CHAPTER 3 Mar. 22 
The Levites Appointed
Now this is the history of the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that Yahweh spoke with Moses in Mount Sinai. 2These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests who were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest’s office. 4Nadab and Abihu died before Yahweh, when they offered strange fire before Yahweh in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest’s office in the presence of Aaron their father. 5Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 6Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7They shall keep his requirements, and the requirements of the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle. 8They shall keep all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting, and the obligations of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. 9You shall give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons. They are wholly given to him on the behalf of the children of Israel. 10You shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall keep their ministry. The stranger who comes near shall be put to death. 11Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 12Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn who open the womb among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine: 13for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I made holy to me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and animal. They shall be mine. I am Yahweh.
The Number and Duties of the Levites
14Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15Count the children of Levi by their fathers’ families, by their families. You shall count every male from a month old and upward. 16Moses numbered them according to the word of Yahweh, as he was commanded. 17These were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. 18These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei. 19The sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, and Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20The sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ families. 21Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimeites: these are the families of the Gershonites. 22Those who were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, even those who were numbered of them were seven thousand five hundred. 23The families of the Gershonites shall encamp behind the tabernacle westward. 24The prince of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael. 25The duty of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, its covering, and the screen for the door of the Tent of Meeting, 26and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and around the altar, and its cords for all of its service. 27Of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites. 28According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were eight thousand six hundred, keeping the requirements of the sanctuary. 29The families of the sons of Kohath shall encamp on the south side of the tabernacle. 30The prince of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. 31Their duty shall be the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which they minister, and the screen, and all its service. 32Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be prince of the princes of the Levites, with the oversight of those who keep the requirements of the sanctuary. 33Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites. These are the families of Merari. 34Those who were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand two hundred. 35The prince of the fathers’ house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They shall encamp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36The appointed duty of the sons of Merari shall be the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, all its instruments, all its service, 37the pillars of the court around it, their sockets, their pins, and their cords. 38Those who encamp before the tabernacle eastward, in front of the Tent of Meeting toward the sunrise, shall be Moses and Aaron and his sons, keeping the requirements of the sanctuary for the duty of the children of Israel. The stranger who comes near shall be put to death. 39All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of Yahweh, by their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty-two thousand. 40Yahweh said to Moses, Number all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names. 41You shall take the Levites for Me (I am Yahweh) instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the livestock of the children of Israel. 42Moses numbered, as Yahweh commanded him, all the firstborn among the children of Israel. 43All the firstborn males according to the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those who were numbered of them, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three. 44Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 45Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock; and the Levites shall be Mine. I am Yahweh. 46For the redemption of the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel, who exceed the number of the Levites, 47you shall take five shekels for each one; after the shekel of the sanctuary you shall take them (the shekel is twenty gerahs): 48and you shall give the money, with which their remainder is redeemed, to Aaron and to his sons. 49Moses took the redemption money from those who exceeded the number of those who were redeemed by the Levites; 50from the firstborn of the children of Israel he took the money, one thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary: 51and Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of Yahweh, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Commentary

3:4 They had no children- That is, no children who ministered as priests. Ultimately, from the perspective of the Kingdom, if our children don’t serve God it will be as if we have no children. Hence the need in this life to train them up to be God’s servants.
3:9 This meant that Moses’ sons were Levites and not priests, and were given to serve Aaron’s sons. Yet Moses time and again is revealed as the undoubted leader of the people, and more spiritually mature and committed than Aaron. Verse 38 could imply that Moses even camped separately to his children. There were no special privileges for the children of the leader, and Moses’ humility would have been exercised by seeing his sons serve Aaron’s sons. If all we want to see is God’s work go forward, we will likewise not become resentful of such things as they work out in church life today.
3:10 Keep their ministry- The phrase from the Septuagint version is quoted by Paul about our service of the ecclesia / church today (Rom. 12:7). Whatever day job or career we have in this world, our real work is our ministry to God’s people.
3:13 Those who had been spared from death by the blood of the lamb on Passover night weren’t just free to do as they wished with their saved lives, but were to be devoted to God. We are those who have likewise been spared from eternal death by Christ’s blood, and we are therefore not to see ourselves as having merely escaped eternal death but must go further to perceive ourselves as thereby dedicated to God’s service. Hence the Christian community is called “the church of the firstborn” (Heb. 12:23)- we are all as it were the firstborn who were saved by grace on Passover night, because we are in Christ, the firstborn (Col. 1:18).
3:28 Some original manuscripts read 8,300. This could solve the apparent discrepancies in the numbers later on. The difference between the Hebrew letters for 8,300 and 8,600 is miniscule. Although the word of God itself is inspired and infallible, this isn’t to say that there aren’t minor errors of copyists as the manuscripts were passed on over the generations.
3:38- see on :9.
3:43 Levi was by far the smallest tribe- the numbers of the males over 20 in the other tribes (as recorded in Num. 1) is far larger than the number of males of the tribe of Levi. God uses as His special workers those who are weakest in human terms. It could be argued that Levi grew less in number than the other tribes because of some spiritual weakness- for at this time, Divine blessing was reckoned in terms of number of offspring. So perhaps spiritually as well as numerically they were the weakest, yet were chosen by God for His special work. God seems to love to work in this way.