CHAPTER FOUR
THE DUTIES OF THE LEVITES
Previously the Levites were counted from a month old
and upwards because they were to replace the firstborn of
the other tribes. However, now they are to be numbered for
service, and accordingly the count is to be from thirty years
and upward. This denotes a measure of maturity, and
whilst it is not obligatory on Christ's followers that they
should await the age of thirty before ministering before
him, it does show that maturity is required of all his
followers. The duties of the various families of Levites are
set forth in proper order, revealing that each has his work
to do in the "Ecclesia in the wilderness" in a co-operative
service. Hence, as each group arrived at a new site the
Tabernacle was reared up in a regular and orderly fashion
with the least trouble. Co-operation and order are the
keynotes of effective Ecclesial service today as well.
Age And Time Of Service Of The Kohathites — vv, 1-4
These particulars are clearly set out.
ments that follow are thus authoritative.
This is an important declaration, for in
£ct> 'hey do not follow the natural order.
Gershon, not Kohath, was the natural
firstborn (Num. 3:17). Once again the
natural is superceded in favour of the
spiritual.
VERSE 1
"And Yahweh spake unto Moses and
unto Aaron, saying" — The appoint44
CHAPTER FOUR
VERSE 2
"Take the sum of the sons of Kohath
from among the sons of Levi" — This
second enumeration was for the purpose
of their special duties, answering to the
appointment of lay Israelites as members
of the Israel army, or host (Num. 1:3).
Wheras lay Israelites are numbered from
twenty years and upwards, the Levites
are to be numbered fro thirty years upwards. A greater maturity of mind is
required for priestly duties.
"After their families, by the house of
their fathers" — Note the family associations as forming the basis of the nation
itself. See note Ch. 1:2.
VERSE 3
"From thirty years old and upward
even until fifty years old" — In the
Septuagint, this is given as twenty-five
years of age, in conformity with Num.
8:24; 1 Chron. 23:24. However, the
Rabbis claim that the Levites commenced
to learn their duties at the age of 25, and
at 30 began their public ministrations.
Certain it is that both John Baptist and
the Lord Jesus commenced their ministries at the age of thirty years (Luke
At the age of fifty, Levites ceased from
"work" and, apparently, limited their
activities to that of overseeing the labour
of others.
"All that enter into the host, to do the
work in the tabernacle of the congregation" — The word "host" signifies
"army". The Levites formed an important section of Israel's spiritual army (cp.
Num. 1:3 notes). Their labour formed
part of the fight of faith.
THE CHRISTADELPHIAN EXPOSITOR
Ark, Table, Lampstand and so forth. In
the figure of the marching tribes, foreshadowing the work of the Ecclesia in the
wilderness of life, they set forth the things
that typed the Lord Jesus Christ in his
ministrations of glory. In a figure, they
proclaimed Christ to the world, for the
Tabernacle foreshadowed him (Heb. 8:12; 9:11).
The Service Of The Kohathites In Conveying The Tabernacle — vv. 5-15
The Kohathites are to convey the most
precious furniture of the Tabernacle from
place to place. Because of the sacredness of the things borne by them they are
placed under the direct supervision of
Eleazar the High Priest elect (Num. 3:32),
and are subjected to far stricter regulations than the other Levites (Num. 4:15).
As they are given the honoured privilege
and duty of conveying the sacred furniture, they are granted access to the Holy
Place and the Most Holy in order to make
everything ready for travel (Num. 4:1720). Nevertheless, the greatest reverence
must be shown by them (as the greatest
reverence should be shown by all in their
approach to things divine), and therefore
before their entrance into the Holy Places,
the priests are required to cover the furniture with coverings provided.
VERSES
"And when the camp setteth forward,
Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they
shall take down the covering vail, and
cover the ark of testimony with it" — The
service of the Kohathites included the
conveyance of the furniture of the Holy
Place and the Most Holy Place (see Num.
3:27-32); therefore the greatest care had
to be observed in attending to these
VERSE 4
First Aaron and his sons entered
"This shall be the service of the sons of items.
Holy Place, and took down the veil
Kohath in the tabernacle of the congre- the
separated the Holy from the Most
gation" — The service of the Levites that
and with it covered the Ark. For
comprised the carriage of the holy things Holy,
the Kohathites, who were to bare it
throughout the wilderness, surely a type even
place to place, were not permitted
of the Ecclesia's presentation of the from
gaze upon the sacred object. The veil
Truth to be world without. "Tabernacle to
the cherubim thereon represents the
of the congregation" signifies Tent of with
the flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ (Heb.
meeting.
10:20).
"About the most holy things" — The
word about is in italics in the AV indicat- VERSE 6
ing that there is no comparable word in
"And shall put thereon the covering of
the Hebrew. It should be eliminated. The badgers' skins" — The Hebrew does not
Kohathites had charge of the most pre- include the definite article, but merely
cious things associated with the Holy and has "a covering of badgers' skins". This
Most Holy Places. These included the was a special covering for this purpose.
45
THE CHRISTADELPHIAN EXPOSITOR
and not the covering of the Tabernacle
which is referred to independently in v.
25. For "badgers' skins", see comment at
Exod. 25:5. It was a protective covering
such as the flesh requires in its present
state of mortality.
"And shall spread over it a cloth wholly
of blue" — The covering of blue expressed the lesson conveyed by the colour (see
Num. 15:38-39). As the procession moved from place to place, the Israelites
would know that underneath that covering of blue was the Ark, the most holy
object in their worship: the meeting place
between Yahweh and flesh (see Exod.
25:22); His throne in Israel. By that
means they were reminded of their high
and holy calling. The Ark only was to be
of this colour, the Table had a covering of
scarlet, the Altar one of purple. Hence,
in procession, the Ark was covered
wholly with a covering of blue, the Table
of Shewbread with a covering of scarlet,
and the Altar of burnt offering with a
covering of purple. The other pieces of
furniture were draped over with badgers'
skins speaking of deliverance through
water. The three colours, Blue, Scarlet
and Purple set forth in order: (1) the ideal
of God manifestation, mental, moral and
physical; (2) the way it is to be attained:
through sacrifice of self; (3) the result:
God manjfest in the flesh, the colour of
royalty, involving rulership over self
(Prov. 16:32) and over the nations (Rev.
5:9-10). That lesson was proclaimed by
the various colours that covered the holy
furniture whilst Israel was on the march.
"And shall put hi the staves thereof —
Reference to the staves is found in Exod.
25:13. Actually, they were never removed from the Ark (Exod. 25:15), so that
the statement probably signifies that they
adjusted the staves for carrying. Note the
expression in v. 11.
CHAPTER FOUR
for the meal offerings, the last two for the
drink offerings. See marginal note, where
"cover" is rendered pour out withal. See
note Exod. 25:29; 29:40; 30:9.
"And the continual bread shall be
thereon" — The twelve loaves of bread,
piled in two heaps on the Table are here
called the Bread of Continuity (Young)
because they were never lacking (see 2
Chron. 2:4). The adjective is also applied
to the burnt offering, incense etc. This
Bread of Continuity (never lacking) foreshadows Christ, the antitypical Bread of
His presence. See John 6:56-58; 12:24-25.
VERSE 8
"And they shall spread upon them a
cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a
covering of badgers' skins, and shall put
in the staves thereof" — The cloth of blue
represented the principle of God manifestation, whilst scarlet represented sacrifice. The Table and the bread upon it
(which was eaten by the priests) set forth
the offer of fellowship to man, but as that
fellowship is only possible through sacrifice, it was covered with the cloth of
scarlet.
VERSE 9
"And they shall take a cloth of blue,
and cover the candlestick of the light, and
his lamps, and his tongs, and his snuffdishers, and all the oil vessels thereof,
wherewith they minister unto it" — For
these dishes etc., see notes on Exod.
25:31-39. The word "snuffdishes" is from
the Hebrew machtah from a root signifying to lay hold, to pick up (fire). It is also
rendered "censers" (Num. 16:6), and
firepans (Exod. 27:3). They evidently
were metal pans available for various
purposes associated with the oil lamps.
Candlestick" should be Lampstand;
candles were not used in the Tabernacle!
A cloth of blue covers the Lampstand
because it represents the word of light
which reveals the will and commandments of Yahweh, (see Num. 15:38-39).
VERSE 7
"And upon the table of shewbread they
shall spread a cloth of blue" — The word
"shewbread'" is paniym, and signifies
faces or presence. See Exod. 25:23. For VERSE 10
the significance of the cloth of blue, see
"And they shall put it and all the vessels
Num. 15:38-39.
thereof within a covering of badgers' skins,
"And put thereon the dishes, and the and shall put it upon a bar" — The word
spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover "bar" is from a Hebrew word denoting a
withal" — See Exod. 25:29-30 and Lev. yoke, such as the spies used in order to
24:6. Rotherham renders the sentence: carry the grapes back to the camp (Num.
"The dishes and the pans and the bowls 13:33). Rotherham renders the word as
and the libation cups. The first two were a frame, whilst the Septuagint has a rest.
46
THE CHRISTADELPHIAN EXPOSITOR
CHAPTER FOUR
It was evidently a bearing frame, such as
would be necessary to convey the Lampstand from place to place.
VERSE 11
"And upon the golden altar they shall
1 spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a
covering of badgers' skins, and shall put
to the staves thereof" — The expression,
■
put to, evidently signifies to adjust them
!
for carrying.
VERSE 12
"And they shall take all the instruments
of ministry, wherewith they minister in
the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of
blue, and cover them with a covering of
badgers' skins, and shall put them on a
bar" — This statement relates to all the
vessels and utensils not expressly mentioned previously. See previous notes regarding the covering etc.
VERSE 13
"And they shall take away the ashes
from the altar, and spread a purple cloth
thereon" — The Hebrew word for
"ashes" is dashen, and signifies fat. See
note, Lev. 1:16. Rotherham renders the
word as fat ashes. Evidently the altar was
cleansed of all fatty remnants prior to it
being covered with the purple cloth in
preparation for removal. The colour
purple is significant. It is a combination of
scarlet and blue; and as the former represents the sacrifice of flesh, and the latter
represents the commandments and teaching of Yahweh, purple becomes the
colour of God manifest in the flesh. This
is appropriate to the altar, for it represents flesh sacrificed and life dedicated to
doing the will of Yahweh.
VERSE 14
"And they shall put upon it all the
vessels thereof, wherewith they minister
about it, even the censers, the flesh-hooks,
and the shovels, and the basons, all the
vessels of the altar; and they shall spread
upon it a covering of badger's skins, and
■t
put to the staves of it" — For a descripi.
tion of the vessels connected with the
altar, see Exod. 27:1, 3, 6.
At the conclusion of v. 14, the Septuagint adds: "They shall take a purple cloth
and cover the laver and its foot, and they
shall put it in a blue cover of skin, and put
it on bars." The reference to the "blue
cover of skin" is to the badgers' skins of
the A.V.
47
VERSE 15
"And when Aaron and his sons have
made an end of covering the sanctuary,
and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the
camp is to set forward" — The greatest
reverence was to be shown toward these
items of spiritual significance, and hence,
whilst the Kohathites were given the privilege of conveying them from place to
place, the priests had first to prepare
them for that purpose.
"After that the sons of Kohath shall
come to bear it" — The Kohathites had
charge of seven items: the Ark, the golden Altar, the Table of shewbread, the
Lampstand, the instruments of ministry,
the brazen Altar, and the Laver. Seven is
the number of the covenant, and these
items have particular bearing upon the
covenant of Yahweh. In conveying them
from place to place, the Kohathites typically set forth the principles of the Truth,
as the Ecclesia does today in proclaiming
the Gospel message.
"After that, the sons of Kohath shall
come to bear it" — Though the boards
and so forth were placed upon wagons to
be conveyed from place to place, all of
the tabernacle furniture were carried by
Levites. See Num. 7:1-9 where it is expressly stated that no wagons were given
to the Kohathites. It was David's failure
to see that the Ark was so conveyed to
Zion that resulted in the tragedy of
Uzzah (cp. 2 Sam. 6:6; 1 Chron. 15:1-14).
"But they shall not touch any holy
thing, lest they die" — Even the Levites
who were chosen and consecrated to bear
the most holy things, were warned not to
touch them lest thy die. They had to bear
them upon the staves provided for the
purpose.
"These things are the burden of the
sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the
congregation" — See the summary in
Num. 3:31.
Eleazar's Service — v. 16
The High Priest elect supervised all the
labour of the Kohathites, foreshadowing
the work of Christ, who superceded the
Aaronic priesthood. He supervised the
work of the Apostles, and continues to
overlook the welfare of Ecclesias. See
Rev. 2:1.
VERSE 16
"And to the office of Eleazar the son of
Aaron the priest" — His name signifies
THE CHRISTADELPHIAN EXPOSITOR
El (God) hath helped. He was High Priest
elect, and therefore foreshadowed the
Lord Jesus Christ whose priesthood superceded that of the Aaronic order. He
was ancestor of the Zadokites (1 Chr.
6:4-8), typical of the immortal priests of
the Age to come (Ezek. 44:15-16).
"Pertaineth the oil for the light" —
Eleazar was personally responsible for
the items designated in this verse. In
regard to the oilfor the lamps see notes at
Exod. 25:6; 27:20; Lev. 24:2.
"And the sweet incense" — See notes
Exod. 25:6; 30:34; 31:11.
"And the daily meat offering" — The
reference is to the minchah, or grain
offering. The regular or "daily grain offering" was divided into two portions,
one offered in the morning and the other
in the evening (Lev. 6:19-23), so that
theoretically it would be necessary to
carry one half for the full day's march.
"And the anointing oil" — See notes
Exod. 30:23; 31:11.
"And the oversight of ail the tabernacle, and of all that therm is, ia the
sanctuary, and in the vesMb thtrtcf" —
Eleazar had to carefully supervise all that
was done to see that the holy furniture
and vessels were properly covered and
made ready for travel. The lives of the
Kohathites depended upon the care of his
supervision. See v. 19.
CHAPTER FOUR
concession is now granted them to do so
for the special purpose of taking up the
furniture therein, and conveying it from
place to place. Nevertheless, strict instructions are laid down for such occasions, and the holy furniture had to be
properly covered before entrance was
permitted. If this were not carried out
properly, the lives of the Kohathites
would be at risk (see 1 Chron. 15:12-15).
VERSE 19
"But thus do unto them, that they may
live, and not die, when they approach
unto the most holy things" — It is profitable to take note of the circumspection,
the care, the reverence to be manifested
in approaching the sacred things. The
same care needs to be exercised when we
approach the Father in prayer; it is tragic
to do so in the spirit of easy familiarity, as
is often the custom in the prevailing
religious world. Yahweh has declared; "I
will be sanctified in them that come nigh
Me" (Lev. 10:3).
"Aaron and his sons shall go in" —
Any approach to the sacred vessels must
be through the priest. In like manner, any
approach by us to divine things, must be
through our priest, the Lord Jesus Christ
(Heb. 10:21-22).
"And appoint them every one to his
service and to his burden" — Careful
instructions were issued as to the work to
be performed by each one. In like
Special Dispensation For The Kohathites manner, there needs to be proper order
in the administrations of Ecclesias (see 1
— vv. 17-20
Under normal circumstances it would Cor. 14:40; Col. 2:5).
have been death for the Kohathites to have VERSE 20
entered the Holy Place or the Most Holy
"But they shall not go in to see when the
but now special permission is granted
them to do so under certain conditions. holy things are covered, lest they die" —
This foreshadows the approach of saints The Kohathites must avert their eyes
to the Most Holy. See Hebrews 10:19- from the holy things, they were not to
look at them even for the briefest of
22.
moments. The verb "are covered" signifies in the Hebrew, to gulp down, to
VERSE 17
and literally denotes the instant
"And Yahweh spake unto Moses and swallow,
it takes to swallow. Rotherham renders
unto Aaron, saying" — This declaration the verse: "They shall not enter to see for
authenticates the concession that follows.
a moment that which is holy lest they
die". One might be tempted to enter in
VERSE 18
merely out of curiosity during the process
"Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of packing; but to do so was to risk one's
of the Kohathites from among the Le- life. The greatest reverence in approachvites" — Normally, Levites were not ing holy things had to be maintained at all
permitted to enter either the Holy or the costs. Consider the fate of the men of
Most Holy, and if they presumed to do Beth Shemesh who presumed to look into
so, it was at risk of life. However, a
the Ark of Yahweh (1 Sam. 6:19).
48
CHAPTER FOUR
The Age And Service Of The Gershonites
— vv. 21-23
Gershon was the literal firstborn of the
sons of Levi, but his family is made
subservient to that of Kohath, for the
reasons already advanced.
VERSE 21
"And Yahweh spake unto Moses, saying" — In this case, the instructions were
relayed to Aaron. Cp. v. 41.
VERSE 22
"Take also the sum of the sons of
Gershon, throughout the houses of their
fathers, by their families" — See note v.
VERSE 23
"From thirty years old and upward
until fifty years old shalt thou number
them" — See v. 3.
"All that enter in to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of
the congregation" — As is indicated by
the rendition in the margin, this is a
military term, and literally signifies to war
the warfare. A similar phrase occurs in v.
3: "To enter into the host to do the
work". The service of Yahweh is a sacred
warfare, part of which is to defend the
Tabernacle from pollution in any way,
keeping at bay those unauthorised to
enter therein, and maintaining the purity
of worship. See the same expression used
by Paul in the spiritual warfare in which
saints today are engaged (1 Tim. 1:18; 2
Tim.2:3).
The Service Of The Gershonites In Conveying The Tabernacle — vv. 24-28
The Gershonites are given the charge of
the Tabernacle coverings including the
hangings of the court etc.
VERSE 24
"This is the service of the families of the
Gershonites, to serve, and for burdens"
— "To serve" implies the labour of a
menial, a servant such as Paul described
himself in Romans 1:1, whilst the term
"burden" indicates the bearing of a load,
and in this context, conveying it from one
place to another.
VERSE 25
"And they shall bear the curtains of the
tabernacle of the congregation" — See
Num. 3:25-26. They arranged for the
THE CHRISTADELPHIAN EXPOSITOR
conveyance of all the hangings with the
exception of the veil at the entrance of
the Most Holy, which was placed around
the Ark. See v. 5. The first reference to
the tabernacle is the word Mishkan, and
denotes the dwelling place of Yahweh in
Israel; the second word is Ohel in Hebrew, and denotes the tent. The latter
phrase is rendered Tent of Meeting in the
RV.
"His covering" — See Exod. 36:14-18.
"And the covering of the badgers' skins
that is above upon it" — See Exod. 36:8.
"And the hanging for the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation" — See
Exod. 36:37-38.
VERSE 26
"And the hangings of the court, and the
hangings for the door of the court, which
is by the tabernacle and the altar round
about" — See Exod. 27:9-15.
"And their cords" — The cords of
those things previously enumerated, for
the Merantes carried the cords of the
hangings of the court. See v. 32.
"And all the instruments of their service, and all that is made for them: so
shall they serve" — Their work entailed
the care of the accessories associated with
the main objects they had to care for.
VERSE 27
"At the appointment of Aaron and his
sons shall be all the service of the sons of
the Gershonites, in all their burdens, and
in all their service: and ye shall appoint
unto them in charge all their burdens" —
The word "appointment" should read
mouth as in the margin. Whilst the duties
of the Gershonites were carefully laid
down, specific instructions were to be
issued by Aaron suitable to the moment
of conveyance, and it was expected of the
Levites that they adhere strictly thereto.
VERSE 28
"This is the service of the families of the
sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the
congregation; and their charge shall be
under the hand of Ithamar, the son of
Aaron the priest" — Those Levites, who
were in charge of the less holy Temple
furniture, were under the direction of
Ithamar, the other surviving son of
Aaron, and the father of the Aaronites (1
Chron. 12:27; 27:17). Thus the Zadokite
Levites had precedence over the Aaronic
THE CHRISTADELPHIAN EXPOSITOR
CHAPTER FOUR
pieces in a prefabricated building so that
there would be no confusion in the reerection. These pieces were assigned to
their bearers singly, and "by name".
They comprised the heavier portions of
the Tabernacle, and the command seems
intended to prevent individual Merarites
choosing their own burden, and so throwing more than the proper share on others.
It reminds us of Paul's exhortation to the
Galatians of the need to "bear one another's burdens" bearing in mind that
each one "must bear his own burden"
(Gal. 6:2-5).
Levites. Eli was a descendant of Ithamar,
and his descendant Abiathar was supplanted in favour of Zadok by Solomon
(1 Kings 1).
Age And Period Of The Merarites Service
— vv. 29-30
The ministry of the descendants of the
third son of Levi is outlined.
VERSE 29
"As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt
number them after their families, by the
house of their fathers" — See v. 2.
VERSE 30
"From thirty years old and upward
even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, everyone that entereth into the
service to do the work of the tabernacle of
the congregation" — See note v. 23.
The Merarite Service In Conveying The
Tabernacle — vv. 31-33
The Merarites had the heaviest labour.
They had charge of the boards, bars,
pillars, sockets etc. They had only 6,200
over a month old, but they had 3,200
effectives, and thus a natural provision for
heavier work. Thus Yahweh provides
strength where it is needed.
VERSE 31
"And this is the charge of their burden,
according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation" — See Num.
3:36-37, and note on Num. 4:24.
"The boards of the tabernacle, and the
bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and
the sockets thereof — See Exod. 26:1537. As noted above, this would comprise
the heaviest task in the work of conveyance.
VERSE 32
"And the pillars of the court round
about, and their sockets, and their pins,
and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service" — See
Exod. 27:9-19. The Merarites were responsible for all the frameworks and accessories.
"And by name ye shall reckon the
instruments of the charge of their burden" — The Septuagint renders this:
"Number them by name and all the articles borne by them". Evidently the pieces
of the frameworks were numbered, like
VERSE 33
"This is the service of the families of the
sons of Merari, according to all their
service, in the tabernacle of the congregation, under the hand of Ithamar the son
of Aaron the priest" — Ithamar had
charge of both the Gershonites and the
Merarites (cp. v. 28). However greater
care was to be given to the things borne
by the Kohathites under Eleazar than
those attended to by the other two divisions of the Levites. The former related
to the principles of God manifestation in
the lives of saints which is far more
difficult of attainment than the erection
of the edifice of worship (supervised by
the Merarites), or even the coverings
associated thereto (supervised by the
Gershonites). A person is covered in
Christ through baptism, which is far more
easily attained than the development of
Christ principles in the lives of those so
covered, symbolised by the Altar, Laver,
Lampstand, Table, Incense Altar and the
Ark. Hence the supervision of Eleazar
was exclusive to the Kohathites, whilst
that of Ithamar took in the rest of the
families of Levi. Eleazar's work was
greater. He had to see to the proper
covering of those objects carried by the
Kohathites, in a way not necessary in the
case of the burdens carried by the Gershonites and Merarites.
The Number Of The Kohathites —
vv. 34-37
Though numerically weaker than the
other two branches of Levites in the total
number over one month of age, the Kohathites had a greater number of effectives
than the other two, and hence were capable of the heavier work apportioned them
during the wilderness wanderings.
50
CHAPTER FOUR
VERSE 34
"And Moses and Aaron and the chief of
the congregation numbered the sons of the
Kohathites after their families, and after
the house of their fathers" — The title of
"chief" of the congregation (edah, an
assembly of witness or testimony) evidently was given to the princes as selected and
appointed. See Num. 1:5,16.
VERSE 35
"From thirty years old and upward
even unto fifty years old, every one that
entereth into the service, for the work in
the tabernacle of the congregation" —
The Hebrew word for "work" denotes
the labour of a servant which is the
position adopted by the Apostles in their
Ecclesial activities (see John 13:13-16;
Rom. 1:1). The word for "congregation"
denotes a set time, and is rendered by the
R.V. as Tent of Meeting. For the time
period set down see Num. 4:3.
VERSE 36
"And those that were numbered of
them by their families were two thousand
seven hundred and fifty" — Of the Merarites there were 2750 effectives out of a
total of 8600 over a month (Num. 3:15,
28). This represents a surplus of 5850
beneath and above the limits of thirty or
fifty years of age.
VERSE 37
"These were they that were numbered
of the families of the Kohathites all that
might do service in the tabernacle of the
congregation, which Moses and Aaron did
number according to the commandment
of Yahweh by the hand of Moses" —
Moses was given the command (v. 21),
but Aaron assisted him in the direction of
it.
THE CHRISTADELPHIAN EXPOSITOR
VERSE 40
"Even those that were numbered of
them, throughout their families, by the
house of their fathers, were two thousand
and six hundred and thirty" — The Gershonites had 2630 effectives out of a total
of 7500 over a month (Num. 3:22), a
surplus of 4870 beneath and above the
limits of thirty or fifty years of age.
VERSE 41
See n»tes above.
The Number of Merarites — w. 42-45
The number of the effectives among the
Merarites is now recorded.
VERSE 42,43
See notes above.
VERSE 44
"Even those that were numbered of
them after their families, were three thousand and two hundred" — The Merarites
had 3,200 effectives out of a total of 6200,
a surplus of 3,000 beneath and above the
limits of thirty to fifty years of age. They
had the highest number of effectives, but
also the hardest labour. This teaches the
lesson that Yahweh provides strength
when and where it is needed.
VERSE 45
See notes above.
The Total Number of Levites — w. 46-49
A general summary is now provided. It
is obvious that the numbering must have
been by tens, and not by individuals.
Perhaps the labour was undertaken by
groups of ten men. Jewish tradition set
down the minimum number of those who
could meet together to celebrate the Passover in accordance with the instructions
(see Exod. 12:4) as ten persons.
The Number of Gershonites — vv. 38-41 §iven
This well may have been the basis of the
The number of the effectives among the numbering in apportioning the work of
Gershonites is now recorded.
the Levites.
VERSE 38, 39
VERSES 46-49
See notes above.
See notes above.
51
THE CHRISTADELPHIAN EXPOSITOR
CENSUS OF LEVITES
Chapter 3 provides a general census and locatiorvof the various
families numbered
rom one
old and
upwards replace the
firstborns of all other tribes.
month
to
Chapter 4 lists the totals of those between the ages of 30 and 50 able
to serve in the various tasks allotted the
LevitesbeFamily
Males 1 mth. Males
Location & Chief
& Upwards
tween 30 & 50 Tribe
Gershonites
7,500
2630
West — Ephraim
Kohathites
8,600
2750
South - - Reuben
Merarites
6,200
3200
North - - Dan
Moses & Aaron
East — Judah
Carrying the sacred vessels during the Exodus was the duty of the Levites
52
CHAPTER FIVE