Bilangan 1:49-53

1:49 “Only the tribe of Levi ¹  you must not number ²  or count ³  with ⁴  the other Israelites. 1:50 But appoint ⁵  the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, ⁶  over all its furnishings and over everything in it. They must carry ⁷  the tabernacle and all its furnishings; and they ⁸  must attend to it and camp around it. ⁹  1:51 Whenever the tabernacle is to move, ¹⁰  the Levites must take it down, and whenever the tabernacle is to be reassembled, ¹¹  the Levites must set it up. ¹²  Any unauthorized person ¹³  who approaches it must be killed.

1:52 “The Israelites will camp according to their divisions, each man in his camp, and each man by his standard. 1:53 But the Levites must camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that the Lord’s anger ¹⁴  will not fall on the Israelite community. The Levites are responsible for the care ¹⁵  of the tabernacle of the testimony.”

Bilangan 2:17

The Tribe in the Center

2:17 “Then the tent of meeting with the camp of the Levites will travel in the middle of the camps. They will travel in the same order as they camped, each in his own place ¹⁶  under his standard.

Bilangan 2:33

2:33 But the Levites were not numbered among the other Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Bilangan 8:6-15

8:6 “Take the Levites from among the Israelites and purify ¹⁷  them. 8:7 And do this ¹⁸  to them to purify them: Sprinkle water of purification ¹⁹  on them; then have them shave ²⁰  all their body ²¹  and wash ²²  their clothes, and so purify themselves. ²³  8:8 Then they are to take a young bull with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with olive oil; and you are to take a second young bull for a purification offering. ²⁴  8:9 You are to bring the Levites before the tent of meeting and assemble the entire community of the Israelites. 8:10 Then you are to bring the Levites before the Lord, and the Israelites are to lay their hands on the Levites; ²⁵  8:11 and Aaron is to offer ²⁶  the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the Israelites, that they may do the work ²⁷  of the Lord. 8:12 When ²⁸  the Levites lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, offer ²⁹  the one for a purification offering and the other for a whole burnt offering to the Lord, ³⁰  to make atonement for the Levites. 8:13 You are to have the Levites stand before Aaron ³¹  and his sons, and then offer them as a wave offering to the Lord. 8:14 And so ³²  you are to separate the Levites from among the Israelites, and the Levites will be mine.

8:15 “After this, the Levites will go in ³³  to do the work ³⁴  of the tent of meeting. So you must cleanse them ³⁵  and offer them like a wave offering. ³⁶ 

Bilangan 8:22-26

8:22 After this, the Levites went in to do their work in the tent of meeting before Aaron and before his sons. As the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did.

The Work of the Levites

8:23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 8:24 “This is what pertains to the Levites: ³⁷  At the age of twenty-five years ³⁸  and upward one may begin to join the company ³⁹  in the work of the tent of meeting, 8:25 and at the age of fifty years they must retire from performing the work and may no longer work. 8:26 They may assist ⁴⁰  their colleagues ⁴¹  in the tent of meeting, to attend to needs, but they must do no work. This is the way you must establish ⁴²  the Levites regarding their duties.”

Bilangan 16:9-11

16:9 Does it seem too small a thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the community of Israel to bring you near to himself, to perform the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the community to minister to them? 16:10 He has brought you near and all your brothers, the sons of Levi, with you. Do you now seek ⁴³  the priesthood also? 16:11 Therefore you and all your company have assembled together against the Lord! And Aaron – what is he that you murmur against him?” ⁴⁴ 

Bilangan 18:2-6

18:2 “Bring with you your brothers, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, so that they may join ⁴⁵  with you and minister to you while ⁴⁶  you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. 18:3 They must be responsible to care for you and to care for the entire tabernacle. However, they must not come near the furnishings of the sanctuary and the altar, or both they and you will die. 18:4 They must join ⁴⁷  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 ⁴⁸  may approach you. 18:5 You will be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the care of the altar, so that there will be ⁴⁹  no more wrath on the Israelites. 18:6 I myself have chosen ⁵⁰  your brothers the Levites from among the Israelites. They are given to you as a gift from the Lord, to perform the duties ⁵¹  of the tent of meeting.

Keluaran 32:26-29

32:26 So Moses stood at the entrance of the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come ⁵²  to me.” ⁵³  All the Levites gathered around him, 32:27 and he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Each man fasten ⁵⁴  his sword on his side, and go back and forth ⁵⁵  from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and each one kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’” ⁵⁶ 

32:28 The Levites did what Moses ordered, ⁵⁷  and that day about three thousand men of the people died. ⁵⁸  32:29 Moses said, “You have been consecrated ⁵⁹  today for the Lord, for each of you was against his son or against his brother, so he has given a blessing to you today.” ⁶⁰ 

Ulangan 33:8-9

Blessing on Levi

33:8 Of Levi he said:

Your Thummim and Urim ⁶¹  belong to your godly one, ⁶² 

whose authority you challenged at Massah, ⁶³ 

and with whom you argued at the waters of Meribah. ⁶⁴ 

33:9 He said to his father and mother, “I have not seen him,” ⁶⁵ 

and he did not acknowledge his own brothers

or know his own children,

for they kept your word,

and guarded your covenant.

Maleakhi 2:4

2:4 Then you will know that I sent this commandment to you so that my covenant ⁶⁶  may continue to be with Levi,” says the Lord who rules over all.

[1:49]  ¹ sn From the giving of the Law on the priesthood comes the prerogative of the tribe of Levi. There were, however, members of other tribes who served as priests from time to time (see Judg 17:5).

[1:49]  ² tn The construction has literally, “only the tribe of Levi you shall not number.” The Greek text rendered the particle אַךְ (’akh) forcefully with “see to it that” or “take care that.” For the uses of this form, see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 65, §388-89.

[1:49]  ³ tn Heb “lift up their head.”

[1:49]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the midst of the sons of Israel.”

[1:50]  ⁵ tn The same verb translated “number” (פָּקַד, paqad) is now used to mean “appoint” (הַפְקֵד, hafqed), which focuses more on the purpose of the verbal action of numbering people. Here the idea is that the Levites were appointed to take care of the tabernacle. On the use of this verb with the Levites’ appointment, see M. Gertner, “The Masorah and the Levites,” VT 10 (1960): 252.

[1:50]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew name used here is מִשְׁכַּן הָעֵדֻת (mishkan ha’edut). The tabernacle or dwelling place of the Lord was given this name because it was here that the tablets of the Law were kept. The whole shrine was therefore a reminder (הָעֵדוּת, a “warning sign” or “testimony”) of the stipulations of the covenant. For the ancient Near Eastern customs of storing the code in the sanctuaries, see M. G. Kline, Treaty of the Great King, 14-19, and idem, The Structure of Biblical Authority, 35-36. Other items were in the ark in the beginning, but by the days of Solomon only the tablets were there (1 Kgs 8:9).

[1:50]  ⁷ tn The imperfect tense here is an obligatory imperfect telling that they are bound to do this since they are appointed for this specific task.

[1:50]  ⁸ tn The addition of the pronoun before the verb is emphatic – they are the ones who are to attend to the tabernacle. The verb used is שָׁרַת (sharat) in the Piel, indicating that they are to serve, minister to, attend to all the details about this shrine.

[1:50]  ⁹ tn Heb “the tabernacle.” The pronoun (“it”) was used in the translation here for stylistic reasons.

[1:51]  ¹⁰ tn The construction uses the infinitive construct with the temporal preposition; the “tabernacle” is then the following genitive. Literally it is “and in the moving of the tabernacle,” meaning, “when the tabernacle is supposed to be moved,” i.e., when people are supposed to move it. The verb נָסָע (nasa’) means “pull up the tent pegs and move,” or more simply, “journey.”

[1:51]  ¹¹ tn Here we have the parallel construction using the infinitive construct in a temporal adverbial clause.

[1:51]  ¹² tn Heb “raise it up.”

[1:51]  ¹³ tn The word used here is זָר (zar), normally translated “stranger” or “outsider.” It is most often used for a foreigner, an outsider, who does not belong in Israel, or who, although allowed in the land, may be viewed with suspicion. But here it seems to include even Israelites other than the tribe of Levi.

[1:53]  ¹⁴ tc Instead of “wrath” the Greek text has “sin,” focusing the emphasis on the human error and not on the wrath of God. This may have been a conscious change to explain the divine wrath.

[1:53]  tn Heb “so that there be no wrath on.” In context this is clearly the divine anger, so “the Lord’s” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:53]  ¹⁵ tn The main verb of the clause is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive, וְשָׁמְרוּ (vÿshamÿru) meaning they “shall guard, protect, watch over, care for.” It may carry the same obligatory nuance as the preceding verbs because of the sequence. The object used with this is the cognate noun מִשְׁמֶרֶת (mishmeret): “The Levites must care for the care of the tabernacle.” The cognate intensifies the construction to stress that they are responsible for this care.

[2:17]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew expression is עַל־יָדוֹ (’al-yado, “upon his hand”). This clearly refers to a specifically designated place for each man.

[8:6]  ¹⁷ tn The verb טָהַר (tahar) means that Moses was “to purify” or “to make ceremonially clean” the Levites so that they could enter the sanctuary and do the work prescribed for them. Whatever is “unclean” is not permitted in the sanctuary at all.

[8:7]  ¹⁸ tn Or, more literally, “and thus you shall do.” The verb is the imperfect tense of instruction or legislation. Here it introduces the procedures to be followed.

[8:7]  ¹⁹ tn The genitive in this expression indicates the purpose of the water – it is for their purification. The expression is literally “the waters of sin.” The word “purification” is the same as for the “sin/purification offering” – חַטָּאת (khatta’at). This water seems to have been taken from the main laver and is contrasted with the complete washing of the priests in Lev 8:6.

[8:7]  ²⁰ tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) of sequence. This verb, and those to follow, has the force of a jussive since it comes after the imperative. Here the instruction is for them to remove the hair from their bodies (“flesh”). There is no indication that this was repeated (as the Egyptian priests did every few days). It seems to have been for this special occasion only. A similar requirement was for the leper (Lev 14:7-9).

[8:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “flesh.”

[8:7]  ²² tn Or “let/have them wash”; the priests were given new clothes (Lev 8:13), but the Levites simply washed their own.

[8:7]  ²³ tn The verb is a reflexive (or possibly passive) in this verse, indicating the summary of the process. The ritual steps that have been prescribed will lead to this conclusion. The verb could be treated as a final imperfect (being a perfect with vav [ו] consecutive), and so translated “that they may….” The major difference here is that the ritual made the Levites “clean,” whereas the ritual for the priests made them “holy” or “sanctified” (Lev 8:12).

[8:8]  ²⁴ sn The first sacrifice was for the purification of the Levites. The second animal, which Moses was to take, would be used for the purification of the tabernacle from all pollution.

[8:10]  ²⁵ sn The consecration ceremony was to be done in full view of the assembled people. In all probability the laying on of the hands was done through representatives of the tribes, and not all the people. This ritual of the imposition of hands showed that the people were taking part in the consecration, and that the Levites represented them in the service of the Lord.

[8:11]  ²⁶ tn The Hebrew text actually has “wave the Levites as a wave offering.” The wave offering was part of the ritual of the peace offering and indicated the priest’s portion being presented to God in a lifted, waving motion for all to see. The Levites were going to be in the sanctuary to serve the Lord and assist the priests. It is unclear how Moses would have presented them as wave offerings, but the intent is that they would be living sacrifices, as Paul would later say in Rom 12:1 for all Christians.

[8:11]  ²⁷ tn The construction emphasizes the spiritual service of the Levites, using the infinitive construct of עָבַד (’avad) followed by its cognate accusative.

[8:12]  ²⁸ tn The clause begins with a vav (ו) on the noun “the Levites,” indicating a disjunctive clause. Here it is clearly a subordinate clause prior to the instruction for Moses, and so translated as a circumstantial clause of time.

[8:12]  ²⁹ tn The imperative is from the verb “to do; to make,” but in the sentence it clearly means to sacrifice the animals.

[8:12]  ³⁰ sn The “purification offering” cleansed the tabernacle from impurity, and the burnt offering atoned by nullifying and removing the effects of sin in the Levites.

[8:13]  ³¹ tc The Greek text adds the Lord here: “before the Lord, before Aaron.”

[8:14]  ³² tn The vav (ו) consecutive on the perfect tense not only carries the nuance of instruction forward to this clause, but also marks this clause out as a summary of what has taken place, i.e., by doing all this ritual Moses will have separated the Levites from the people for God’s own possession.

[8:15]  ³³ tn The imperfect tense could also be given the nuance of the imperfect of permission: “the Levites may go in.”

[8:15]  ³⁴ tn Heb “to serve.”

[8:15]  ³⁵ tn The two verbs in the rest of this verse are perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutive constructions, making them equal to the imperfect. Some commentators try to get around the difficulty of repetition by making these future perfects, “and you will have cleansed,” as opposed to a summary statement, “for thus you will cleanse….”

[8:15]  ³⁶ tc The Greek text adds “before the Lord.”

[8:24]  ³⁷ 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]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ 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.

[8:26]  ⁴⁰ tn The verb is the Piel perfect of שָׁרַת (sharat, “to serve, minister”). Here the form has the vav (ו) consecutive, and so is equal to the imperfect tense stressing permission. After the Levites reached the age of retirement, they were permitted to assist the others, but were not permitted to do the work themselves.

[8:26]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “brothers,” but the meaning in this context is “fellow Levites.”

[8:26]  ⁴² tn Heb “you shall do, make.”

[16:10]  ⁴³ tn The verb is the Piel perfect. There is no imperfect tense before this, which makes the construction a little difficult. If the vav (ו) is classified as a consecutive, then the form would stand alone as an equivalent to the imperfect, and rendered as a modal nuance such as “would you [now] seek,” or as a progressive imperfect, “are you seeking.” This latter nuance can be obtained by treating it as a regular perfect tense, with an instantaneous nuance: “do you [now] seek.”

[16:10]  sn Moses discerned correctly the real motivation for the rebellion. Korah wanted to be the high priest because he saw how much power there was in the spiritual leadership in Israel. He wanted something like a general election with himself as the candidate and his supporters promoting him. The great privilege of being a Levite and serving in the sanctuary was not enough for him – the status did not satisfy him. Korah gave no rebuttal. The test would be one of ministering with incense. This would bring them into direct proximity with the Lord. If God honored Korah as a ministering priest, then it would be settled. But Moses accuses them of rebellion against the Lord, because the Lord had chosen Aaron to be the priest.

[16:11]  ⁴⁴ sn The question indicates that they had been murmuring against Aaron, that is, expressing disloyalty and challenging his leadership. But it is actually against the Lord that they had been murmuring because the Lord had put Aaron in that position.

[18:2]  ⁴⁵ sn The verb forms a wordplay on the name Levi, and makes an allusion to the naming of the tribe Levi by Leah in the book of Genesis. There Leah hoped that with the birth of Levi her husband would be attached to her. Here, with the selection of the tribe to serve in the sanctuary, there is the wordplay again showing that the Levites will be attached to Aaron and the priests. The verb is יִלָּווּ (yillavu), which forms a nice wordplay with Levi (לֵוִי). The tribe will now be attached to the sanctuary. The verb is the imperfect with a vav (ו) that shows volitive sequence after the imperative, here indicating a purpose clause.

[18:2]  ⁴⁶ tn The clause is a circumstantial clause because the disjunctive vav (ו) is on a nonverb to start the clause.

[18:4]  ⁴⁷ tn Now the sentence uses the Niphal perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive from the same root לָוָה (lavah).

[18:4]  ⁴⁸ tn The word is “stranger, alien,” but it can also mean Israelites here.

[18:5]  ⁴⁹ tn The clause is a purpose clause, and the imperfect tense a final imperfect.

[18:6]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “taken.”

[18:6]  ⁵¹ tn The infinitive construct in this sentence is from עָבַד (’avad), and so is the noun that serves as its object: to serve the service.

[32:26]  ⁵² tn “come” is not in the text, but has been supplied.

[32:26]  ⁵³ tn S. R. Driver suggests that the command was tersely put: “Who is for Yahweh? To me!” (Exodus, 354).

[32:27]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “put.”

[32:27]  ⁵⁵ tn The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys: “pass over and return,” meaning, “go back and forth” throughout the camp.

[32:27]  ⁵⁶ tn The phrases have “and kill a man his brother, and a man his companion, and a man his neighbor.” The instructions were probably intended to mean that they should kill leaders they knew to be guilty because they had been seen or because they failed the water test – whoever they were.

[32:28]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “did according to the word of Moses.”

[32:28]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “fell.”

[32:29]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “Your hand was filled.” The phrase “fill your hands” is a familiar expression having to do with commissioning and devotion to a task that is earlier used in 28:41; 29:9, 29, 33, 35. This has usually been explained as a Qal imperative. S. R. Driver explains it “Fill your hand today,” meaning, take a sacrifice to God and be installed in the priesthood (Exodus, 355). But it probably is a Piel perfect, meaning “they have filled your hands today,” or, “your hand was filled today.” This was an expression meant to say that they had been faithful to God even though it turned them against family and friends – but God would give them a blessing.

[32:29]  ⁶⁰ tn The text simply has “and to give on you today a blessing.” Gesenius notes that the infinitive construct seems to be attached with a vav (ו; like the infinitive absolute) as the continuation of a previous finite verb. He reads the verb “fill” as an imperative: “fill your hand today…and that to bring a blessing on you, i.e., that you may be blessed” (see GKC 351 §114.p). If the preceding verb is taken as perfect tense, however, then this would also be perfect – “he has blessed you today.”

[33:8]  ⁶¹ sn Thummim and Urim. These terms, whose meaning is uncertain, refer to sacred stones carried in a pouch on the breastplate of the high priest and examined on occasion as a means of ascertaining God’s will or direction. See Exod 28:30; Lev 8:8; Num 27:21; 1 Sam 28:6. See also C. Van Dam, NIDOTTE 1:329-31.

[33:8]  ⁶² tn Heb “godly man.” The reference is probably to Moses as representative of the whole tribe of Levi.

[33:8]  ⁶³ sn Massah means “testing” in Hebrew; the name is a wordplay on what took place there. Cf. Exod 17:7; Deut 6:16; 9:22; Ps 95:8-9.

[33:8]  ⁶⁴ sn Meribah means “contention, argument” in Hebrew; this is another wordplay on the incident that took place there. Cf. Num 20:13, 24; Ps 106:32.

[33:9]  ⁶⁵ sn This statement no doubt alludes to the Levites’ destruction of their own fellow tribesmen following the golden calf incident (Exod 32:25-29).

[2:4]  ⁶⁶ sn My covenant refers to the priestly covenant through Aaron and his grandson Phinehas (see Exod 6:16-20; Num 25:10-13; Jer 33:21-22). The point here is to contrast the priestly ideal with the disgraceful manner in which it was being carried out in postexilic times.