Chapter Three
Sons of Aaron
3:1 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.
Before returning to the subject of the Levites, we are first given a recap of Aaron’s sons, who along with their father, were ordained to serve God as priests (see Exodus 29:1-46). Then when Nadab and Abihu disobeyed God they were killed by Him (see Leviticus 10:1-2),[1] that left only Eleazar and Ithamar as priests and Aaron as the high priest.
The Levites Belong to God
3:5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.”
Moses was instructed by God to bring the tribe of Levi near Aaron and the Tabernacle. The Levites were designated to assist and protect Aaron and his sons. They were also to maintain the Tabernacle and all its furnishings, serving God on behalf of the people of Israel. However, the Levites were to only assist the priests, as they alone were the ones appointed to perform the priestly duties, if anyone else tried to serve as a priest (including a non-priest Levite), such as offer a sacrifice, they would be put to death.
3:11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD.”
Shortly after the first Passover, God instituted the requirement of consecrating and dedicating all firstborn to Him (setting them apart for Himself, see Exodus 13:1-2, 11-16). Now, instead of the firstborn from all the people of Israel, God is taking the Levites (although redemption will still be required later, see Numbers 18:15-19). The precision of this exchange will be later shown in verses 40-51. God then reminds the reader what He did on the night of the tenth plague to release the Israelites, killing the firstborn or both man and animal that were not in the homes protected by the blood of the lamb, and from that moment on, the firstborn belonged to Him.
3:14 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “List the sons of Levi, by fathers’ houses and by clans; every male from a month old and upward you shall list.” 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. 17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers’ houses.
God now has Moses count and list the Levites, however since they were exempted from war, the criteria were very different. Each male from the age of one month old and older was to be included, period, no other requirements. The Levites were listed by the three sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, then further identified by families of their sons.
3:21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 7,500. 23 The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites. 25 And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service connected with these.
After the males one month and older were counted, each of the families of the sons of Levi were given camp location assignments and duties relating to the Tabernacle. The families related to Levi’s son Gershon were 7,500 in number and were to camp together behind the Tabernacle on the west side. They were assigned to guard the structure, the screen entrance into the structure, the courtyard hangings (fence around the courtyard), the screen entrance into the courtyard, and all the mechanisms used to hold everything in place. The word that is translated here as “guard duty” is the Hebrew word ‘miš·mě’·rěṯ’,[2] first seen in Genesis 26:5 is often translated as ‘charge’, as in taking responsibility for something. While security would indeed be part of their duties, they would also be responsible for care, maintenance, and logistics of these items (see Numbers 4:24-26), in other words, everything, all the service (Hebrew ‘ǎḇō·ḏāṯ’,[3] work) related to them.
3:27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers’ house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these.
The Kohathites were assigned to camp on the south side of the Tabernacle, their male population one month and older was 8,600. They were given the responsibility to take care of and transport the ark, the table, the lampstand, both altars, all the vessels used (pots, etc.), and the screen (or veil) which hung between the Most Holy Place and the Holy Place inside the structure, but only after the priests have removed it (see Numbers 4:5-6).
3:32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary.
Eleazar, Aaron’s oldest living son, was given the responsibility of overseeing the work of the Levites. The chiefs of each son of Levi family group (Eliasaph, see verse 24; Elizaphan, see verse 30; and Zuriel, see verse 35) were to report to Eleazar. This was undoubtedly reported here as Moses, Aaron, and his sons, including Eleazar, were from the Kohath family line.
3:33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers’ house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 also the pillars around the court, with their bases and pegs and cords.
The Merarites were assigned to camp on the north side of the Tabernacle and their male population older than one month was 6,200 in number. They were assigned the care and responsibility of the various bases, pillars, bars, and all the hardware associated with the structure’s frame and the framework of the courtyard walls. The Gershonites were responsible for the coverings and all the wall materials, the Merarites handled parts to the structure on which the coverings and wall materials were hung on.
3:38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the LORD, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000.
Moses and the priests were to camp directly in front of the Tabernacle. This allowed the priests and their families to keep watch of those coming near the Tabernacle. By keeping unauthorized people away, they protected any potential violators from being put to death. The total number of male Levites one month and older were 22,000.
New Rules Regarding the Redemption of the Firstborn
3:40 And the LORD said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the LORD commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273.
Instead of the firstborn Israelites being God’s possession requiring redemption (a rule after the first Passover, see Exodus 13:11-16), God now exchanges the Levite males for those firstborn among the other tribes. The process of exchanging the firstborn males of the people of Israel to that of the firstborn of the Levites (see verses 11-13) required two steps. The first step was to count the number of firstborn males one month and older from all the other tribes (not including the tribe of Levi), that number was 22,273. The second step would be the redemption payment itself (see verses 44-51), however, before continuing we need to recognize that there are several concerns regarding the number 22,273.
First is the problem that 22,273 is 273 more than the equivalent number of male Levites, meaning that if there was to be a precise number in exchange, something will need to be added to compensate for the difference. Then secondly, speaking of precision, the number 22,273 seems rather exact when compared to the apparently rounded number of 22,000 (considered by many to either be inflated or rhetorical). Thirdly, a potential issue comes to light when 22,273 is compared to the total number of able men counted earlier between the ages of twenty years and older (603,550, see Numbers 1:46), which would require the average family to have 14 and upwards to 27 children. Fourthly and finally, the numbers of the three family groups adds up to 22,300, not 22,000 (see verses 22, 28, and 34).
Taking the last issue first, it is possible that the total of 22,300 was due to a copyist error, with the omission of a single letter in verse 28, that would change the number of 8,300 Merarites to be the reported 8,600, making the 22,000 the correct total (especially since that total is critical for the calculations in the remaining verses). The third issue is a little harder to explain, some suggest that the number of firstborns were to be tallied from the day they left Egypt, since the requirement for consecrating the firstborn began only after the tenth plague occurred. Regarding the first two concerns above, the remaining portion of this chapter does address them.
3:44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD. 46 And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.
God referred to the total difference between the firstborn male Israelites and the number of Levites as being 273, which is used as a baseline figure for the price of redemption. It would require several copyist errors to account for the use of the higher total, which is not likely. Regarding the first concern above about the number of Levites being too low, God established a way for them to be redeemed by paying five shekels per head using the “shekel of the sanctuary” as the standard reference for the measure of the silver weight. Moses received a total of 1,365 shekels from the firstborn of Israel and gave the silver to Aaron and his sons. Since the price of five shekels for each firstborn redemption will later be reconfirmed and fixed (see Numbers 18:16), the number 273 can be verified as being accurate (1,365 divided by 5).
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[1] See also the commentary under those verses.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 4931.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 5656.