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different than he had commanded. Since they
had no sons, this left only Eleazar and Ithamar
to serve as priests with their father, Aaron.
5 Then the Lord said to Moses, 6 “Call forward
the tribe of Levi, and present them to Aaron
the priest to serve as his assistants. 7 They will
serve Aaron and the whole community, performing their sacred duties in and around the
Tabernacle.* 8 They will also maintain all the
furnishings of the sacred tent,* serving in
the Tabernacle on behalf of all the Israelites.
9 Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons. They
have been given from among all the people of
Israel to serve as their assistants. 10 Appoint
Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of
the priesthood. But any unauthorized person
who goes too near the sanctuary must be put
to death.”
11 And the Lord said to Moses, 12 “Look, I have
chosen the Levites from among the Israelites to
serve as substitutes for all the firstborn sons of
the people of Israel. The Levites belong to me,
13 for all the firstborn males are mine. On the day
I struck down all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians, I set apart for myself all the firstborn in
Israel, both of people and of animals. They are
mine; I am the Lord.”
Registration of the Levites
14 The Lord spoke again to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai. He said, 15 “Record the names of
the members of the tribe of Levi by their families and clans. List every male who is one month
old or older.” 16 So Moses listed them, just as the
Lord had commanded.
17 Levi
had three sons, whose names were
Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18 The clans descended from Gershon were
named after two of his descendants, Libni
and Shimei.
19 The clans descended from Kohath were
named after four of his descendants,
Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20 The clans descended from Merari were
named after two of his descendants, Mahli
and Mushi.
These were the Levite clans, listed according to
their family groups.
21 The descendants of Gershon were composed of the clans descended from Libni and
Shimei. 22 There were 7,500 males one month old
or older among these Gershonite clans. 23 They
were assigned the area to the west of the Tabernacle for their camp. 24 The leader of the Gershonite clans was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25 These
two clans were responsible to care for the Tabernacle, including the sacred tent with its layers
3:7 Hebrew around the Tent of Meeting, doing service at the
Tabernacle. 3:8 Hebrew the Tent of Meeting; also in 3:25.
3:28 Some Greek manuscripts read 8,300; see total in 3:39.
3:38 Hebrew toward the sunrise, in front of the Tent of Meeting.
NUM B ER S 3
of coverings, the curtain at its entrance, 26 the
curtains of the courtyard that surrounded the
Tabernacle and altar, the curtain at the courtyard entrance, the ropes, and all the equipment
related to their use.
27 The descendants of Kohath were composed
of the clans descended from Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 28 There were 8,600* males
one month old or older among these Kohathite
clans. They were responsible for the care of the
sanctuary, 29 and they were assigned the area
south of the Tabernacle for their camp. 30 The
leader of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son
of Uzziel. 31 These four clans were responsible
for the care of the Ark, the table, the lampstand,
the altars, the various articles used in the sanctuary, the inner curtain, and all the equipment
related to their use. 32 Eleazar, son of Aaron the
priest, was the chief administrator over all the
Levites, with special responsibility for the oversight of the sanctuary.
33 The descendants of Merari were composed
of the clans descended from Mahli and Mushi.
34 There were 6,200 males one month old or
older among these Merarite clans. 35 They were
assigned the area north of the Tabernacle for
their camp. The leader of the Merarite clans
was Zuriel son of Abihail. 36 These two clans
were responsible for the care of the frames supporting the Tabernacle, the crossbars, the pillars, the bases, and all the equipment related to
their use. 37 They were also responsible for the
posts of the courtyard and all their bases, pegs,
and ropes.
38 The area in front of the Tabernacle, in the
east toward the sunrise,* was reserved for the
tents of Moses and of Aaron and his sons, who
had the final responsibility for the sanctuary
on behalf of the people of Israel. Anyone other
than a priest or Levite who went too near the
sanctuary was to be put to death.
39 When Moses and Aaron counted the Levite
clans at the Lord’s command, the total number
was 22,000 males one month old or older.
Redeeming the Firstborn Sons
40 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now count all
the firstborn sons in Israel who are one month
old or older, and make a list of their names.
41 The Levites must be reserved for me as substitutes for the firstborn sons of Israel; I am
the Lord. And the Levites’ livestock must be
reserved for me as substitutes for the firstborn
livestock of the whole nation of Israel.”
42 So Moses counted the firstborn sons of
the people of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded. 43 The number of firstborn sons who
were one month old or older was 22,273.
44 Then the Lord said to Moses, 45 “Take the
Levites as substitutes for the firstborn sons of
the people of Israel. And take the livestock of