Numbers 4

The Kohath Families

1 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said,

2 "Count the Kohath families of the Levites. Make a list of them family by family.

3 Count all of the men who are from 30 to 50 years old. Those are the men who must come and serve at the Tent of Meeting.

4 "Here is the work the men of Kohath must do at the Tent of Meeting. They must take care of the things that are very holy.

5 "When the camp is ready to move, Aaron and his sons must go into the tent. They must take down the curtain that screens the ark where the tablets of the covenant are kept. They must cover the ark with the curtain.

6 Then they must cover that with the hides of sea cows. They must spread a solid blue cloth over the hides. And they must put the poles in place.

7 "They must spread a blue cloth over the table for the holy bread. They must put the plates, dishes and bowls on the cloth. They must also put the jars for drink offerings on it. The bread that is always kept there must remain on it.

8 They must spread a bright red cloth over everything. Then they must cover that with the hides of sea cows. And they must put the poles of the table in place.

9 "They must get a blue cloth. With it they must cover the lampstand that gives light. They must also cover its lamps, trays and wick cutters. And they must cover all of its jars. The jars are for the olive oil that is used in the lampstand.

10 Then Aaron and his sons must wrap the lampstand and all of the things that are used with it. They must cover it with the hides of sea cows. And they must put it on a frame to carry it.

11 "They must spread a blue cloth over the gold altar for burning incense. They must cover that with the hides of sea cows. And they must put the poles of the altar in place.

12 "They must get all of the articles that are used for serving in the sacred tent. They must wrap them in a blue cloth. They must cover that with the hides of sea cows. Then they must put the articles on a frame to carry them.

13 "They must remove the ashes from the bronze altar for burnt offerings. They must spread a purple cloth over it.

14 Then they must place all of the tools on it. The tools are used for serving at the altar. They include the pans for carrying ashes. They also include the meat forks, shovels and sprinkling bowls. Aaron and his sons must cover the altar with the hides of sea cows. And they must put its poles in place.

15 "Aaron and his sons must cover all of the holy articles that belong to the holy tent. Then the men of Kohath must get ready to carry everything. They must do it when the camp is ready to move. But they must not touch the holy things. If they do, they will die. The men of Kohath must carry everything that is in the Tent of Meeting.

16 "The priest Eleazar will be in charge of the olive oil for the light. He is the son of Aaron. Eleazar will be in charge of the sweet-smelling incense. He will be in charge of the regular grain offering and the anointing oil. He will be in charge of the entire holy tent. He will also be in charge of everything that is in it. That includes all of the articles that belong to the tent."

17 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said,

18 "Make sure that the Kohath families are not cut off from the Levites.

19 I want them to live and not die when they come near the very holy things. So here is what you must do for them. Aaron and his sons must go into the sacred tent and tell each man what to do. They must tell each man what to carry.

20 But the men of Kohath must not go in and look at the holy things. They must not look at them even for a moment. If they do, they will die."

The Gershon Families

21 The LORD said to Moses,

22 "Count the Gershon families. Make a list of them family by family.

23 Count all of the men who are from 30 to 50 years old. Those are the men who must come and serve at the Tent of Meeting.

24 "Here is how the Gershon families must serve. They must carry things.

25 They must carry the curtains of the holy Tent of Meeting. They must carry its covering and the outside covering of the hides of sea cows. They must carry the curtains that cover the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

26 They must carry the curtains of the courtyard. The courtyard is all around the holy tent and altar. They must carry the curtain for the entrance. They must carry the ropes. They must also carry all of the supplies that are used for any purpose in the tent. The men of Gershon must do everything that needs to be done with those things.

27 "All of their work must be done under the direction of Aaron and his sons. That includes carrying and everything else they do. Aaron and his sons must tell them what to carry. And that will be their work.

28 It is what the Gershon families must do at the Tent of Meeting. They must work under the direction of the priest Ithamar. He is the son of Aaron.

The Merari Families

29 "Count the Merari families. Count them family by family.

30 Count all of the men who are from 30 to 50 years old. Those are the men who must come and serve at the Tent of Meeting.

31 "Here is the work they must do at the Tent of Meeting. They must carry the frames of the holy tent. They must carry its crossbars, posts and bases.

32 They must also carry the posts of the courtyard. The courtyard is all around the holy tent. And they must carry the bases for the posts as well as their tent stakes and ropes. They must also carry all of the supplies and everything that is connected with their use. Tell each man exactly what to carry.

33 That is the work the Merari families must do at the Tent of Meeting. They must work under the direction of the priest Ithamar. He is the son of Aaron."

Counting the Families of the Levites

34 Moses, Aaron and the leaders of the community counted the men of Kohath. They counted them family by family.

35 They counted all of the men who were from 30 to 50 years old. Those were the men who came and served at the Tent of Meeting.

36 There were 2,750 men. They were counted family by family.

37 That was the total of all of the men in the Kohath families who served at the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them. They did just as the LORD had commanded through Moses.

38 The men of Gershon were counted family by family.

39 All of the men who were from 30 to 50 years old were counted. They were the men who came and served at the Tent of Meeting.

40 There were 2,630 men. They were counted family by family.

41 That was the total of the men in the Gershon families who served at the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them. They did just as the LORD had commanded.

42 The men of Merari were counted family by family.

43 All of the men who were from 30 to 50 years old were counted. They were the men who came and served at the Tent of Meeting.

44 There were 3,200 men. They were counted family by family.

45 That was the total of the men in the Merari families. Moses and Aaron counted them. They did just as the LORD had commanded through Moses.

46 So Moses and Aaron counted all of the Levites. The leaders of Israel helped them. They counted the Levites family by family.

47 All of the men who were from 30 to 50 years old were counted. They were the men who came and served at the Tent of Meeting. They were also supposed to carry it.

48 The total number of men was 8,580.

49 Everything was done as the LORD had commanded through Moses. Each man was given his work. And each one was told what to carry. So they were counted, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Numbers 4 Commentary

Chapter 4

The Levites' service. (1-3) The duties of the Kohathites. (4-20) The duties of the Gershonites and Merarites. (21-33) The numbers of the serviceable Levites. (34-49)

Verses 1-3 The middle-aged men of the tribe of Levi, all from thirty years old to fifty, were to be employed in the service of the tabernacle. The service of God requires the best of our strength, and the prime portion of our time, which cannot be better spent than to the honour of Him who is the First and Best. And the service of God should be done when we are most lively and active. Those do not consider this who put off repentance to old age, and so leave the best work to be done in the worst time.

Verses 4-20 The Kohathites were to carry the holy things of the tabernacle. All the holy things were to be covered; not only for security and respect, but to keep them from being seen. This not only marked the reverence due to holy things, but the mystery of the things signified by those types, and the darkness of the dispensation. But now, through Christ, the case is altered, and we are encouraged to come boldly to the throne of grace.

Verses 21-33 We have here the charge of the other two families of the Levites, which, though not so honourable as the first, yet was necessary, and to be done regularly. All the things were delivered them by name. It intimates the care God takes of his church and every member of it. The death of the saints is ( 2 Corinthians. 5:1 ) ( 2 Peter. 1:14 ) great day, when these vile bodies shall be made like the glorious body of Jesus Christ, and so shall be for ever with the Lord.

Verses 34-49 God so ordered it, that though the Merarites were the fewest in number, yet they should have most able men among them; for whatever service God calls men to, he will furnish them for it, give strength in proportion to the work, and grace sufficient. The least of the tribes had many more able men than the Levites: those who engage in the service of this world, are many more than those devoted to the service of God. May our souls be wholly devoted to his service.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 4

This chapter relates an order to number the Levites fit for business, and gives an account of the time and age when they should enter into service, and how long they should continue therein, Nu 4:1-3; what their particular service should be; and first of the Kohathites, Nu 4:4-20; next of the Gershonites, Nu 4:21-28; and then of the Merarites, Nu 4:29-33; after which Moses and Aaron, with the chief of the congregation, numbered each of them, even as many as were at the age fit for service, as the Kohathites, Nu 4:34-37; the Gershonites, Nu 4:38-41; the Merarites, Nu 4:42-45; the sum total of which is given, Nu 4:46-49.