Numbers 3

The tribe of Levi

Now these are the descendants of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spoke with Moses on 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 who were anointed, whom he consecrated to serve as priests. 4 And Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of the LORD, when they offered strange fire in the presence of the LORD, in the desert of Sinai, and they had no children. And Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the presence of their father Aaron.

5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them before Aaron the priest, so that they may serve him. 7 And they shall perform duties for him, and the duties of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, doing the service of the tabernacle. 8 And they shall keep all the furnishings of the tabernacle of the congregation, and perform the duties of the children of Israel, doing the service of the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons. They are wholly given to him from the children of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall carry out their priesthood; and the outsider who approaches shall be put to death”.

11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “And see, 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. Therefore the Levites shall be mine, 13 because all the firstborn are mine. For on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They are mine. I am the LORD”.

14 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, saying, 15 “Count the children of Levi according to the households of their fathers, by their families. You shall count every male a month old or more”. 16 And Moses counted them according to the word of the LORD, just as he was commanded.

17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, 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, 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 households of their fathers.

21 The family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimites were from Gershon. These are the families of the Gershonites. 22 Those of them who were counted, according to the number of all the males a month old or more, their numbered males were seven thousand five hundred. 23 The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west. 24 And Eliasaph the son of Lael was the leader of the households of the father of the Gershonites. 25 And the duties of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation were to be the tabernacle, and the tent, its covering, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, 26 and the hangings of the courtyard, and the curtain for the entrance of the courtyard which surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, and the cords for all its work.

27 And from Kohath came 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 The number of all the males a month old or more was eight thousand six hundred performing the duties of the sanctuary. 29 The families of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. 30 And Elizaphan the son of Uzziel was the leader of the households of the father of the families of the Kohathites. 31 And their duties were to be the ark, and the table, and the lampstand, and the altars, and the furnishings of the sanctuary which they use in service, and the hanging, and all the work needed for it. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was the chief leader of the Levites, and was to oversee those who perform the duties of the sanctuary.

33 From Merari came the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites. These are the families of Merari. 34 And their numbered men, the number of all the males a month old or more, was six thousand two hundred. 35 And the leader of the father’s households of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 And the appointed duties of the sons of Merari were to be the boards of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets, and all its equipment, and everything for its work; 37 also the pillars of the surrounding courtyard, and their sockets, and their pegs, and their cords.

38 But Moses and Aaron and his sons were to be the ones who camped in front of the tabernacle on the east, in front of the tabernacle of the congregation toward the sunrise. They were to perform the duties of the sanctuary on behalf of the children of Israel. And the outsider who approached was to be put to death.

39 All the numbered Levite men, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the command of the LORD, by their families, all the males a month old or more were twenty-two thousand.

40 And the LORD said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn of the males of the children of Israel a month old or more and take the number of their names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for me (I am the LORD) instead of all the firstborn of the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the cattle of the children of Israel”.

42 And Moses counted all the firstborn of the children of Israel, just as the LORD commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males according to the number of names, a month old or more, of those of them who were numbered, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.

3:43 No doubt these 22,273 were those firstborn who were born after the exodus from Egypt. It was at the time of the giving of the ordinance of the Passover that God commanded the firstborn of Israel to be especially consecrated to God (Ex 13:1-2, 12-15). Among the 603,550 fighting men of Israel there would have been many more firstborn than 22,273.⚜

44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn of 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 who are to be redeemed of the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel who exceed the number of the Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels for each one. You shall take them according to the sanctuary shekel (the shekel is twenty gerahs), 48 and give the money with which the additional number of the Israelites is to be redeemed, to Aaron and to his sons”.

49 And Moses took the redemption money of those who were in excess of those who were redeemed by the Levites; 50 from the firstborn of the children of Israel he took a thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. 51 And Moses gave the money of those who were redeemed to Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the LORD, just as the LORD commanded Moses.

3:45-51 The Levites numbered only 22,000 (v 39). “Five shekels” (v 47) – about 55 grams. “Thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels” (v 50) – about 15.5 kilograms.⚜