and he, 11.!l nbsolutely, m!lde tl1em over to eldest son. According to the Ta.rgums, tlte Aaron and the priests for the service of his "young men of the children, of Israel" &out eanctu&J:¥,. Cf. Eph. iv. 11, "ga~ some by Moses .to off'er Sll(lrifices before the con• apostle&, ' &e. The Levites, as gifts from Aecration of Aaron (E!od; b:iv. 5). were fimt• God ('Mlhun.im) to their brethren the priests, born. Whatever anc1et1t and latent claims, must be distinguished from the net.ki,tint or however I God may have h!Ml upon the first• llflrfs of foreign extraction given bl' tho _con, born of Israel, tl1ey aro here superseded by a, gregstion to the Levites to do t'heir most special aud recent claim follnded upon their menial work for them (Josh. ix. 27). miraculous presern.tion when the first-Mm Ver. 10.-The atranger tha.t cometh nigh. of the Egyptians were slain. All the first- This const.antly recurring formula has not born in that day became "anathema," de- always quite the S.'l.me m!laning: iu cli. i. 51 voted to God, for evil or for good, for death it signified 11.ny one not of the tribe of Levi ; or for life. He, to whom belongs the whole here it includes even the Lente who wa.s not harvest of human souls, came and claimed also a. priest. The separation of the Levites his first.fruits from the fields of Egypt. He for the ministry of the ta.bemacle was not to took unto himself by.death the first-born of infringe in the leMt upon the exclusive rights the Egyptians ; he left for himself in life the of Aaron and his sons. first.born of tlie Israelites. For the conveni• Ver. 12.-I have taken the Leritea. The ence, however, of the people, and for .the actual separation of Levi had been already better and more regulii.r discharge of the anticipated (see eh. i. 47, 53), but the mean• ministry, he was content to take the single ing and purpose of that separation is now small tribe of Levi in lieu of the first-born formally declared. No reason, however, is of all. assigned for the choice of this partfoular Ver. 12.-Instea.d of all the fust•born. tribe. It is almost always assumed that 'l'he Septuagint inserts here, " they shall be their zeal in the lll&tter of the golden calf their mnsom.'' Wli.lil the ground of the preference shown to Ver. 18.-Jfiue shall they-be: I am the them now. But it may be doubted whether Lord. Rather, "mine shall they be, mine, there wa.s any "preference" in the matter at the Lord's." all. To Aaron and his seed an undoubted \o Ver. 15.-From a month old. The first. and important preference was shown, but born were to be redeemed "from a month the functions and position of the Levites old" (eh. xviii. 16). were not mch 11.B to give them any pre• Ver. 17.-Theae were the 10111 of Levi." eminence, or to secure them any substantial These genealogical notices are inserted here advant.age. They were tied down to the in order to give completeness to the account performance of routine duties, which de• of the Levites in the day or their dedication. Illl!.nded no iDtelligence, e.nd gave scope for Ver. 28.-,..Sha.ll pitch. These dir~ctions no ambitions. The one obvious rea.son why 11.11 to the position and duties of the Levitical Levi was selected is to be fonnd in the fa.et families reta.in the form in which:, they were that he wa.s by far the smallest in numbers originally given. The way in. which they among the tribes, beiDg less than half the are mb:ed up with direct narrative atrords a next smallest, :Manasse'h, and altilost exactly striking proof. of the i:na.di.ficial- character of balancing the first-born. A larger tribe could these sacred. writings,. Behind. the taber• not have been spared, a.nd would not have naele weiltward. The t&berna.cle opened or been needed, for the purpose in question. looked eastward towards the sunrise. If any more reeondite motive mnst lie sought Ver. 26. -The charge of the aou .of for the Divine selection, it m1l8t be found in &er1ho11.. See eh. iv. 24-26. the prophecy -0f Oen. xlix. 7. Levi as well Ver. 28:-Eight thousand. and 1il:•h11.11.- a.a Simeon, though iD a different way, was d.red. The four families of the Kohathite~ doomed never to raise his hea.d as a united of which that of Amram-was one; must have and powerful tribe among his brethren. contained .a.bout 18,000 souls. • Moses and Ver. 13.-Becauae a.U the flnt.-bom a.re Aaron were sonli•of .Amram, and they seem mine {see Exod. xiii. 2, and below on ver. to have·had but two sons apiece at this time. 43). That the powers of heaven had a If, therefore, the family of the Amramitea special claim upon the firstling of man or wa.s at all equal in numbers to the other bee.at WalS probably one of the oldest religious three, they must have h!Ml more than 4000 idea.a in the world, which it would be diffi- brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces. It cult to t = to a.ny origin but in some is urged in reply that .Amram lived 137 years, primeval revelation. It bra.nehed out iDto and may have hU:d many other children, and meny superstitionR, of which the cruel cultus that the variations in the compa.rn' :ve rates of :Moloch wa.a the worst. Among the tribea of increase are so great and ao una.ccouhtable 0
which presen-!ld the patriarchal faith, it re- that it is useless to speculU:te upon .them. tained mol"fl or less of its J.lrimitive meaning There i11, however, a more serious difficulty hi the 11118ignment of sacri.6dal duties to the eonneeied with the genealogy of Moses nnd 'OJI, III. 1--51.] THE BOOK OF NUMBEnS.