Numbers 3:23
Ver. 23. The families of the Gershonites,.... The two before mentioned, the Libnites and Shimites:shall pitch behind the tabernacle westward; this was their situation when encamped; they were placed in the rear of the camp of the Levites, between the tabernacle and the camp of Ephraim, which was westward also, Nu 1:18. Numbers 3:24Ver. 24. And the chief of the house of the fathers of the Gershonites,.... Who had the chief authority over them, and the chief direction of them in what they were to do:[shall be] Eliasaph the son of Lael; but who he was, or of which family of the Gershonites, whether of the Libnites or Shimites, is not said here or elsewhere; nor do the Jewish writers, who affect to know every thing, pretend to tell us. Numbers 3:25Ver. 25. And the charge of the sons of Gershom,.... The Libnites and Shimites:in the tabernacle of the congregation; or with respect to the things of it, when it was taken down and committed to them; for otherwise they had no place in it, nor might they enter into it, or do any service therein:[shall be] the tabernacle and the tent; the former intends not the boards of it, which were the charge of the Merarites, Nu 3:36; but the curtains, as Aben Ezra, or the under curtains, as Jarchi calls them, which were made of fine twined linen, Ex 26:1; and the latter is to be understood of the eleven curtains, as Aben Ezra, the curtains of goats hair, which were made for the roof of the tabernacle, as Jarchi observes, see Ex 26:7;the covering thereof: made of rams' skins, and badgers' skins, which were thrown over the tent, Ex 26:14;and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation; the vail, as Jarchi calls it; not what divided the holy and most holy places, for that fell to the charge of the Kohathites, Nu 3:31; but the vail or hanging which was at the door of the tent, or which led into the holy place, Ex 26:36. Numbers 3:26Ver. 26. And the hangings of the court,.... Which formed the great open court that encompassed the tabernacle, and was an hundred cubits long and fifty broad; Ex 27:9;and the curtain for the door of the court: which was an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, Ex 27:16;which [is] by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about: this refers to the court, the hangings, and curtains of the door of it, which are spoken of; and this court surrounded the tabernacle, and the altar which was without the tabernacle, as Aben Ezra observes, and which was the altar of burnt offering that stood within this court; for the particle le sometimes signifies "about" {s}, and the wordbybo, "around", being joined with it, requires this sense:and the cords of it; which seem to be the cords of the court, which fastened the hangings and curtains to brass pins, or stakes fixed in the ground to keep them tight, that the wind might not move them to and fro; but Jarchi says, these were the cords of the tabernacle and tent, and not of the court; and indeed the tabernacle had its cords as well as the court, Ex 38:18; the cords of the court were in the charge of the Merarites, Nu 3:37;for all the service thereof: for that part of the tabernacle and court which the Gershonites had in their care and custody.{s} Vid. Nold. Partic. Ebr. Concord. p. 992. Numbers 3:27Ver. 27. And of Kohath [was] the family of the Amramites,.... So called from Amram, the first son of Kohath, and father of Aaron and Moses; so that Moses and Aaron, and their children, are included in this family:and the family of Izeharites; of which family was Korah, Nu 16:1;and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; which four families had their names from Kohath's four sons, Nu 3:19;these are the families of the Kohathites; which were as many as both the other sons of Levi. Numbers 3:28Ver. 28. In the number of all the males, from a month old and upwards, [were] eight thousand and six hundred,.... 8,600 men, which was the largest number of any of the houses of the Levites; but considering it had double the number of families in it, the increase was not so large in proportion, at least to Gershon, whose two families wanted but 1,100 of these four:keeping the charge of the sanctuary; of the holy and most holy places, and the vessels and instruments belonging thereunto; not that the males of a month old were keeping them, but when they were grown up and were capable of it, they had the charge thereof, in which they were instructed and trained up from their youth. Numbers 3:29Ver. 29. The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward. Or to the right, which was the more honourable place, excepting the east or front, which was reserved for Moses and Aaron, and his sons, and who were one of these families; and is the reason why this honour was conferred upon them, as well as they had the more honourable charge, having the holy places and holy things committed to their care; and one from among them was appointed over all the Levites, and the chief of them, as they had also, when they came into the land of Canaan, almost as many cities of refuge as both their other brethren had: their situation about the tabernacle was between that and the camp of Reuben, and this accounts for it, how Korah who was of one of the families of the Kohathites, became so intimately acquainted with, and joined in a conspiracy with Dathan and Abiram, who were of the tribe of Reuben, Nu 16:1. Numbers 3:30Ver. 30. And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites [shall be] Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. The same man, who, with his brother Mishael, carried Nadab and Abihu out of the camp, and buried them, Le 10:4; he descended from the last and youngest of the families of the Kohathites; and some think this was one reason at least of Korah's dissatisfaction, and of his entering into a conspiracy against Moses and Aaron, because one of a younger family of his house was preferred to this dignity before him. Numbers 3:31Ver. 31. And their charge [shall be] the ark,.... That is, when the tabernacle was taken down, and carried from place to place, this, and the following things, were committed to their care and custody, the ark with the mercy seat, and all appertaining thereunto, which were in the holy of holies:and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars; the table of shewbread, and the candlestick of pure gold, with its lamps, and the altar of incense, all which stood in the holy place, and the altar of burnt offering, which was in the court, for both altars were their charge:and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister; all the vessels which belonged to the above things; for the table, candlestick, and altars, all had vessels appertaining to them:and the hanging; that is, the vail, as Jarchi interprets it, which divided between the, holy and the most holy place; all the other hangings for the court, and the door of it, and for the door of the tabernacle, were the charge of the Gershonites, Nu 3:25:and all the service thereof; what belonged to the things in this part of the tabernacle. Numbers 3:32Ver. 32. And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest,.... Who was of the first of these families, the Amramites:[shall be] chief over the chief of the Levites; over the three chiefs of the three houses of the Levites, who were Eliasaph the son of Lael, the chief of the Gershonites; and Elizaphan the son of Uzziel, the chief of the Kohathites; and Zuriel the son of Abihail, the chief of the Merarites:[and have] the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary; the Kohathites, who had the care of the things belonging to the holy and most holy places; and these were particularly under the inspection of Eleazar, because they were things the priests had a, special concern in; see Nu 4:32. Numbers 3:33Ver. 33. Of Merari [were] the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites,.... So called from his two sons Mahli and Mushi, Nu 3:20;these [are] the families of Merari; the youngest son of Levi, Nu 3:17. Numbers 3:34Ver. 34. And those that were numbered of them,.... Of the above two families:according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, [were] six thousand and two hundred; 6,200 men; the least number of them all. Numbers 3:35Ver. 35. And the chief of the house of the father of the families of Merari,.... I think it should rather be rendered, "and the chief of the house", that is, of the Merarites, "the father to the families of Merari"; the common father to them all, having the chief authority and power over them, and so in Nu 3:24;[shall be] Zuriel the son of Abihail; of whom we read nowhere else, nor is it certain of which family he was, whether of the Mahlites or Mushites:[these] shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward; to the left of it, between that and the camp of Dan. Numbers 3:36Ver. 36. And [under] the custody and charge of the sons of Merari [shall be] the boards of the tabernacle,.... Both of the holy and the most holy place, which were the walls of the tabernacle, and which were covered with curtains; these when taken down for journeying were committed to the care of the Merarites; and because these, with what, follow, were a heavy carriage, they were allowed wagons to carry them; and who on this account had more wagons given them than to the Gershonites, for the Kohathites had none, Nu 7:6;and the bars thereof; which kept the boards tight and close, see Ex 26:26;and the pillars thereof; the pillars on which the vail was hung, that divided between the holy and most holy place, and, on which the hanging was put for the door of the vail, Ex 26:32;and the sockets thereof; in which both the boards and pillars were put, Ex 26:19. Numbers 3:37Ver. 37. And the pillars of the court round about,.... Of the great court which went round the tabernacle, on which pillars the hangings were hung:and their sockets; into which the, pillars were put; of both which see Ex 27:9;and their pins, and their cords, the pins were fixed in the ground, and the cords fastened the hangings of the court to them, whereby they were kept tight and unmoved by the winds; see Ex 27:19. Numbers 3:38Ver. 38. And those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east,.... At which was the entrance into the tabernacle:[even] before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward; that is, before the court of the tabernacle, where the people assembled together:[shall be] Moses, Aaron, and his sons; Moses the chief ruler, and Aaron the high priest, and his sons priests under him; these had the most honourable place of all, beings at the front of the tabernacle, between that and the camp of Judah. There is an extraordinary prick on the word Aaron, to show, as Jarchi says, that he was not in the number of Levites, though of the tribe of Levi, being high priest:keeping the charge of the sanctuary, for the charge of the children of Israel; either in their room and stead, which otherwise they must have kept; or rather for their safety and security, keeping out all persons from entering into the sanctuary, who had no business there, that they died not, as it follows:and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death; that is, whoever came nigh to enter into the holy place, and did, who was no priest, though an Israelite, and even a Levite, or into the most holy place, excepting the high priest, it was death unto him, either by the civil magistrate, or by the hand of heaven; so the Targum of Jonathan. Numbers 3:39Ver. 39. All that were numbered of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron,numbered at the commandment of the Lord, throughout their families,.... Whence it appears, that Moses was not alone, but Aaron with him, in numbering the Levites, and that by the appointment of the Lord. The word "Aaron", in the Hebrew text, has a dot on every letter, for what reason it is not certain; the word itself is left out in the Samaritan and Syriac versions:all the males, from a month old and upward, [were] twenty and two thousand; 22,000 men; but by putting the sums together they amount to three hundred more; for of the Gershonites there were 7,500, and of the Kohathites 8,600, and of the Merarites 6,200, in all 22,300; which difficulty some endeavour to remove by saying, as Aben Ezra observes, that the Scripture takes a short way, mentioning the thousands, and leaving out the hundreds but this, he says, is not right, nor is it the way of the Scripture in this chapter: and in an after account of the firstborn of the Israelites, not only the hundreds are mentioned, but the broken number of seventy three. Others think there is a corruption crept into the text somewhere in the particular numbers, through the inadvertency of some copyist; and suppose it to be in the number of the Kohathites, where they fancy vv, six, is put instead of vlv, three: but there is no occasion to suppose either of these, for which there is no foundation, since the reason why three hundred are left out in the sum total may be, because there were so many firstborn among the Levites, and these could not be exchanged for the firstborn of the other tribes; they, as such, being the Lord's, and one firstborn could not redeem another; and so it is said in the Talmud {t}, these three hundred were firstborn, and there is no firstborn redeems a firstborn, or frees from the redemption price of five shekels.{t} T. Bab. Becoroth, fol. 5. 1. Numbers 3:40Ver. 40. And the Lord said unto Moses,.... After he had taken the number of the Levites:number all the firstborn of the children of Israel, from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names; that they might be compared with the number of the Levites, and the difference between them observed. Numbers 3:41Ver. 41. And thou shall take the Levites for me,.... For his service, to minister to his priests, and serve in his tabernacle:I [am] the Lord; who has a right to all, and can claim who he pleases for himself in a special manner, and therefore could and did take the Levites to himself:instead of the firstborn among the children of Israel; these he had taken to him before, and ordered to be sanctified unto him, and for whom a redemption price was paid to his priests for the support of them, and the tabernacle service, and now it was his will to make an exchange of these for the Levites:and the cattle of the Levites, instead of all the firstling among the cattle of the children of Israel: every firstling of clean cattle was the Lord's, and given to his priests, and the firstlings of unclean cattle were redeemed with a lamb, and which were given to the same; and now instead of these he requires the cattle of the Levites; not that they should be deprived of their use of them, or that they should be taken and sacrificed, but that they should be with them devoted to him, and they should possess them in his right. Numbers 3:42Ver. 42. And Moses numbered, as the Lord commanded him,.... No doubt assisted by others, though not mentioned:all the firstborn among the children of Israel; which some think were only those that were born since they came out of Egypt, as Bonfrerius, Bishop Patrick, and others. Numbers 3:43Ver. 43. And all the firstborn males,.... For such only were ordered to be numbered, and not firstborn females:by the number of names; which were particularly taken:from a month old and upward; for before that time they were not sanctified to the Lord, nor subject to the redemption price:of those that were numbered of them [were] twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen; 22,273 men; so that there were two hundred seventy three more than the Levites, Nu 3:39. Numbers 3:44Ver. 44. And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... After the number was taken, and gave him directions what to do upon it:saying; as follows. Numbers 3:45Ver. 45. Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel,.... The Lord had declared before that he had taken them, and now he bids Moses take them, who had numbered them, and give them to Aaron, instead of the firstborn, whose numbers were also taken for this purpose:and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; but not to be given to Aaron and his sons, or to the priests for their use, but to remain with the Levites for their use, who were now separated from the other tribes, and taken into the service of God; and as they were dedicated to God, so their cattle likewise for their support as his ministers:and the Levites shall be mine; in a special manner his, being devoted to his service:I [am] the Lord; who had a right to do this, and expected to be obeyed in it. Numbers 3:46Ver. 46. And for those that are to be redeemed, &c. With money, there being not Levites enough to answer to them, and exchange for them:of the two hundred and threescore and thirteen of the firstborn of the children of Israel, which are more than the Levites; for the sum total of the Levites, as given, was but 22,000, Nu 3:39, whereas the sum total of the firstborn of Israel were 22,273, Nu 3:43, so that there were, two hundred seventy three more of the latter than of the former; and what was to be done with these next follows. Numbers 3:47Ver. 47. Thou shall even take five shekels apiece the poll,.... Or head; every firstborn, or his parent for him, was bound to pay five shekels, which were about eleven or twelve shillings of our money, and which was afterwards settled as the price of such a redemption, Nu 18:16;after the shekel of the sanctuary shall thou take [them]; being full weight according to the standard there kept:the shekel [is] twenty gerahs; See Gill on "Le 27:25". Numbers 3:48Ver. 48. And thou shalt give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed,.... Or the superfluous number, the number of them that exceeded the Levites, namely, two hundred seventy three; the price of their redemption is ordered to be givenunto Aaron, and to his sons; since the Levites were taken in lieu of the firstborn, whose redemption money belonged to the priests; and seeing the Levites were given to Aaron and his sons on that consideration, and there being a deficiency of them to answer to the firstborn, it was but right and just that the redemption price of the superfluous number should be paid to them. Numbers 3:49Ver. 49. And Moses took the redemption money,.... Of five shekels per head:of them that were over and above redeemed by the Levites; or were more than those redeemed by them. A Levite redeemed a firstborn, or freed him from the redemption price, being taken in lieu of him: 22,000 Levites were answerable to 22,000 firstborn of Israel; but as there were no more Levites than the above number, there remained two hundred seventy three firstborn to be redeemed by money, and it was the redemption money of these Moses took. Numbers 3:50Ver. 50. Of the firstborn of the children of Israel took he the money,.... Or "for the firstborn", as the Vulgate Latin version renders it, and so the Hebrew particle tam is sometimes used {u}; for children of a month old or little more could not pay the money, but their parents for them, which was paid by them, and Moses received it for the superfluous number of two hundred seventy three; but it is a matter of doubt of whom this was exacted, and by whom paid, and who could be reckoned as this superfluous number, unless they were the last two hundred seventy three that were numbered: some have thought this was paid out of the public stock, which was a ready way of doing it, but whether reasonable is not so manifest, since these firstborn were the properties of particular persons; the more commonly received method of doing it with the Jewish writers was, according to Jarchi and Abarbinel, and so in the Talmud {w} by lot; the former of which describes the manner of doing it thus, 22,000 pieces (of paper or parchment) were brought, and on them written, "a son of Levi", or "a Levite", and two hundred seventy three other pieces, and on them were written, "five shekels"; these were mixed together and put into an urn or box, and then they were bid to come and take out the pieces, and according as the lot was, they were allowed as redeemed by the Levites, or paid the redemption money: and as this was a method much in use with the Hebrews, it is not improbable:a thousand three hundred and threescore and five [shekels], after the shekel of the sanctuary; 1,365 shekels, which is exactly the number of shekels that two hundred seventy three should pay, reckoning five shekels per head; which Jarchi counts thus, for two hundred firstborn, a thousand shekels; for seventy firstborn, three hundred fifty; and for three firstborn fifteen, shekels, which in all amounted to about an hundred seventy pounds of our money.{u} Vid. Nold. Partic. Ebr. Concord. p. 579. {w} T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 17. 1. Numbers 3:51Ver. 51. And Moses gave the money of them that were redeemed,.... That were redeemed this way, and not by Levites, as in Nu 3:49, but by money, paying five shekels a head:unto Aaron and his sons; to whom the Levites were given; and this money, as a recompence for the deficiency of the number of them, to answer to the firstborn exchanged for them:according to the word of the Lord; Nu 3:48;as the Lord commanded Moses; so did he, being a faithful servant in all things in the house of God; he did not convert it to his own use, or to any other use than to what God had appointed it.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.