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

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Numbers 3:1) These are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.

In the previous several chapters, the Lord had been speaking to Moses, giving him laws and instructions to pass on to the people.  At the time this took place, the following is an account of the descendants of Aaron and Moses.

(2) And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

I believe because Aaron and Moses were brothers, Moses's name was included in verse 1.  However, it seems that only the descendants of Aaron are named.  I believe that is because it was Aaron who was the head of the tribe of Levi, and we are about to see a census of sorts of the Levites.  In the previous two chapters of Numbers, Moses and Aaron numbered the armies or tribes, but were instructed by God not to number the Levites.  This chapter is an account of the Levites.

These sons of Aaron--Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar--were first mentioned in Exodus 6 when we learned that Aaron took as his wife Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon.

(3) These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests which were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest's office.

These sons of Aaron were the priests who were anointed and set apart to minister in the office of the priesthood.

(4) And Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children; and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest's office in the sight of Aaron their father.

In Leviticus 10, we read the account of Nadab and Abihu who offered profane incense in the sight of the Lord; and they were devoured by the fire of the Lord.  They died with no descendants, and Eleazar and Ithamar were left to carry on in the Aaronic priesthood.

(5) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (6) "Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him."

The Lord told Moses to bring the tribe of Levi before Aaron the priest, offering their services to the sanctuary.

(7) "And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle."

The tribe of Levi was to assist Aaron the high priest, working for the whole congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle.

(8) "And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle."

The tribe of Levi was to take care of the tabernacle and all its furnishings.  They serviced the priests and therefore serviced the entire tribe of Israel by taking care of the tabernacle.

(9) “And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him out of the children of Israel."

The whole Levite tribe was given to the service of Aaron and his sons, the priests.  The priests came only from the Levites, and all of the Levites, even though most not priests, were set apart from the rest of the tribes of Israel and appointed for the service of the priests.

(10) "And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office; and the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.”

Only Aaron and his sons were to be appointed to the priesthood, and they only were to attend to the duties of the priest's office.  A stranger in this case was anyone who was not a priest; anyone who came near to perform any duties that were wholly set aside for the priests only, would be put to death.

(11) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (12) "And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel; therefore the Levites shall be Mine, (13) Because all the firstborn are mine; on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto Me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast; they shall be Mine; I am the LORD.”

The Lord continued speaking to Moses, telling him that He had taken the Levites from all the children of Israel to be His own, set apart for His service and the service of His sanctuary.  The Lord took the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, whom He had declared as His own when He had spared the firstborn of Israel at the time He destroyed the firstborn in Egypt (Exodus 13:15).  As He alone had the sovereign right and power to take the firstborn as His own, and because they were now His, He also had the sovereign right to take the Levites as His own in exchange for His firstborn.

(14) And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, (15) “Number the children of Levi after the house of their fathers, by their families; you shall number every male from a month old and upward.”

Having numbered all the other tribes except the tribe of Levi, the Lord now instructed Moses to number the Levites.  Whereas the Lord had Moses and Aaron number only the men of the other tribes who were twenty years of age and older, He now instructed Moses to take a census of the Levite males who were one month and older.  The other tribes were to be ready for war, but the Levites were to be the Lord's, and were to be set apart and trained from their youth for the service of His sanctuary.

(16) And Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded.

Moses, with Aaron and the heads of each tribe, had numbered all the other tribes, but it appears that only Moses numbered the Levites just as God had instructed him to do.

(17) And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

The immediate sons of Levi, who went with him into Egypt (Genesis 46:8 and 11), were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

(18) And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei.

The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimei.  These sons had first been named in Exodus 6:17 when the heads of the fathers of the Levites were named.

(19) And the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.  These sons were also mentioned in Exodus 6 as heads of the Levites.  Amram was the father of Aaron and Moses (Exodus 6:20).

(20) And the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to the house of their fathers.

The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi.  Mahli was written as Mahali in Exodus 6:19.  The preceding verses listed the families of the Levites according to the houses of their fathers.

Since Blogger limits the number of labels per post, and there are many more notable names in the third chapter of Numbers, the study of this chapter is continued here:

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