and the requirements of the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle.

They shall keep all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting, and the obligations of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.

You shall give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons. They are wholly given to him on the behalf of the children of Israel.

You shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall keep their priesthood, but the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.”

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“Behold,(a) I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn who open the womb among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine,

for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I made holy to me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and animal. They shall be mine. I am the LORD.”

The Numbering of the Levites

The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,

“Count the children of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their families. You shall count every male from a month old and upward.”

Moses counted them according to the LORD’s word, as he was commanded.

These were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei.

The sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

The sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ houses.

The Gershonites

(Numbers 4:21–28; 1 Chronicles 23:7–11)

Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimeites. These are the families of the Gershonites.

Those who were counted of them, according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward, even those who were counted of them were seven thousand five hundred.

The families of the Gershonites shall encamp behind the tabernacle westward.

Eliasaph the son of Lael shall be the prince of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites.

The duty of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting shall be the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for the door of the Tent of Meeting,

the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court which is by the tabernacle and around the altar, and its cords for all of its service.

The Kohathites

(Numbers 4:1–20; 1 Chronicles 23:12–20)

Of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites. These are the families of the Kohathites.

According to the number of all the males from a month old and upward, there were eight thousand six hundred keeping the requirements of the sanctuary.

The families of the sons of Kohath shall encamp on the south side of the tabernacle.

The prince of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.

Their duty shall be the ark, the table, the lamp stand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which they minister, the screen, and all its service.

Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be prince of the princes of the Levites, with the oversight of those who keep the requirements of the sanctuary.

The Merarites

(Numbers 4:29–33; 1 Chronicles 23:21–23)

Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites. These are the families of Merari.

Those who were counted of them, according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward, were six thousand two hundred.(b)

The prince of the fathers’ house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They shall encamp on the north side of the tabernacle.

The appointed duty of the sons of Merari shall be the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, all its instruments, all its service,

the pillars of the court around it, their sockets, their pins, and their cords.

Moses and Aaron

Those who encamp before the tabernacle eastward, in front of the Tent of Meeting toward the sunrise, shall be Moses, with Aaron and his sons, keeping the requirements of the sanctuary for the duty of the children of Israel. The outsider who comes near shall be put to death.

All who were counted of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the commandment of the LORD, by their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty-two thousand.

The Redemption of the Firstborn

The LORD said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names.

You shall take the Levites for me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the livestock of the children of Israel.”

Moses counted, as the LORD commanded him, all the firstborn among the children of Israel.

All the firstborn males according to the number of names from a month old and upward, of those who were counted of them, were twenty-two thousand two hundred seventy-three.

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock; and the Levites shall be mine. I am the LORD.

For the redemption of the two hundred seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel who exceed the number of the Levites,

you shall take five shekels apiece for each one; according to the shekel

(c)

of the sanctuary you shall take them (the shekel is twenty gerahs (d));

and you shall give the money, with which their remainder is redeemed, to Aaron and to his sons.”

Moses took the redemption money from those who exceeded the number of those who were redeemed by the Levites;

from the firstborn of the children of Israel he took the money, one thousand three hundred sixty-five shekels,(e) according to the shekel of the sanctuary;

and Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and to his sons, according to the LORD’s word, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Fußnoten

(a)3:12 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.

(b)3:34 + 22,000 is the sum rounded to 2 significant digits. The sum of the Gershonites, Kohathites, and Merarites given above is 22,300, but the traditional Hebrew text has the number rounded to 2 significant digits, not 3 significant digits.

(d)3:47 A gerah is about 0.5 grams or about 7.7 grains.

(e)3:50 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces, so 1365 shekels is about 13.65 kilograms or about 30 pounds.