Numbers 3
3
1 Now this is the history of the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spoke with Moses in Mount Sinai. 2These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
3These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests who were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest’s office. 4Nadab 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.
5 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7They shall keep his requirements, and the requirements of the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle. 8They 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. 9You shall give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons. They are wholly given to him on the behalf of the children of Israel. 10You shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall keep their priesthood, but the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.”
11 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12“Behold,#3:12 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection. I have taken the Levites from amongst the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn who open the womb amongst the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine, 13for 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.”
14 The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15“Count the children of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their families. You shall count every male from a month old and upward.”
16 Moses counted them according to the LORD’s word, as he was commanded.
17 These were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei.
19 The sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20 The sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi.
These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ houses.
21 Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimeites. These are the families of the Gershonites.
22 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 and five hundred.
23 The families of the Gershonites shall encamp behind the tabernacle westward.
24Eliasaph the son of Lael shall be the prince of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites. 25The 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, 26the 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.
27 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. 28According to the number of all the males from a month old and upward, there were eight thousand and six hundred keeping the requirements of the sanctuary.
29 The families of the sons of Kohath shall encamp on the south side of the tabernacle. 30The prince of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. 31Their 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. 32Eleazar 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.
33 Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites. These are the families of Merari. 34Those who were counted of them, according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred.#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.
35 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. 36The 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, 37the pillars of the court around it, their sockets, their pins, and their cords.
38 Those who encamp before the tabernacle eastward, in front of the Tent of Meeting towards 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. 39All 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.
40 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. 41You shall take the Levites for me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn amongst the children of Israel; and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn amongst the livestock of the children of Israel.”
42 Moses counted, as the LORD commanded him, all the firstborn amongst the children of Israel. 43All 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 and two hundred and seventy-three.
44 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45“Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn amongst the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock; and the Levites shall be mine. I am the LORD. 46For the redemption of the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel who exceed the number of the Levites, 47you shall take five shekels apiece for each one; according to the shekel#3:47 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces. of the sanctuary you shall take them (the shekel is twenty gerahs#3:47 A gerah is about 0.5 grams or about 7.7 grains.); 48and you shall give the money, with which their remainder is redeemed, to Aaron and to his sons.”
49 Moses took the redemption money from those who exceeded the number of those who were redeemed by the Levites; 50from the firstborn of the children of Israel he took the money, one thousand and three hundred and sixty-five shekels,#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. according to the shekel of the sanctuary; 51and Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and to his sons, according to the LORD’s word, as the LORD commanded Moses.
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Numbers 3
3
The Levites
1This is the account of the family of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai.
2The names of the sons of Aaron were Nadab the firstborn and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 3Those were the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. 4Nadab and Abihu, however, died before the Lord when they made an offering with unauthorised fire before him in the Desert of Sinai. They had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.
5The Lord said to Moses, 6‘Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. 7They are to perform duties for him and for the whole community at the tent of meeting by doing the work of the tabernacle. 8They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, fulfilling the obligations of the Israelites by doing the work of the tabernacle. 9Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to him.#3:9 Most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text; some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint (see also 8:16) to me 10Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests; anyone else who approaches the sanctuary is to be put to death.’
11The Lord also said to Moses, 12‘I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine, 13for all the firstborn are mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal. They are to be mine. I am the Lord.’
14The Lord said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai, 15‘Count the Levites by their families and clans. Count every male a month old or more.’ 16So Moses counted them, as he was commanded by the word of the Lord.
17These were the names of the sons of Levi:
Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
18These were the names of the Gershonite clans:
Libni and Shimei.
19The Kohathite clans:
Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.
20The Merarite clans:
Mahli and Mushi.
These were the Levite clans, according to their families.
21To Gershon belonged the clans of the Libnites and Shimeites; these were the Gershonite clans.
22The number of all the males a month old or more who were counted was 7,500.
23The Gershonite clans were to camp on the west, behind the tabernacle.
24The leader of the families of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael.
25At the tent of meeting the Gershonites were responsible for the care of the tabernacle and tent, its coverings, the curtain at the entrance to the tent of meeting, 26the curtains of the courtyard, the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar, and the ropes – and everything related to their use.
27To Kohath belonged the clans of the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites and Uzzielites; these were the Kohathite clans.
28The number of all the males a month old or more was 8,600.#3:28 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts 8,300
The Kohathites were responsible for the care of the sanctuary.
29The Kohathite clans were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle.
30The leader of the families of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel.
31They were responsible for the care of the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the articles of the sanctuary used in ministering, the curtain, and everything related to their use.
32The chief leader of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest. He was appointed over those who were responsible for the care of the sanctuary.
33To Merari belonged the clans of the Mahlites and the Mushites; these were the Merarite clans.
34The number of all the males a month old or more who were counted was 6,200.
35The leader of the families of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail.
They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle.
36The Merarites were appointed to take care of the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts, bases, all its equipment, and everything related to their use, 37as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs and ropes.
38Moses and Aaron and his sons were to camp to the east of the tabernacle, towards the sunrise, in front of the tent of meeting.
They were responsible for the care of the sanctuary on behalf of the Israelites.
Anyone else who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death.
39The total number of Levites counted at the Lord’s command by Moses and Aaron according to their clans, including every male a month old or more, was 22,000.
40The Lord said to Moses, ‘Count all the firstborn Israelite males who are a month old or more and make a list of their names. 41Take the Levites for me in place of all the firstborn of the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites in place of all the firstborn of the livestock of the Israelites. I am the Lord.’
42So Moses counted all the firstborn of the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him. 43The total number of firstborn males a month old or more, listed by name, was 22,273.
44The Lord also said to Moses, 45‘Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock. The Levites are to be mine. I am the Lord. 46To redeem the 273 firstborn Israelites who exceed the number of the Levites, 47collect five shekels#3:47 That is, about 58 grams for each one, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. 48Give the money for the redemption of the additional Israelites to Aaron and his sons.’
49So Moses collected the redemption money from those who exceeded the number redeemed by the Levites. 50From the firstborn of the Israelites he collected silver weighing 1,365 shekels,#3:50 That is, about 16 kilograms according to the sanctuary shekel. 51Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, as he was commanded by the word of the Lord.
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