Numbers 7:1-89

NUMBERS—NOTE ON Numbers 7:1 On the day when Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle. These events took place on or soon after the “first day of the first month” (see Exodus 40:2), a month before those described in Numbers 1:1, which began on “the first day of the second month” (Numbers 1:1). Placing chs. Numbers 1:1 first helps readers see the significance of what is described in this chapter. Numbers 3:1 describes the duties of the priests and Levites; ch. Numbers 7:1 shows how the other tribes supported them. The Gershonites, who carried the tabernacle curtains and hangings, and the Merarites, who carried the poles, frames, and bases, were given wagons and oxen. The Kohathites, who carried the tabernacle furniture on shoulder poles, received none (v. Numbers 7:9).