Numbers 3 – 4

Aaron’s Sons and the Duties of the Levites

Numbers 3

¹ This is the family history of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.

² These are the names of Aaron’s sons: Nadab the firstborn, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³ These are the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests.

⁴ Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of the Lord when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the presence of Aaron their father.

⁵ The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁶ “Bring the tribe of Levi near and have them stand before Aaron the priest so that they may assist him. ⁷ They will perform the duties for him and for the entire congregation in front of the Tent of Meeting by doing the work for the Dwelling. ⁸ They will take care of all the furnishings for the Tent of Meeting and perform the duties of the Israelites by doing the work for the Dwelling. ⁹ You will give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons. They are completely given to him from among the Israelites. ¹⁰ But you will appoint Aaron and his sons, and they will serve in the priesthood. Any unauthorized person who goes near must be put to death.”

The Census of the Levites

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, ¹² “See, I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites instead of every firstborn that opens the womb among the Israelites. The Levites are mine, ¹³ for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, both human and animal. They are mine. I am the Lord.”

¹⁴ The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, ¹⁵ “Register the Levites according to their fathers’ houses, by their clans. You are to register every male a month old and up.”

¹⁶ So Moses registered them as he was commanded by the word of the Lord.

¹⁷ These were the names of the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

The following were the clans of the Levites according to their fathers’ houses.

²¹ From Gershon came the Libnite clan and the Shimeite clan. These were the Gershonite clans. ²² Those who were registered, counting all the males who were a month old and up, were 7,500. ²³ The Gershonite clans camped behind the Dwelling on the west side. ²⁴ The tribal chief of the father’s house for the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael. ²⁵ The duties of the descendants of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting involved the dwelling and the tent, ^[1] its coverings, and the screen for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, ²⁶ also the hangings of the courtyard, and the screen for the entrance to the courtyard which surrounds the Dwelling and the altar, and its ropes—everything related to this work.

²⁷ From Kohath came the Amramite clan, the Izharite clan, the Hebronite clan, and the Uzzielite clan. These were the Kohathite clans. ²⁸ Counting all the males who were a month old and up, there were 8,600 to perform the duties of the sanctuary. ²⁹ The clans of the descendants of Kohath camped on the south side of the Dwelling. ³⁰ The tribal chief of the father’s house for the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. ³¹ Their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the sanctuary utensils with which they serve, and the screen—everything related to this work. ³² The tribal chief over the Levite tribal chiefs was Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest. He was in charge of those performing the duties of the sanctuary.

³³ From Merari came the Mahlite clan and the Mushite clan. These were the Merarite clans. ³⁴ Those who were registered, counting all the males who were a month old and up, were 6,200. ³⁵ The tribal chief of the father’s house for the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail. They camped on the north side of the Dwelling. ³⁶ The appointed duties for the sons of Merari involved the Dwelling’s boards, its crossbars, its posts, its bases, all its equipment—everything related to this work, ³⁷ also the posts for the surrounding courtyard, their bases, their tent pegs, and their ropes.

³⁸ Those who camped in front of the Dwelling on the east side, in front of the Tent of Meeting, toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and Aaron’s sons, who were performing the duties of the sanctuary on behalf of the Israelites. Any unauthorized person who goes near shall be put to death. ³⁹ All of the Levities who were registered when the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to register them according to their clans, every male a month old and up, were 22,000.

Redemption of the Firstborn

⁴⁰ The Lord said to Moses, “Register all the firstborn males of the Israelites one month old and up, and make a list of their names. ⁴¹ You are to take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—instead of every firstborn among the Israelites, and take the livestock of the Levites instead of every firstborn among the livestock of the Israelites.” ⁴² So Moses registered all the firstborn among the Israelites as the Lord commanded. ⁴³ All the firstborn males listed by name, one month old and up, when registered, totaled 22,273.

⁴⁴ The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁴⁵ “Take the Levites instead of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock. The Levites will be mine. I am the Lord. ⁴⁶ For the redemption of the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites, ⁴⁷ you are to collect five shekels apiece for each one, according to the sanctuary shekel (this shekel is twenty gerahs ^[2]). ⁴⁸ You are to give the money, the redemption price for the additional Israelites, to Aaron and his sons.”

⁴⁹ Moses collected the redemption money from those who outnumbered the ones redeemed by the Levites who took their place. ⁵⁰ He collected the money from the firstborn of the Israelites, 1,365 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. ⁵¹ Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and to his sons, in obedience to the word of the Lord, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Duties of the Kohathites

Numbers 4

¹ The Lord told Moses and Aaron ² to take a census of the descendants of Kohath among the Levites, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, ³ from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone eligible for the service of performing the tasks at the Tent of Meeting.

⁴ This is the work for the descendants of Kohath at the Tent of Meeting: to take care of the most holy things. ⁵ When the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons are to go into the Dwelling. They are to take down the veil that screens the ark, cover the Ark of the Testimony with it, ⁶ put a covering made from the hides of sea cows ^[3] over it, spread a solid blue cloth over that, and insert its poles.

⁷ Over the table for the Bread of the Presence ^[4] they are to spread a blue cloth and put the dishes, the small bowls, the larger bowls, and the pitchers for the drink offering on it. ^[5] The bread that is continually there is to remain on it. ⁸ Then they are to spread a scarlet cloth over these things, cover them with a covering made from the hides of sea cows, and insert its poles.

⁹ They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand used for light, its lamps, its snuffers, its fire pans, and all the jars of oil used to supply it. ¹⁰ They are to put the lampstand and all its accessories under a cover made from the hides of sea cows and put it on a carrying frame.

¹¹ Over the golden altar they are to spread a blue cloth, cover it with a covering made from the hides of sea cows, and insert its poles. ¹² They are to take all the utensils which they use in the sanctuary and put them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering made from the hides of sea cows, and put them on a carrying frame.

¹³ They are to remove the fat-soaked ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. ¹⁴ They are to put on it all the utensils which they use around the altar: the fire pans, the meat hooks, ^[6] the shovels, and the basins—the utensils of the altar. They will spread a covering made of the hides of sea cows over the altar and insert its poles.

¹⁵ After Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the items of the sanctuary, when the camp sets out, the descendants of Kohath will come to carry them. But they are not to touch the sanctuary or they will die. The descendants of Kohath are to carry these things associated with the Tent of Meeting.

¹⁶ Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, shall be in charge of the lamp oil, the fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. He shall be in charge of the entire Dwelling, everything in it, the holy objects, and its furnishings.

¹⁷ The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, ¹⁸ “Do not allow the tribe of the Kohathite clans to be cut off from among the Levites. ¹⁹ Do this for them so that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things: Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign to each one of them what he is to do and what he is to carry. ²⁰ But the Kohathites must not go in to see the sanctuary even for a moment or they will die.”

The Duties of the Gershonites

²¹ The Lord also told Moses ²² to take a census of the descendants of Gershon, according to their fathers’ houses, by their clans, ²³ and to register those from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone eligible for the service of doing the work at the Tent of Meeting.

²⁴ This is the work for the Gershonite clans: the work of moving the Dwelling. ²⁵ They are to carry the curtains of the Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting, its covering, and the covering made of sea cow hides that is on top of that, ^[7] the screen for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, ²⁶ the hangings for the courtyard, the screen for the entrance through the gate into the courtyard which surrounds the Dwelling and the altar, the ropes, and all the items related to this work. They are responsible for everything that is to be done with these things. ²⁷ All the work of the descendants of the Gershonites, everything they are to carry and all the work they are to do, is to be done at the command of Aaron and his sons. You are to assign to each of them everything they are to carry. ²⁸ This is the work for the clans of the descendants of the Gershonites in regard to the Tent of Meeting. They are to serve under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.

The Duties of the Merarites

²⁹ As for the descendants of Merari, register them according to their clans, according to their fathers’ houses. ³⁰ Register all of them who are between thirty years old and fifty years old, everyone eligible for service, to do the work for the Tent of Meeting. ³¹ This is what they are responsible for as their entire work at the Tent of Meeting: to carry the Dwelling’s boards, its crossbars, its posts, its bases, ³² the posts of the surrounding courtyard and their bases, their tent pegs, their ropes with all their equipment, and everything related to this work. You are to specify by name the items that they are responsible to carry. ³³ This is the work for the clans of the descendants of Merari, regarding all their work in regard to the Tent of Meeting, under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.

The Census of the Levites

³⁴ Moses, Aaron, and the tribal chiefs of the community registered the descendants of the Kohathites according to their clans and their fathers’ houses, ³⁵ from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone eligible for service, for work at the Tent of Meeting. ³⁶ The ones registered according to their clans were 2,750. ³⁷ These were the ones registered from the clans of the Kohathites, all those who worked at the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron registered them according to the Lord’s command through Moses.

³⁸ The descendants of Gershon were registered according to their clans and according to their fathers’ houses, ³⁹ from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone eligible for service, for work at the Tent of Meeting. ⁴⁰ The ones registered according to their clans, according to their fathers’ houses, were 2,630. ⁴¹ These were the ones registered from the clans of the descendants of Gershon, all those who worked at the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron registered them according to the Lord’s command.

⁴² The clans of the descendants of Merari were registered according to their clans, according to their fathers’ houses, ⁴³ from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone eligible for service, for work at the Tent of Meeting. ⁴⁴ Those registered by their clans were 3,200. ⁴⁵ These were the ones registered from the clans of the descendants of Merari. Moses and Aaron registered them according to the Lord’s command through Moses.

⁴⁶ Every one of the Levites was registered. Moses and Aaron and the tribal chiefs of Israel registered them according to their clans and their fathers’ houses, ⁴⁷ from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was eligible to perform the work of serving at or carrying the Tent of Meeting. ⁴⁸ Those registered totaled 8,580. ⁴⁹ According to the Lord’s command, they were registered by Moses, along with what each man was assigned to do and to carry. They were registered just as the Lord commanded Moses.