Numbers 3

The Sons of Aaron

1 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: *See Ex. 6:23Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, *See Lev. 8the anointed priests, *See Ex. 28:41whom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 *ch. 26:61;Lev. 10:1,2;1 Chr. 24:2But Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.

Duties of the Levites

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 *ch. 1:50;8:6;18:2"Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, *ch. 8:11,15,24,26as they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And *ch. 8:19;18:6you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are *ch. 8:16wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and *ch. 18:7;[Rom. 12:7] they shall guard their priesthood. But if *ver. 38;See ch. 1:51any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death."

11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 "Behold, *ver. 41;ch. 8:16;18:6I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for *See Ex. 13:2all the firstborn are mine. *ch. 8:17;Ex. 13:12,15On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord."

14 And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 "List the sons of Levi, by fathers’ houses and by clans; *ver. 39;ch. 26:62;[ch. 1:47]every male from a month old and upward you shall list." 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded. 17 *ch. 26:57;Gen. 46:11;Ex. 6:16;1 Chr. 6:1,16;23:6And 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 clans: *Ex. 6:17;1 Chr. 6:17;23:7Libni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: *Ex. 6:18;1 Chr. 6:2,18;23:12Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: *Ex. 6:19;1 Chr. 6:19;23:21Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers’ houses.

21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was*3:22 Hebrew their listing was 7,500. 23 *ch. 1:53The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites. 25 And the *ch. 4:24-26guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved *Ex. 25:9the tabernacle, *Ex. 26:7;36:14the tent with *Ex. 26:14its covering, *Ex. 26:36the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 *Ex. 27:9the hangings of the court, *Ex. 27:16the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and *ver. 37;Ex. 35:18;39:40its cords—all the service connected with these.

27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the *1 Chr. 26:23Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with *[Ex. 6:22;Lev. 10:4]Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers’ house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 And their guard duty involved *Ex. 25:10the ark, *Ex. 25:23the table, *Ex. 25:31the lampstand, *Ex. 27:1;30:1the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and *Ex. 26:36the screen; all the service connected with these. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary.

33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers’ house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 *ch. 4:31,32And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the *Ex. 26:15frames of the tabernacle, *Ex. 26:26the bars, *Ex. 26:32,37the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 also *Ex. 27:10the pillars around the court, with their bases and *Ex. 27:19pegs and *ver. 26cords.

38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, *See ch. 1:53guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect*3:38 Hebrew guard the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the Lord, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were *[ver. 22, 28, 34;See ver. 46-49]22,000.

Redemption of the Firstborn

40 And the Lord said to Moses, "List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 *ver. 12, 45And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel." 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273.

44 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 *ver. 12, 41"Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord. 46 And *ch. 18:15,16;Ex. 13:13as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take *ch. 18:16;Lev. 27:6five shekels*3:47 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams per head; you shall take them according to *See Ex. 30:13the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs*3:47 A gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over." 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, *ver. 46, 471,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses *ver. 48gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.