Chapter Eighteen
Additional Duties of the Priests and Levites
18:1 So the LORD said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood.
This is the only chapter that begins with God speaking to Aaron only, perhaps to provide further continuity from the previous chapter reconfirming the Levities and Aaron’s line for the priesthood. God tells him that he, his sons, and his father’s house (a reference to the entire tribe of Levi, some believe it could instead be a reference to the Kohathites who were responsible for the transportation of the holy furnishings) will bear iniquity (Hebrew ‘ǎwōn’,[1] guilt) if anyone trespasses or violates God’s ruling regarding the sanctity of the Tabernacle. And in like manner, he and his sons will bear iniquity if anyone violates the sanctity of the Tabernacle’s furnishings or rituals.
18:2 And with you bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and minister to you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. 3 They shall keep guard over you and over the whole tent, but shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar lest they, and you, die. 4 They shall join you and keep guard over the tent of meeting for all the service of the tent, and no outsider shall come near you. 5 And you shall keep guard over the sanctuary and over the altar, that there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel.
Those that were not priests from the tribe of Levi were allowed to assist the priests and be present while Aaron and his sons were serving God in their duties to keep guard, offering security for them and the Tabernacle (this chapter restates some of the instructions found earlier in this book, see Numbers 1:53; 3:7-8; 25, 28, 31-32, 36-38; 4:27-28). However, they were not allowed to come near any vessel or holy item, as both they and the priest would die. This was to prevent anyone to have access to the Tabernacle, to prevent any further wrath from God and subsequent deaths of the people.
18:6 And behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. They are a gift to you, given to the LORD, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 7 And you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and that is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”
God reminds Aaron that He previously removed the Levites from the people of Israel (see Numbers 3:12) and offered them as a gift to him (see Numbers 8:19). But it is up to Aaron and his sons to personally handle all priestly functions and duties associated with the bronze altar and duties done in the inner room behind the veil in the structure, as these duties are forbidden for non-priests, the latter being for the high priest only. God tells Aaron that since he was given the privilege to serve God in the priesthood, as a gift from God, anyone else who comes near these holy items or locations would be killed.
18:8 Then the LORD spoke to Aaron, “Behold, I have given you charge of the contributions made to me, all the consecrated things of the people of Israel. I have given them to you as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual due. 9 This shall be yours of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every grain offering of theirs and every sin offering of theirs and every guilt offering of theirs, which they render to me, shall be most holy to you and to your sons. 10 In a most holy place shall you eat it. Every male may eat it; it is holy to you. 11 This also is yours: the contribution of their gift, all the wave offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.
Aaron is reminded that all contributions for God were to be given to the priests. The contributions were considered holy, and portions were to be consumed by them to support them and their families (see Leviticus 6:14-18, 24-30; 7:1-38; 8:31; 10:12-14). Regarding the “most holy things,” those parts not sacrificed in the fire but reserved for the priests, including their portion of the grain offerings, sin offerings and guilt offerings; these are to be eaten in a most holy place, and any male relative may eat of those parts set aside for them. In addition, all the wave offerings were to be eaten by the entire family, everyone who is ceremonially clean.
18:12 All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the firstfruits of what they give to the LORD, I give to you. 13 The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the LORD, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.
When the people of Israel brought an offering to God of any wine or grain, it would always be their ‘best’ (Hebrew word ‘ḥē’·lěḇ’,[2] meaning ‘fat’, in this context the fat of something would refer to the finest), which, in addition to the firstfruits, were also given to the priests. The ripe fruit from all over the land that was given as an offering to God was theirs and everyone in their family that was ceremonially clean could eat from the offering.
18:14 Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. 15 Everything that opens the womb of all flesh, whether man or beast, which they offer to the LORD, shall be yours. Nevertheless, the firstborn of man you shall redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. 16 And their redemption price (at a month old you shall redeem them) you shall fix at five shekels in silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. 17 But the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and shall burn their fat as a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the LORD. 18 But their flesh shall be yours, as the breast that is waved and as the right thigh are yours.
Everything devoted to God was a possession of the priests, including firstborn human beings and unclean animals, which are to be redeemed at a fixed rate of five shekels of silver per head (see Numbers 3:47). But for firstborn clean animals, such as a cow (Hebrew ‘šôr’,[3] can be an ox, bull, cow, usually a male bovine), a sheep, or a goat, they are not to be redeemed as they are holy and are to be sacrificed. When allowed in accordance with the regulations regarding sacrifices, the meat was permitted to be consumed by them (see Exodus 29:26-28; Leviticus 7:31-34).
18:19 All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the LORD I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. It is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD for you and for your offspring with you.”
In summary all contributions that the people of Israel bring as offerings to God (since an offering was dedicated to God, it would be considered holy, separated from other items, now for God’s use), are for the priests and their families. Given to them by God, as a perpetual due, whatever was given to God was to support the priests and their families. This was an ongoing agreement, a covenant of salt that would extend for many generations. The reference to salt is widely interpreted, from being a binding agent, a preservative, to being a reference to community. However, the primary context seems to be in regard to longevity.[4]
18:20 And the LORD said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.
The Levites would not inherit any land in the Promised Land but would inherit several cities.[5] God informs Aaron that they will not inherit any territory of their own nor receive any portion of any land. But then proceeds to explain that he will inherit something far greater, he inherits God. No land is necessary as God will provide, through the contributions from the people of Israel, everything they will need. While there will be a small amount of land affiliated with those Levite cities, God is essentially telling Aaron that he and the other Levites are not to be farmers as they are in His service, and they are to rely on provisions from God.
18:21 “To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting, 22 so that the people of Israel do not come near the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. 23 But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance. 24 For the tithe of the people of Israel, which they present as a contribution to the LORD, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no inheritance among the people of Israel.”
To support the Levites, God tells Aaron that every tithe given to Him from the people of Israel is to be given to the Levites for their service, which includes providing security to prevent non-authorized people from approaching the Tabernacle. The Levites are the only ones allowed near the Tabernacle and they would be held responsible for any offenses taken against it. This was to be an ongoing role for them as they were not to be given any land allocations to sustain them. The text states again that the tithes from the people of Israel given as a contribution to YHWH were to be given to the Levites.
When God states that they shall have no inheritance among the people, He is not revoking what He just said about the tithes, the reference is regarding the inheritance of land once they arrive in the Promised Land.
18:25 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, ‘When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to the LORD, a tithe of the tithe. 27 And your contribution shall be counted to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress. 28 So you shall also present a contribution to the LORD from all your tithes, which you receive from the people of Israel. And from it you shall give the LORD’s contribution to Aaron the priest. 29 Out of all the gifts to you, you shall present every contribution due to the LORD; from each its best part is to be dedicated.’ 30 Therefore you shall say to them, ‘When you have offered from it the best of it, then the rest shall be counted to the Levites as produce of the threshing floor, and as produce of the winepress. 31 And you may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is your reward in return for your service in the tent of meeting. 32 And you shall bear no sin by reason of it, when you have contributed the best of it. But you shall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel, lest you die.’ ”
Now speaking to Moses, God tells him to explain to the Levites what they are to do with the tithe offerings when they receive them, as they are not exempt from offering tithes themselves. From the tithes given to them they are to offer a contribution to YHWH, “a tithe of the tithe.” Just as the best of the grain and wine from the people were to be presented to the priests (see verse 12), this tithe of a tithe would also be given to Aaron for the priests on their behalf. There were no restrictions, the Levites were allowed to eat the food offered anywhere they wanted as it was compensation for their duties at the Tabernacle. Then God warns that they were to respect the holy things of the people of Israel (all things related to the Tabernacle, referred to being “of the people of Israel” as the primarily role and purpose of the Tabernacle was to allow God to dwell among the people and provide atonement for them), if they defiled any of the items, they would be killed.
⇐Previous Chapter (Introduction/Index) Next Chapter⇒
[1] Strong’s Hebrew 5771.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 2459.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 7794.
[4] See commentary under Leviticus 2:11-16
[5] See commentary under Leviticus 25:29-34.