Aaron’s Sons and the Levites

3 These are the family records of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.^{(A) 2} These are the names of Aaron’s sons: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³ These are the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. ⁴ But Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord’s presence when they presented unauthorised fire^(B) before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests under the direction of Aaron their father.^(C)

⁵ The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁶ ‘Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to the priest Aaron to assist him. ⁷ They are to perform duties for^[a] him and the entire community before the tent of meeting by attending to the service of the tabernacle. ⁸ They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting^(D) and perform duties for the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle. ⁹ Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him^[b] from the Israelites.^{(E) 10} You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out their priestly responsibilities, but any unauthorised person who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.’^(F)

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹² ‘See, I have taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb.^(G) The Levites belong to me, ¹³ because every firstborn belongs to me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt,^(H) I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to myself, both man and animal. They are mine; I am the Lord.’^(I)

The Levitical Census

¹⁴ The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai: ¹⁵ ‘Register the Levites by their ancestral families^[c] and their clans. You are to register every male one month old or more.’ ¹⁶ So Moses registered them in obedience to the Lord as he had been commanded:

¹⁷ These were Levi’s sons by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁸ These were the names of Gershon’s sons by their clans: Libni and Shimei. ¹⁹ Kohath’s sons by their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ²⁰ Merari’s sons by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans by their ancestral families.^(J)

²¹ The Libnite clan and the Shimeite clan came from Gershon; these were the Gershonite clans. ²² Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 7,500. ²³ The Gershonite clans camped behind the tabernacle on the west side,^{(K) 24} and the leader of the Gershonite families^[d] was Eliasaph son of Lael. ²⁵ The Gershonites’ duties^(L) at the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting,^{(M) 26} the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance^(N) to the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, and the tent ropes – all the work relating to these.

²⁷ The Amramite clan, the Izharite clan, the Hebronite clan, and the Uzzielite clan came from Kohath; these were the Kohathites. ²⁸ Counting every male one month old or more, there were 8,600^[e] responsible for the duties of^[f] the sanctuary. ²⁹ The clans of the Kohathites camped on the south side of the tabernacle,^{(O) 30} and the leader of the families of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. ³¹ Their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the sanctuary utensils that were used with these, and the screen^[g](P) – and all the work relating to them.^{(Q) 32} The chief of the Levite leaders was Eleazar^(R) son of Aaron the priest; he had oversight of those responsible for the duties of the sanctuary.

³³ The Mahlite clan and the Mushite clan came from Merari; these were the Merarite clans. ³⁴ Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 6,200. ³⁵ The leader of the families of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they camped on the north side of the tabernacle.^{(S) 36} The assigned duties of Merari’s descendants involved the tabernacle’s supports, crossbars, pillars, bases, all its equipment, and all the work related to these,^{(T) 37} in addition to the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes.

³⁸ Moses, Aaron, and his sons, who performed the duties of^[h] the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Israelites, camped in front of the tabernacle on the east,^(U) in front of the tent of meeting towards the sunrise. Any unauthorised person who came near it was to be put to death.^(V)

³⁹ The total number of all the Levite males one month old or more that Moses and Aaron^[i] registered by their clans at the Lord’s command was 22,000.

Redemption of the Firstborn

⁴⁰ The Lord told Moses, ‘Register every firstborn male of the Israelites^(W) one month old or more, and list their names. ⁴¹ You are to take the Levites for me – I am the Lord – in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of every firstborn among the Israelites’ cattle.’ ⁴² So Moses registered every firstborn among the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him. ⁴³ The total number of the firstborn males one month old or more listed by name was 22,273.

⁴⁴ The Lord spoke to Moses again: ⁴⁵ ‘Take the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of their cattle. The Levites belong to me; I am the Lord.^{(X) 46} As the redemption price for the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites, ⁴⁷ collect five shekels for each person, according to the standard sanctuary shekel – twenty gerahs to the shekel.^{[j](Y) 48} Give the silver to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are in excess among the Israelites.’

⁴⁹ So Moses collected the redemption amount from those in excess of the ones redeemed by the Levites. ⁵⁰ He collected the silver from the firstborn Israelites: 1,365 shekels^[k] measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. ⁵¹ He gave the redemption silver to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the Lord, just as the Lord commanded Moses.