Numbers 4:1-20

VI. MARCHING DUTIES ASSIGNED TO THE LEVITE FAMILIES (Numbers 4)

A. THE KOHATHITES vv. 1-20
TEXT

Numbers 4:1. And the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron, saying, 2. Take the sum of the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers, 3. From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation. 4. This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things.

5. And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering veil, and cover the ark of testimony with it: 6. And shall put thereon the covering of badgers-' skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof. 7. And upon the table of showbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover withal: and the continual bread shall be thereon: 8. And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers-' skins, and shall put in the staves thereof. 9. And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and his lamps, and his tongs, and his snuffdishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it: 10. And they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of badgers-' skins, and shall put it upon a bar. 11. And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers-' skins, and shall put to the staves thereof: 12. And they shall take all the instruments of ministry, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers-' skins, and shall put them on a bar. 13. And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon: 14. And they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, even the censers, the fleshhooks, and the shovels, and the basins, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers-' skins, and put to the staves of it. 15. And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.
16. And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that thereon is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof.
17. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying, 18. Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levitts: 19. But thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden: 20. But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die.

PARAPHRASE

Numbers 4:1. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2. Count the descendants of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers-' houses, 3. from thirty years of age, all who enter into the service to do the duties of the Tent of Meeting. 4. this shall be the service of the descendants of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting among the holy things:

5. When the camp moves out, Aaron and his sons shall enter in and take down the veil of the screen, and cover the ark of the covenant with it; 6. and they shall lay a covering of goatskin on it, and shall spread a cloth of pure blue over it, and insert its poles. 7. And they shall spread a cloth of blue over the table of showbread, and put on it the dishes, the spoons, the bowls and the jars for pouring; and the continual bread shall be upon it. 8. And they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and insert its poles. 9. Then they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the lampstand of light, along with its lamps, its snuffers and its pans, and all its oil vessels used in serving it: 10. and they shall put it and all its vessels inside a cover of goatskin, and they shall put it upon the carrying staves. 11. And they shall spread a blue cloth over the golden altar and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and insert its poles. 12. And they shall take all the utensils of service, with which they serve in the sanctuary, and put them in a blue cloth, and cover them with a covering of dolphin skin, and put them on the carrying staves. 13. Then they shall remove the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth upon it. 14. They also shall put on it all the vessels by which they serve, the pans, the forks, the shovels and the basins, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of goatskin, and insert the poles. 15. And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all of the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to move out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry it; but they must not touch any holy things, lest they should die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting. And the duty of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, is the oil of the light, the sweet incense, the daily meal offering, the anointing oilthe responsibility for all the Tabernacle and everything in it, along with the sanctuary and its vessels.
17. Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18. Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites, 19. but do this to them that they may live and not die when they come unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall enter, and designate each man to his duty and his burden; 20. but they must not enter in to see when the holy things are covered lest they die.

COMMENTARY

To the Kohathites was given the most responsible chores. The family included Moses, Aaron and his sons; that is, the priests. Their service is said to have begun at age 30 here (Numbers 4:3), whereas Numbers 8:24 gives the age as 25, the LXX adopts the lower age in this verse. It has been suggested that the age might have been first established at the earlier figure, then lowered, as more men were to be served, due to the population growth.

The Kohathites have been referred to as the militia sacra, or sacred army. A military term is used to describe their service, (Numbers 4:3). Their obligations are as clear and regimented as those of an army; and their commitments are total, demanding unquestioning allegiance to their Commander. To them is assigned the most holy things in the Tabernacle: the ark of the covenant, the table of showbread, the lampstand (candlestick), the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offerings, as well as all the articles pertaining to them.

When the call came for the Israelites to move, the priests first carefully followed a set procedure. Aaron and his sons took down the curtain between the holy place and the holy of holies, using it to wrap up the ark of the covenant (Numbers 4:5-6); and they covered the entire bundle with skins variously identified as those of the badger or sea-cow. The Hebrew word tachash is currently translated goatskins in the RSV. It is a very probable correction, since the quantity of badgerskins required for the coverings would have been excessive. Furthermore, the availability of either the badgers or the sea-cows in sufficient quantity is subject to reasonable question. Finally, staves were inserted into the rings of the ark, and it was ready for carrying.

Preparations for the other items was somewhat less complicated. The table of showbread was wrapped inside a blue cloth (Numbers 4:7-8), and on this were placed all the dishes, spoons, bowls, pitchers, and the bread itself. Great care must be taken in the process to see that none of these things were touched directly, under pain of death (Numbers 4:15), even while wrapping them with the cloths of covering. The lampstand was wrapped with blue cloth, together with its small pots, its snuffers, trays, and oil vessels. Again, it was carried by means of a pole inserted through the covering, Numbers 4:9-10.

Similarly, the altar of incense should be wrapped, with its many utensils, and carried upon poles. The cloth encompassing the golden altar was blue, Numbers 4:11

The large altar of sacrifice, or burnt-offering, was wrapped in purple, after its ashes had been carefully removed, Numbers 4:13, along with the numerous items required for its usefirepans, forks, shovels, basins, and miscellaneous articles. The removal of the ashes was not done to clean the altar: it was hollow, with a filling of earth or stones. Rather, the ashes were most carefully tended as living embers. The sacred fire was never permitted to go out.

There is a surprising omission here, the great laver. Both the Septuagint and the Samaritan text add, after Numbers 4:14, And they shall take a purple cloth, and cover the laver and its foot, and they shall put it into a hyacinthine cover of skin, and put it on bars. Although this is a spurious interpolation, it is certain that the Kohathites were required to carry the laver. The suggestion in PC (p. 25) is unsatisfactorythat the laver was not regarded as of equal sanctity with the rest will not suffice to explain the omission; there simply is no satisfactory explanation.

Upon completion of the wrapping of all articles, the Kohathites came to carry them. It is evident from the order in which the account is related that the Kohathites and their burdens marched at the forefront of the nation when on the move.
Special tribute, along with special duty, fell upon Eleazar. His responsibility included oversight of the oil for the lampstand, incense for the golden altar, the continual meal-offering, the anointing oil, and the vessels for their care. He further directed the entire process of gathering and preparing the Tabernacle and all the sacred objects for transportation. We may infer that the Kohathites worked directly under his supervision. The Kohathites are recognized to be especially significant among the tribes. Lest they be guilty of any degree of negligence or carelessness which others might prevent, Moses and Aaron are strictly admonished to supervise their duties most carefully. Should they fail, they are to be held accountable directly to God. Any carelessness or irreverence in the conduct of the priests-' functions would induce similar attitudes and serious mistakes among the Levites; death then must be the inevitable consequence. Every phase of the service of Jehovah is of gravest importance, and God's instructions are to be carried out to the letter.

The final note of caution (Numbers 4:20) summarizes all that has been said. Wrapping the furnishings is the task of the priests; the Kohathites must be cautious not even so much as to look upon the vessels for an instant, under pain of death.

QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH ITEMS

78.

How do you reconcile the differences given for the time of the priestly service, as stated in Numbers 4:3; Numbers 8:24?

79.

In what sense might the Kohathites be called the militia sacra?

80.

Give in full detail the step-by-step measure which must be followed when the Tabernacle and its various articles were to be moved.

81.

Why is it more likely that goatskins is the proper word in this passage, rather than porpoises or sea-cows?

82.

Why should there be such a severe penalty for the unauthorized sight of the various items of furniture before they are completely wrapped?

83.

Why was it unnecessary to clean ashes from the altar of sacrifice?

84.

What possible explanations are offered for the omission of the laver from the list of the Tabernacle's furniture?

85.

Why was Eleazar given special responsibility over the process of packing and moving all the articles of the Tabernacle?

86.

In what manner might clumsiness, carelessness or indifference in performing their duties as priests affect the general attitude of the Levites? of the people as a whole?