Numbers 4

1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

2 "Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families and their fathers' houses,

3 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can enter the service, to do the work in the tent of meeting.

4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things.

5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen, and cover the ark of the testimony with it;

6 then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin, and spread over that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles.

7 And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put upon it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the continual bread also shall be on it;

8 then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles.

9 And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its snuffers, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied:

10 and they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it upon the carrying frame.

11 And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles;

12 and they shall take all the vessels of the service which are used in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of goatskin, and put them on the carrying frame.

13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it;

14 and they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the firepans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles.

15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.

16 "And Elea'zar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the continual cereal offering, and the anointing oil, with the oversight of all the tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels."

17 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

18 "Let not the tribe of the families of the Ko'hathites be destroyed from among the Levites;

19 but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden,

20 but they shall not go in to look upon the holy things even for a moment, lest they die."

21 The LORD said to Moses,

22 "Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their families and their fathers' houses;

23 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall number them, all who can enter for service, to do the work in the tent of meeting.

24 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens:

25 they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tent of meeting with its covering, and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it, and the screen for the door of the tent of meeting,

26 and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords, and all the equipment for their service; and they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them.

27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry, and in all that they have to do; and you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry.

28 This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their work is to be under the oversight of Ith'amar the son of Aaron the priest.

29 "As for the sons of Merar'i, you shall number them by their families and their fathers' houses;

30 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall number them, every one that can enter the service, to do the work of the tent of meeting.

31 And this is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases,

32 and the pillars of the court round about with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories; and you shall assign by name the objects which they are required to carry.

33 This is the service of the families of the sons of Merar'i, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, under the hand of Ith'amar the son of Aaron the priest."

34 And Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation numbered the sons of the Ko'hathites, by their families and their fathers' houses,

35 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, every one that could enter the service, for work in the tent of meeting;

36 and their number by families was two thousand seven hundred and fifty.

37 This was the number of the families of the Ko'hathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses.

38 The number of the sons of Gershon, by their families and their fathers' houses,

39 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, every one that could enter the service for work in the tent of meeting--

40 their number by their families and their fathers' houses was two thousand six hundred and thirty.

41 This was the number of the families of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the LORD.

42 The number of the families of the sons of Merar'i, by their families and their fathers' houses,

43 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, every one that could enter the service, for work in the tent of meeting--

44 their number by families was three thousand two hundred.

45 These are those who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merar'i, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses.

46 All those who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the leaders of Israel numbered, by their families and their fathers' houses,

47 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, every one that could enter to do the work of service and the work of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting,

48 those who were numbered of them were eight thousand five hundred and eighty.

49 According to the commandment of the LORD through Moses they were appointed, each to his task of serving or carrying; thus they were numbered by him, as the LORD 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.