Numbers 3
Names of God Bible
The Tribe of Levi Is Registered and Assigned Duties
3 This is the list of Aaron and Moses’ descendants at the time when Yahweh spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai.
2 The names of Aaron’s sons are Nadab (the firstborn), Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. 4 Nadab and Abihu died in Yahweh’s presence because they offered unauthorized fire in Yahweh’s presence in the Desert of Sinai. They had no children. So only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.
5 Yahweh said to Moses, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi, and have them stand in front of the priest Aaron to assist him. 7 They will work for him and the whole community in front of the tent of meeting, doing what needs to be done for the inner tent. 8 They will take care of all the furnishings in the tent of meeting and work for the Israelites, doing what needs to be done for the inner tent. 9 Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. The Levites will be the only Israelites given to them. 10 Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests. Anyone else who tries to do the priests’ duties must be put to death.”
11 Yahweh said to Moses, 12 “Out of all the Israelites, I have taken the Levites to be substitutes for every firstborn male offspring among them. The Levites are mine, 13 because every firstborn is mine. The day I killed every firstborn male in Egypt, I set apart as holy every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal. They will be mine. I am Yahweh.”
14 Yahweh said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai, 15 “Count the Levites by households and families. Count every male who is at least one month old.” 16 So Moses did what Yahweh said and registered them as he had been commanded.
17 Gershon, Kohath, and Merari were the sons of Levi.
18 Libni and Shimei were the sons of Gershon. Their families were named after them.
19 Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel were the sons of Kohath. Their families were named after them.
20 Mahli and Mushi were the sons of Merari. Their families were named after them.
These were the households of Levite families.
21 To Gershon belonged the families descended from Libni and Shimei. These were the families descended from Gershon. 22 The total number of all the males at least one month old was 7,500. 23 The families descended from Gershon put up their tents on the west side behind the tent of meeting. 24 The leader of the Gershonite households was Eliasaph, son of Lael. 25 At the tent of meeting the Gershonites were in charge of the inner tent, the outer tent and cover, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting, 26 the curtains for the courtyard, the screen for the entrance to the courtyard that surrounds the inner tent and the altar, and the ropes. They took care of all these things.
27 To Kohath belonged the families descended from Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. These were the families descended from Kohath. 28 The number of all the males at least one month old was 8,600. They were in charge of the holy place. 29 The families descended from Kohath put up their tents on the south side of the tent of meeting. 30 The leader of the Kohathite families and households was Elizaphan, son of Uzziel. 31 They were in charge of the ark, the table, the lamp stand, the altars, the utensils used in the holy place, and the screen. They took care of all these things.
32 The chief leader of the Levites was Eleazar, son of the priest Aaron. It was Eleazar’s duty to supervise those who were in charge of the holy place.
33 To Merari belonged the families descended from Mahli and Mushi. These were the families descended from Merari. 34 The total number of all the males at least one month old was 6,200. 35 The leader of the Merarite families and households was Zuriel, son of Abihail. They put up their tents on the north side of the tent of meeting. 36 It was the duty of the Merarites to be in charge of the framework of the inner tent, the crossbars, posts, sockets, and all the equipment. They took care of all these things. 37 They also took care of the posts for the surrounding courtyard, the bases, pegs, and ropes.
38 Moses, Aaron, and his sons put up their tents on the east side in front of the tent of meeting. They were in charge of the holy place on behalf of the Israelites. Anyone else who tried to do the Levites’ duties had to be put to death.
39 The grand total of Levites that Moses and Aaron counted at Yahweh’s command, by families, every male who was at least one month old, was 22,000.
40 Yahweh said to Moses, “Register every firstborn male of the Israelites who is at least one month old, and make a list of their names. 41 I am Yahweh. Take the Levites for me to be substitutes for all firstborn Israelites. Also take the animals of the Levites to be substitutes for all firstborn animals of the Israelites.”
42 So Moses registered all the firstborn Israelites as Yahweh commanded him. 43 The total of all the firstborn males at least one month old was 22,273. They were listed by name.
44 Yahweh said to Moses, 45 “Take the Levites to be substitutes for all the firstborn Israelites and the animals of the Levites to be substitutes for their animals. The Levites will be mine. I am Yahweh. 46 There are 273 more firstborn male Israelites than there are Levites. 47 It will cost you two ounces of silver per person (using the standard weight of the holy place) to buy them back. 48 Give the silver to Aaron and his sons. It will buy back those Israelites who outnumber the Levites.”
49 So Moses took this ransom money from the Israelites who outnumbered the Levites. 50 The silver Moses collected for the firstborn Israelites weighed 34 pounds, using the standard weight of the holy place. 51 Then Moses did what Yahweh said and gave Aaron and his sons this ransom money as he had been commanded.
Numbers 3
Expanded Bible
Aaron’s Family, the Priests
3 ·This is the family history [L These are the generations; Gen. 2:4] of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord talked to Moses on Mount Sinai.
2 ·Aaron had four sons [L These are the names of the sons of Aaron]: Nadab, the ·oldest [firstborn], Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These were the names of Aaron’s sons, who were appointed to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of the Lord when they offered ·the wrong kind of [L strange; C an inappropriate performance of a ritual] fire before the Lord in the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Sinai [Lev. 10]. They had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.
5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi and ·present them to [L make them stand before] Aaron the priest to ·help [minister to; assist] him. 7 They will ·help [take care of] him and all the ·Israelites [community; assembly; congregation] at the Meeting Tent, doing the work in the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle]. 8 The Levites must take care of everything in the Meeting Tent and serve the people of Israel by doing the work in the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle]. 9 Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; of all the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], the Levites are given completely to him. 10 Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests, but anyone else who comes near the holy things must be put to death.”
11 The Lord also said to Moses, 12 “I am ·choosing [taking] the Levites from all the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] to take the place of all the firstborn ·children [L who open the womb] of ·Israel [L the sons/T children of Israel]. The Levites will be mine, 13 because the firstborn are mine. When you were in Egypt, I ·killed [L struck] all the firstborn ·children of the [L in the land of the] Egyptians [Ex. 12:12–13] and took all the firstborn of Israel to be mine [Ex. 13:2, 11–16; 22:29–30; 34:19–20], both animals and children. They are mine. I am the Lord.”
14 The Lord again said to Moses in the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Sinai, 15 “Count the ·Levites [L sons/descendants of Levi] by ·families [clans] and family groups. Count every male one month old or older.” 16 So Moses obeyed the Lord and counted them all.
17 Levi had three sons, whose names were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18 The Gershonite ·family groups [clans] were Libni and Shimei [4:21–28].
19 The ·Kohathite family groups [L the sons/descendants of Kohath by their clans] were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel [4:1–20].
20 The ·Merarite family groups [L the sons/descendants of Merari by their clans] were Mahli and Mushi [4:29–33].
These were the ·family groups [clans according to the family groups] of the Levites.
21 The ·family groups [clans] of Libni and Shimei belonged to Gershon; they were the Gershonite ·family groups [clans]. 22 The number that was counted was 7,500 males one month old or older. 23 The Gershonite ·family groups [clan] camped on the west side, behind the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle]. 24 The leader of the ·families [family groups] of Gershon was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25 In the Meeting Tent the Gershonites were in charge of the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle], its covering [Ex. 26:1–6], the curtain at the entrance to the Meeting Tent, 26 the curtains in the courtyard, the curtain at the entry to the courtyard around the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle] and the altar, the ropes, and all the work connected with these items.
27 The ·family groups [clans] of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel belonged to Kohath; they were the Kohathite ·family groups [clans]. 28 They had 8,600 males one month old or older, and they were responsible for taking care of the Holy Place. 29 The Kohathite ·family groups [clans] camped south of the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle]. 30 The leader of the Kohathite families was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. 31 They were responsible for the Ark [Ex. 25:10], the table [Ex. 25:23–30], the lampstand [L Menorah; Ex. 25:31–40], the altars [Ex. 27:1–8], the tools of the Holy Place which they were to use, the curtain, and all the work connected with these items. 32 The main leader of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, who was in charge of all those responsible for the Holy Place.
33 The ·family groups [clans] of Mahli and Mushi belonged to Merari; they were the Merarite ·family groups [clans]. 34 The number that was counted was 6,200 males one month old or older. 35 The leader of the Merari families was Zuriel son of Abihail, and they were to camp north of the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle]. 36 The Merarites were responsible for the frames of the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle], the ·braces [bars], the ·posts [pillars], the bases, and all the work connected with these items. 37 They were also responsible for the ·posts [pillars] in the courtyard around the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle] and their bases, tent pegs, and ropes.
38 Moses, Aaron, and his sons camped east of the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle], toward the sunrise, in front of the Meeting Tent. They were responsible for the Holy Place for the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]. Anyone else who came near the Holy Place was to be put to death.
39 Moses and Aaron counted the Levite men by their ·families [clans], as the Lord commanded, and there were 22,000 males one month old or older.
Levites Take the Place of the Firstborn Sons
40 The Lord said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn sons in Israel one month old or older, and list their names. 41 Take the Levites for me instead of the firstborn sons of Israel; take the animals of the Levites instead of the firstborn animals from the ·rest [L sons] of Israel. I am the Lord.”
42 So Moses did what the Lord commanded and counted all the firstborn sons of the Israelites. 43 When he listed all the firstborn sons one month old or older, there were 22,273 names.
44 The Lord also said to Moses, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn sons of the Israelites, and take the animals of the Levites instead of the animals of the other people. The Levites are mine. I am the Lord. 46 Since there are 273 more firstborn sons than Levites, 47 collect ·two ounces [L five shekels] of silver for each of the 273 sons. Use the ·measure as set by [L shekel of] the Holy Place, which is ·two-fifths of an ounce [L a shekel of twenty gerahs]. 48 Give the silver to Aaron and his sons as the payment for the 273 Israelites.”
49 So Moses collected the money for the people the Levites could not ·replace [redeem]. 50 From the firstborn of the Israelites, he collected ·thirty-five pounds [L 1,365 shekels] of silver, using the ·measure set by [L shekel of] the Holy Place. 51 Moses obeyed the command of the Lord and gave the silver to Aaron and his sons.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.