The Numbering of the Levites and Their Exchange for the First-Born, Part 2

Continuing a chronological Bible study, this third chapter of Numbers having been started in the last post:

The Numbering of the Levites and Their Exchange for the First-Born, Part 1

(Numbers 3:21) Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these are the families of the Gershonites.

In the first half of Numbers 3, Moses had begun numbering the Levites, as instructed by God.  From Levi's first son, Gershon, and his family, the Gershonites, came the Libnites, named for Gershon's son Libni, and the Shimites, named for his son Shimei.

(22) Those who were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, those who were numbered of them were seven thousand five hundred.

The Gershonites, including the Libnites and the Shimites, numbered 7500 males from one month of age and upward.

(23) The families of the Gershonites shall pitch behind the tabernacle westward.

It had already been established in Numbers 1:53 that the Levites would pitch their tents around the tabernacle between the tabernacle and the rest of the tribes.  The Gershonites were to camp on the west side of the tabernacle between the tabernacle and the camp of Ephraim, which was also westward (Numbers 2:18).

(24) And the chief of the house of the father of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael.

The chief of the Gershonites was to be Eliasaph, the son of Lael, not to be confused with Eliasaph, the son of Reuel or Deuel, from the tribe of Gad.

(25) And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, its covering, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, (26) And the hangings of the court, and the curtain for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and the cords of it for all the service thereof.

The Gershonites which included the Libnites and the Shimites, were in charge of the tent, the skin covering, and all the curtains and linen hangings of the tabernacle, including all the necessary cords that fastened them in place.  The Gershonites were responsible for the taking down and carrying of all the coverings and hangings of the tabernacle, and the care of them while they were not in use as a tabernacle, for they would not have normally been allowed within the curtains of the tabernacle to do any service.

(27) And of Kohath were the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; these are the families of the Kohathites.

Levi's son Kohath had sons, Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, whose families were known as the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites.

(28) In the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary.

The number of all the Kohathites was 8600 males from one month and older, and they were in charge of the vessels and furnishings of the sanctuary.

(29) The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward.

The Kohathites were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle between the tabernacle and the camp of Reuben, which was also southward (Numbers 2:10).

(30) And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elzaphan the son of Uzziel.

The chief of the Kohathites was to be Elzaphan, the son of Uzziel.  This was the same Elzaphan who, with his brother Mishael, carried Nadab and Abihu out of the camp after they had been devoured by fire from the Lord when they offered "strange fire" before the Lord (Lev. 10:4).

(31) And their charge shall be the ark, the table, the candlestick, the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary with which they minister, and the hanging, and all the service thereof.

The Kohathites were in charge of the Ark of the Covenant which would include the mercy seat, and the showbread table, the gold candlestick, the altars, and all the vessels and furnishings of the sanctuary.  It also included "the hanging" which would be the veil that divided the holy place from the most holy place; all the other hangings were in the charge of the Gershonites.

(32) And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.

Eleazar, Aaron's son, was to be chief over all the chiefs of the Levites, that is, the chiefs of the Gershonites, Kohathites, and Merarites.  He would have oversight of the Kohathites who were to keep charge of the sanctuary furnishings.

(33) Of Merari were the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these are the families of Merari.

Levi's son, Merari, had sons Mahli and Mushi, from which came the families of the Mahlites and the Mushites.

(34) And those who were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred.

The number of all the Merarites, from one month old and older, was 6200.

(35) And the chief of the house of the father of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail; these shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward.

The chief of all the Merarites was to be Zuriel, the son of Abihail, and they were to pitch their camps on the north side, between the tabernacle and the camp of Dan, which was also pitched northward (Num. 2:25).

(36) And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets, and all its vessels, and all that serves these, (37) And the pillars of the court all around, and their sockets, their pins, and their cords.

The Merarites were to be in charge of the boards of the tabernacle, including all the bars and pillars, and the sockets in which the boards and pillars were put, and the pins and cords of the pillars, by which the outside hangings of the court were kept tight and unmoved by the winds.  Whereas the Gershonites had charge of the cords of all the hangings of the tabernacle and tent, it seems the Merarites had charge of the cords of the court.

(38) But those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.

On the east side which was in front of the court of the tabernacle, between it and the camp of Judah, Moses and Aaron and Aaron's sons, the priests were to camp.  They were to keep charge of the sanctuary for the children of Israel and for their safety, for whoever came near to enter the holy place who was not a priest would be put to death.

(39) All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the LORD, throughout their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty-two thousand.

After having discussed in the last post that it appeared Moses only was commanded to number the Levites (Num. 3:14-16), maybe because he was presenting them to Aaron (Num. 3:6), it appears that both Moses and Aaron numbered the Levites.  However, the old commentators pointed out that the word "Aaron" in the original Hebrew text had a dot over every letter, for what reason it is not certain; but the word itself was left out in the Samaritan and Syriac versions, so perhaps the reason was that it had been questionably added to the text by an early transcriber.  The Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge by Canne, Browne, Blayney, Scott, etc., asserts that "Moses alone, as Houbigant observes, was commanded to number the Levites (Num 3:5, Num 3:11, Num 3:40, Num 3:44, Num 3:51) for as the money with which the first-born were redeemed was to be paid to Aaron and his sons (Num 3:48), it was decent that he, whose advantage it was that the number of the first-born should exceed, should not be authorized to take that number himself."  Most of the scriptures referenced are yet to come in the study, but Houbigant's explanation does seem reasonable.  The Houbigant referenced is probably Charles Francois Houbigant, a French Oratorian Biblical scholar (the French Oratory being a Roman Catholic Society of apostolic life of Catholic priests).

The total number of Levites from one month of age and upward was said to be 22,000.  This number does not agree with the total when the Gershonites, Kohathites, and Merarites are totaled together, which comes to 22,300.  The old commentaries go to great lengths to explain the discrepancy, but the simplest explanation seems to be that there was an error in the number of Gershonites, where instead of 7500, there were only 7200.  The numbers in the Hebrew Bible were expressed by letters and not by words at full length, and apparently the symbol for 500 is very similar to the one for 200 and could have easily been mistakenly transcribed.

(40) And the LORD said to Moses, "Number all the firstborn of the males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names."

After numbering the Levites, the Lord told Moses to number the firstborn males of all the Israelites that were one month and older, identifying each one and counting them.

(41) “And you shall take the Levites for Me (I am the LORD) instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel."

This is where God made the exchange for His firstborn among all the children of Israel, those firstborn that He made His because as their sovereign Lord who saved all their firstborn in Egypt, He had every right to them.  He would take all the Levites as His, to serve Him in His tabernacle, and no longer require that the firstborn be in service to Him.  Likewise, He would accept the cattle of the Levites as His as they would be used in the service of His priests and tabernacle, and would no longer require the firstborn among the people's cattle to be for Him.

(42) And Moses numbered, as the LORD commanded him, all the firstborn among the children of Israel.

Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and he numbered all the firstborn among the children of Israel.

(43) And all the firstborn males by the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those that were numbered of them, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.

The number of firstborn males one month old and older of all the children of Israel totaled 22,273.

(44) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (45) "Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle, and the Levites shall be mine; I am the LORD."

The Lord had declared before that He had taken the Levites in exchange for all the firstborn among the Israelites.  Now He told Moses, who had numbered them, to take them and their cattle, and they were to be the Lord's, once again, because He was Lord and had thusly commanded ('nuf said).

(46) "And for those who are to be redeemed of the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel, which are more than the Levites; (47) You shall take five shekels apiece by the head, after the shekel of the sanctuary you shall take them (the shekel is twenty gerahs)."

There were 273 more firstborn of all the Israelites than there were Levites.  I believe this proves that the number 22,000 said to be the total of all the Levites (v. 39 above) must be the accurate number, and that the correct number of Gershonites had been 7200 instead of the transcribed 7500.  Had the number been 22,300, for whatever reason some of the old commentators went to great lengths to explain, why would there have been a need to redeem for the discrepancy?  It is evident there were 273 more firstborn of all the Israelites than there were Levites, so the Lord required a redemption to be made to level the discrepancy.  The number of firstborn which exceeded the number of the Levites (273 in all) were to be redeemed at five shekels apiece, according to the shekel used by the sanctuary.  There were twenty gerahs to one shekel, and as discussed in an earlier post, a gerah is defined as a "kernel" or a "grain", the smallest weight or coin among the Israelites, about two and a half or three pennies of American money (if a shekel of silver as in former scriptures).  As discussed previously, that doesn't seem like a huge value for a person, but precious metals were probably worth a lot more in Biblical times than now, and, if you calculated for inflation, the value would be exceedingly more now.  There is common agreement among the Biblical scholars that the exchange began with the oldest of the firstborn, and so downward, so that those who were to be redeemed with money were the 273 youngest of the firstborn.

(48) “And you shall give the money, with which the excess number of them is to be redeemed, to Aaron and his sons.”

The redemption money was to be given to Aaron and his sons, the priests.  Because the Levites were given to Aaron that they might minister to him (Num. 3:6) and there was a deficiency of them in exchange for the firstborn, it was right and just that the redemption price be paid to him and his sons.

(49) And Moses took the redemption money of them who were over and above them who were redeemed by the Levites.

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 273 more firstborn than Levites, those were to be redeemed by money, and it was the redemption money of these that Moses took.

(50) Of the firstborn of the children of Israel he took the money, one thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.

Obviously, Moses took the money from the parents of the 273 firstborn.  We can't be sure how it was decided which 273 must pay.  As suggested before, many commentators believed the firstborn were counted in age order; it does seem reasonable that the first who were born would be the first to be redeemed by a Levite, and when the Levites "ran out", there were left the 273 youngest firstborn.  Perhaps it was just the last 273 who were numbered.  However it was determined, Moses collected from those 273, 1365 shekels, which is exactly 273 times five shekels.

(51) And Moses gave the money of them who were redeemed to Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Moses did just as the Lord had commanded he do, and he gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, the priests.

The firstborn being the Lord's, then being exchanged for priests in service to Him, and those being redeemed, paints a big beautiful symbolic picture of the things that were to come with the arrival of the Messiah.  The church is called the church of the firstborn, and its people called a royal priesthood redeemed with the precious blood of Christ:

To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect. - Hebrews 12:23

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. - 1 Peter 2:9

Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. - 1 Peter 1:18-19

Obviously, the Lord didn't have to do a formal exchange, nor did He have to level the number by a redemption fee.  After all, He is the sovereign Lord, and He could do whatever He wanted to do.  He obviously did it this way to paint a picture to us humans of what was to come.  Once again, I marvel at how often we find Jesus in the scriptures of the Old Testament!  It also occurs to me that God's chosen people, the Israelites, are like the Levites, God's chosen for His priesthood; and that the 273 who had to be redeemed are like the Gentiles who were allowed to be redeemed and grafted into the living olive tree, illustrative of everlasting life through Christ (Romans 11:16-24).  God's plan for salvation through Jesus Christ was there from the beginning, and with all these beautiful illustrations, He patiently shows us our need for Christ.