Numbers 3:1-51
1 These also are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spake with Moses in mount Sinai.
2 And these are the names of the sons of Aaron; Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests which were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest's office.
4 And 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: and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest's office in the sight of Aaron their father.
5 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
6 Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him.
7 And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle.
8 And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.
9 And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel.
10 And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
11 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
12 And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine;
13 Because all the firstborn are mine; 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: mine shall they be: I am the LORD.
14 And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,
15 Number the children of Levi after the house of their fathers, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them.
16 And Moses numbered them according to the worda of the LORD, as he was commanded.
17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari.
18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families; Libni, and Shimei.
19 And the sons of Kohath by their families; Amram, and Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20 And the sons of Merari by their families; Mahli, and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to the house of their fathers.
21 Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these are the families of the Gershonites.
22 Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, even those that were numbered of them were seven thousand and five hundred.
23 The families of the Gershonites shall pitch behind the tabernacle westward.
24 And the chief of the house of the father of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael.
25 And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, the covering thereof, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,
26 And the hangings of the court, and the curtain for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and the cords of it for all the service thereof.
27 And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izeharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites.
28 In the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary.
29 The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward.
30 And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.
31 And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the hanging, and all the service thereof.
32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.
33 Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari.
34 And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred.
35 And the chief of the house of the father of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: these shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward.
36 And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serveth thereto,
37 And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.
38 But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
39 All that were numbered of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the LORD, throughout their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand.
40 And the LORD said unto Moses, Number all the firstborn of the males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names.
41 And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am the LORD) instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel.
42 And Moses numbered, as the LORD commanded him, all the firstborn among the children of Israel.
43 And all the firstborn males by the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those that were numbered of them, were twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen.
44 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
45 Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD.
46 And for those that are to be redeemed of the two hundred and threescore and thirteen of the firstborn of the children of Israel, which are more than the Levites;
47 Thou shalt even take five shekels apiece by the poll, after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them: (the shekel is twenty gerahs:)
48 And thou shalt give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed, unto Aaron and to his sons.
49 And Moses took the redemption money of them that were over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites:
50 Of the firstborn of the children of Israel took he the money; a thousand three hundred and threescore and five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:
51 And Moses gave the money of them that were redeemed unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.
The Old Testament Book of Numbers
In the Desert
Numbers
Marion Adams
Chapter 3
Aaron’s sons – Numbers 3:1-4
v1 The *LORD spoke to Moses on Sinai mountain. This is the family of Aaron and Moses at that time. v2 Aaron had four sons. Nadab was the oldest son. The other sons were Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
v3 Aaron *anointed them. And he ordained them (gave them authority to work as priests). They served God in *God’s Tent.
v4 But Nadab and Abihu fell down and died in front of the *LORD. This happened when they offered unholy fire (see note below) to the *LORD in the Sinai *desert. They had no children. So only Eleazar and Ithamar worked as priests while their father Aaron was alive.
Verses 1-4 Aaron was the *High Priest (Leviticus chapter 8). All his sons were priests. But Nadab and Abihu did something that was very wrong. God punished them. He sent fire to burn them until they were dead. We know this because this story is in Leviticus 10:1-3, too.
However, it is not certain what ‘unholy fire’ means. Priests sometimes burned *incense in *God’s Tent. Nadab and Abihu were burning *incense when they died. The fire was ‘unholy’ because God had not ordered them to offer it (Leviticus 10:1). So they were opposing God on purpose.
Nadab and Abihu had not obeyed God. They were his priests. They had neglected to serve him properly. They had not shown honour to God. This teaches us something very important. God loves us. He is our friend. But also he is the maker of everything that exists. He is *holy completely. We must remember this. We must show honour to God always.
The duties of Levi’s *tribe – Numbers 3:5-13
v5 The *LORD said to Moses, v6 ‘Bring Levi’s *tribe to Aaron the priest. They must help him. v7-8 They must work for him and all the *Israelites in *God’s Tent. They will be responsible for everything in *God’s Tent. They will take care of it. They will carry on these duties on behalf of the *Israelites. v9 Give Levi’s *tribe to Aaron and his sons. So they will be the *Israelites who belong completely to him. v10 Appoint Aaron and his sons as priests. Anyone else who tries to do the priests’ duties will die.’
v11-13 Also, the *LORD said to Moses, ‘I have chosen Levi’s *tribe from the other *Israelites. Levi’s *tribe will belong to me in a special way. I had decided that the *Israelites’ *first-born sons would belong to me. Also, I had decided that all their *first-born male animals would belong to me. I made this decision when I let the *Egyptians’ *first-born sons die. But now I have decided that Levi’s *tribe will belong to me, instead of the *Israelites’ *first-born sons. Levi’s *tribe are mine. I am the *LORD!’
Verses 5-10 Aaron and his sons were the priests. The rest of Levi’s *tribe acted as their servants. These servants helped the priests to look after *God’s Tent. They had two main duties. Whenever the *Israelites travelled, Levi’s *tribe had to take down *God’s Tent. Then they had to carry the parts as they travelled. This was heavy work!
Also, they had to look after *God’s Tent always. If any of the other *Israelites came too near to *God’s Tent, that person would die. Then God would not punish all the *Israelites because one person had not obeyed him (see Numbers 1:53; Numbers 16:40; Numbers 25:8).
Verses 11-13 Before they escaped into the *desert, the *Israelites were *slaves in the country called Egypt. Moses had asked the king of Egypt to let the *Israelites go free. But the king had refused. So God had allowed 10 bad things to happen to the *Egyptians (Exodus Chapter s 7-11). For example, their main river had changed into blood. And many insects had eaten their crops. Finally, all the *Egyptians’ *first-born sons had died. But all the *Israelites’ *first-born sons had remained alive. When this happened, the king of Egypt let the *Israelites go free.
The *Israelites’ *first-born male animals and also their *first-born sons belonged to God. They had to redeem both their animals and their sons (Exodus 13:1-2; Chapter s 11 to 13; 22:29-30; 34:19-20). (To redeem means to buy back by means of a *sacrifice or a payment).
But when God was giving the *Law to Moses, the *Israelites made an *idol. They *worshipped it. Only Levi’s *tribe were loyal to God (Exodus chapter 32). So God wanted Levi’s *tribe to serve him, instead of the other *Israelites’ *first-born sons. And so Levi’s *tribe served God instead of the *Israelites’ *first-born sons.
Moses counts Levi’s *tribe – Numbers 3:14-39
v14 In the Sinai *desert, the *LORD spoke to Moses. The *LORD said, v15 ‘Count Levi’s *tribe by *clans and families. Register every male who is a month old or older.’ v16 Moses obeyed the *LORD. So Moses counted Levi’s *tribe.
v17 Levi’s sons were Gershon, Kohath and Merari. They had become the leaders of their own *clans. v18 Gershon’s sons were Libni and Shimei. v19 Kohath’s sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. v20 Merari’s sons were Mahli and Mushi. They were Levi’s sons and grandsons. They had become the leaders of the *clans of Levi’s *tribe.
v21 There were two families in Gershon’s *clan. They were the families of Libni and Shimei. v22 They had 7500 males who were one month or older. v23 Gershon’s *clan had to camp on the west side of *God’s Tent. v24 Their leader was Eliasaph, Lael’s son. v25 Their duties were to look after *God’s Tent, its outside cover and the curtain over the entrance. v26 There was a yard outside *God’s Tent. This yard was round the *altar. There were curtains that hung round this yard. Gershon’s *clan were responsible for these curtains. Also, this *clan was responsible for the *ropes and the curtain for the entrance to the yard. And they also looked after everything else that had a relationship with these things.
v27 There were four families in Kohath’s *clan. They were the families of Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. v28 They had 8600 males who were one month old or older. Kohath’s *clan had to look after the objects inside *God’s Tent. v29 Kohath’s *clan had to camp on the south side of *God’s Tent. v30 Their leader was Elizaphan, Uzziel’s son. v31 They had to look after the *Ark, the table for the special bread and the *stand for the lamp. They also looked after the *altars. They were responsible for the objects that the priests used to *worship God in the *Holy Place. Also they were responsible for the curtain in front of the *Most Holy Place. And they also looked after everything else that had a relationship with these things.
v32 Eleazar, Aaron’s son, was the chief leader of Levi’s *tribe. He governed those people who looked after *God’s Tent.
v33 There were two families in Merari’s *clan. They were the families of Mahli and Mushi. v34 They had 6200 males who were one month old or older. v35 Merari’s *clan had to camp on the north side of *God’s Tent. Their leader was Zuriel, Abihail’s son. v36 They had to look after the *frames of *God’s Tent and all the things that supported it. v37 Also, they were responsible for the poles, bases and all the other objects in the yard.
v38 Moses, Aaron and Aaron’s sons had to camp in front of *God’s Tent, on the east side. They had to carry out duties in *God’s Tent on behalf of the *Israelites. Anyone else who tried to do the priests’ work would die.
v39 So Moses and Aaron obeyed the *LORD. They counted Levi’s *tribe by their *clans. There were 22 000 males in Levi’s *tribe who were one month old or older.
Verses 14-39 God told Moses to count all the males in Levi’s *tribe who were one month old or older. The men from Levi’s *tribe would help the priests. So the members of that *tribe belonged to God in a special way. He had accepted them to belong to him instead of the *Israelites’ *first-born sons (Numbers 3:11-13).
Again, Moses did what God asked him to do. Moses counted Levi’s *tribe by *clan. He told each *clan where to camp.
The priests camped on the east side of *God’s Tent (verse 38). Kohath’s *clan camped on the south side of *God’s Tent (verse 29). Kohath’s *clan was the biggest group. They had a very important job. They were responsible for the special furniture in *God’s Tent.
Gershon’s *clan camped on the west side of *God’s Tent. They were responsible for the covers, curtains and *ropes.
Merari’s *clan was the smallest group. They camped on the north side of *God’s Tent. They had to look after all the parts of the Tent’s *frame and the things in the yard that surrounded it. Whenever the *Israelites travelled, each *clan had to carry their own parts of *God’s Tent.
Moses counts the *Israelites’ *first-born sons – Numbers 3:40-51
v40 The *LORD said to Moses, ‘Now count the *Israelites’ *first-born sons. Register all those who are one month old or older. Write their names in a list. v41 The *Israelites’ *first-born sons belong to me. But instead, I shall accept the males who are in Levi’s *tribe. They will be mine. I am the *LORD! Also, I shall accept the animals that Levi’s *tribe own, instead of the *Israelites’ *first-born animals.’
v42 Moses obeyed the *LORD. He counted the *Israelites’ *first-born sons. v43 He registered the names of all the *first-born males of one month old or older. There were 22 273 names in this list. v44 The *LORD said to Moses, v45 ‘Give Levi’s *tribe to me instead of the *Israelites’ *first-born sons. Give to me the animals that Levi’s *tribe own, instead of the *Israelites’ animals. Levi’s *tribe will belong to me. I am the *LORD! v46 There are 273 more *first-born *Israelites than males in Levi’s *tribe. You must buy the extra *Israelites from me. v47 You must collect five pieces of silver for each *Israelite. The pieces of silver must be the official weight (see note). v48 You must give this money to Aaron and his sons.’
v49 So Moses collected the money for the extra 273 *first-born sons. v50 He collected 1365 pieces of silver from them. The pieces of silver were the official weight. v51 Then, he gave the money to Aaron and his sons, as the *LORD had ordered him.
Verses 40-51 The *first-born *Israelites belonged to God (see note on verses 11-13). A person who belongs to someone is a slave. So these *first-born *Israelites were really God’s slaves. But God had decided to accept the males from Levi’s *tribe instead of the *first-born *Israelites. However, there were 273 more *first-born *Israelites than males from Levi’s *tribe. So Moses had to buy these 273 *first-born *Israelites from God.
Moses had to collect five pieces of silver for each *first-born *Israelite. This was the price of a slave at that time. It was a lot of money. Many people earned less than one piece of silver in a month. We do not know who paid the five pieces of silver. Perhaps Moses collected it from all the *first-born *Israelites. Perhaps just the 273 males paid it. But again, Moses obeyed God.
At that time, people used pieces of silver for money. But the pieces of silver were not all the same weight. The ‘official weight’ (verse 47) was the same weight as a piece of silver that people kept in *God’s Tent. The weight of this piece of silver was about 11.5 *grams. So the pieces of silver that people paid for their *first-born sons had to weigh about 11.5 *grams. Still the *Jews today make this payment to redeem their *first-born sons. (To redeem means to buy back by means of a *sacrifice or a payment.)
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. In Hebrew, it is Yahweh. This name means something like ‘I am’ or ‘always alive’.Lord ~ one who rules. God is the Lord who rules everyone.
Hebrew ~ the language of the *Jews.
anoint ~ to pour oil over a person. This shows that God has chosen that person for a special purpose.
desert ~ a dry region, or a region where there is just a little water. A few wild plants are able to grow in some deserts. So people who are travelling can live in these deserts in their tents. And they can lead animals through the desert. The Israelites lived in a desert for nearly 40 years.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
'High Priest ~ the most important priest.incense ~ a substance that people make from plants. It has a good smell when people burn it.
holy ~ what God is like. God’s character: perfect, completely good with nothing bad in it. Separate from sin.
sin ~ the nature of all people since Adam chose not to obey God. People’s lives are not acceptable to God because of sin. ‘Sins’ are states, attitudes and acts that are not acceptable to God. A person sins whenever that person is guilty of a sin.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.'first-born ~ the first child to be born to a mother; the oldest child in a family. The word can refer to animals as well as people.
Law ~ the rules that God gave to Moses for the *Jews.
worship ~ to give honour to God and to thank him. Sometimes, people worship false gods.
altar ~ a special table where the priests burned animals or other gifts as a *sacrifice to God (or, to a false god).
Ark ~ a wooden box that contained things that were special to the Israelites. God said that he would meet his people at the Ark. It was a *symbol that God was there in a special way.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
stand ~ an object that supports another object, for example, a lamp.
holy ~ what God is like. God’s character: perfect, completely good with nothing bad in it. Separate from sin.
sin ~ the nature of all people since Adam chose not to obey God. People’s lives are not acceptable to God because of sin. ‘Sins’ are states, attitudes and acts that are not acceptable to God. A person sins whenever that person is guilty of a sin.
'Most Holy Place ~ the smaller room in *God’s Tent. The Ark was in that room.Ark ~ a wooden box that contained things that were special to the Israelites. God said that he would meet his people at the Ark. It was a *symbol that God was there in a special way.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
gram ~ a measurement of weight today. 28 grams make one ounce. 1000 grams make one kilogram.
kilogram ~ 1000 grams.