Bilangan 3:8

3:8 And they are responsible for all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and for the needs of the Israelites, as they serve ¹  in the tabernacle.

Bilangan 3:28

3:28 Counting every male from a month old and upward, there were 8,600. They were responsible for the care ²  of the sanctuary.

Bilangan 3:32

3:32 Now the head of all the Levitical leaders ³  was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest. He was appointed over those who were responsible ⁴  for the sanctuary.

Bilangan 4:28

4:28 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites concerning the tent of meeting. Their responsibilities will be under the authority ⁵  of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. ⁶ 

Bilangan 4:31

4:31 This is what they are responsible to carry as their entire service in the tent of meeting: the frames ⁷  of the tabernacle, its crossbars, its posts, its sockets,

Bilangan 8:24

8:24 “This is what pertains to the Levites: ⁸  At the age of twenty-five years ⁹  and upward one may begin to join the company ¹⁰  in the work of the tent of meeting,

Bilangan 18:4

18:4 They must join ¹¹  with you, and they will be responsible for the care of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent, but no unauthorized person ¹²  may approach you.

Bilangan 27:19

27:19 set him ¹³  before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community, and commission ¹⁴  him publicly. ¹⁵ 

[3:8]  ¹ tn The construction uses the infinitive construct (epexegetically) followed by its cognate accusative. It would convey “to serve the service of the tabernacle,” but more simply it may be rendered as “serving.” Their spiritual and practical service is to serve.

[3:8]  sn The Levites had the duty of taking care of all the tabernacle and its furnishings, especially in times when it was to be moved. But they were also appointed to be gate-keepers (2 Kgs 22:4; 1 Chr 9:19) in order to safeguard the purity of the place and the activities that went on there. Their offices seem to have then become hereditary in time (1 Sam 1:3); they even took on more priestly functions, such as pronouncing the benediction (Deut 10:8). See further R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 348-49.

[3:28]  ² tn The construction here is a little different. The Hebrew text uses the participle in construct plural: שֹׁמְרֵי (shomÿrey, literally “keepers of”). The form specifies the duties of the 8,600 Kohathites. The genitive that follows this participle is the cognate מִשְׁמֶרֶת (mishmeret) that has been used before. So the expression indicates that they were responsible for the care of this part of the cult center. There is no reason to delete one of the forms (as does J. A. Paterson, Numbers, 42), for the repetition stresses the central importance of their work.

[3:32]  ³ tn The Hebrew construction has “the leader of the leaders of” (וּנְשִׂיא נְשִׂיאֵי, unÿsi’ nÿsi’ey).

[3:32]  ⁴ tn Heb “the keepers of the responsibility” (שֹׁמְרֵי מִשְׁמֶרֶת, shomÿrey mishmeret). The participle is a genitive specifying the duty to which he was appointed (thing possessed); its cognate genitive emphasizes that their responsibility was over the holy place.

[4:28]  ⁵ tn Or “the direction” (NASB, TEV); Heb “under/by the hand of.” The word “hand” is often used idiomatically for “power” or “authority.” So also in vv. 33, 37, 45, 48.

[4:28]  ⁶ sn The material here suggests that Eleazar had heavier responsibilities than Ithamar, Aaron’s fourth and youngest son. It is the first indication that the Zadokite Levites would take precedence over the Ithamar Levites (see 1 Chr 24:3-6).

[4:31]  ⁷ sn More recent studies have concluded that these “boards” were made of two long uprights joined by cross-bars (like a ladder). They were frames rather than boards, meaning that the structure under the tent was not a solid building. It also meant that the “boards” would have been lighter to carry.

[8:24]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text has “this [is that] which [pertains] to the Levites.” “This is what concerns the Levites, meaning, the following rulings are for them.

[8:24]  ⁹ tc The age of twenty-five indicated in v. 24 should be compared with the age of thirty indicated in Num 4:3,23,30. In order to harmonize the numbers given in chapter 4 with the number given in Num 8:24 the LXX (and perhaps its Hebrew Vorlage) has thirty in all of these references. See further G. J. Wenham, Numbers (TOTC 4), 97-98.

[8:24]  ¹⁰ tn The infinitive is לִצְבֹא (litsvo’), related to the word for “host, army, company,” and so “to serve as a company.” The meaning is strengthened by the cognate accusative following it.

[18:4]  ¹¹ tn Now the sentence uses the Niphal perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive from the same root לָוָה (lavah).

[18:4]  ¹² tn The word is “stranger, alien,” but it can also mean Israelites here.

[27:19]  ¹³ tn This could be translated “position him,” or “have him stand,” since it is the causative stem of the verb “to stand.”

[27:19]  ¹⁴ tn The verb is the Piel perfect of צִוָּה (tsivvah, literally “to command”). The verb has a wide range of meanings, and so here in this context the idea of instructing gives way to a more general sense of commissioning for duty. The verb in sequence is equal to the imperfect of instruction.

[27:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in their eyes.”