Chapter Four
Levites Counted and Assigned Duties
4:1 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 3 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things. 5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles. 7 And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular showbread also shall be on it. 8 Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. 10 And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. 11 And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 12 And they shall take all the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. 13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.
God tells Moses and Aaron to count the number of males from the family of Kohath between the ages of thirty and fifty years old, that are able to work at the Tabernacle. The Kohathites were responsible for the “most holy things,” essentially all the items used in conjunction with the operation of the Tabernacle.
When God wanted the Israelites to set out and move, the High Priest and the other priests were to remove the veil that separated the two rooms in the structure (see Numbers 3:31) and cover the ark of the testimony with it (to prevent anyone from looking at the ark) and prepare it for transporting. They also got the table, the lampstand, the golden altar, the bronze altar, all the other furnishings, utensils, vessels, and accessories associated with the operation of the Tabernacle appropriately covered and prepared for transportation. Since the priests were the only ones authorized to use or touch these items, they prepared everything to be moved. Once finished, the Kohathites could then move them to the next location.
The Hebrew word ‘ṣā·ḇā(‘)’,[1] meaning service or servants, was used over 30 times in the first two chapters of the book of Numbers, each time referring to military service,[2] here the same word (translated as ‘duty’ six times in this chapter) is connected to the Levities’ service to God. While the Levites will be used for other tasks involving the Tabernacle and other God-ordained jobs, this section focuses primarily on the logistics of moving a portable facility. The Hebrew word ‘mǎś·śā(‘)’[3] referring to a burden or a load, is used nine times in this chapter, which here pertains to the burden of carrying or transporting the various components of the Tabernacle.
4:16 “And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.”
Eleazar, was responsible for the oil required for the lamps, the incense, the anointing oil, and the daily grain offerings (see Exodus 29:38-42). He was also given the responsibility and oversight of the entire Tabernacle.
4:17 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18 “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, 19 but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, 20 but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.”
God warns Moses and Aaron to not let the Kohathites be destroyed. First, the priests need to make sure that the holy items are appropriately packed and made ready to move before turning the cargo over to the Kohathites. Next, they need to appoint and instruct them on what they need to do, and explain to them that, regardless of circumstances, they are never to open and look, or even, “sneak a peek” at these items, or they will die.
4:21 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ houses and by their clans. 23 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: 25 they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting 26 and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. 28 This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
God then spoke to Moses (no Aaron this time) and told him to count the number of Gershonite males between the ages of thirty and fifty years old who can help at the Tabernacle. The Gershonites were tasked with carrying the Tabernacle’s coverings, screens, hangings, and all related equipment. They are to take their instruction of what to carry from Moses, however, Aaron’s son Ithamar was the one given oversight of them.
4:29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers’ houses. 30 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 31 And this is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, 32 and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall list by name the objects that they are required to carry. 33 This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”
Next, Moses was to count the number of males between the ages of thirty years old to fifty years old from the Merari family that can work at the Tabernacle. They were responsible to carry the frames, boards, bars, pillars, and bases that held up the structure and the courtyard fence, as well as all the related hardware and accessories. Moses is to create a comprehensive list of everything they need to carry, but like the Gershonites, they would also be supervised by Ihamar the priest.
4:34 And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 35 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting; 36 and those listed by clans were 2,750. 37 This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses.
Assisted by Aaron and the chiefs of the Levites assembled (Hebrew ‘ē·ḏā(h)’,[4] refers to an assembly or congregation, in this scenario, God had Moses call the Levites together, see Numbers 3:6), the census was taken of the three Levite families to determine the count of males between the age of thirty and fifty years old that were able to serve at the Tabernacle. The number of Kohathites meeting that criteria were 2,750.
4:38 Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 39 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting— 40 those listed by their clans and their fathers’ houses were 2,630. 41 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD.
The number of males 30-50 years old counted from the sons of Gershon that were capable of helping was 2,630.
4:42 Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 43 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting— 44 those listed by clans were 3,200. 45 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses.
The number of males counted from the son of Merari that were between the ages of 30 years old and 50 years old that were able to help was 3,200.
4:46 All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 47 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, 48 those listed were 8,580. 49 According to the commandment of the LORD through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the LORD commanded Moses.
The total number of males from the Levites (Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites) between the ages of thirty and fifty years old that were able to work at the Tabernacle, was 8,580.
Considerations
It is often implied from the instructions given in this chapter that the minimum age for a priest to begin serving as a priest was thirty years old, which corresponds well with Jesus being approximately thirty years old at the beginning of His ministry (being our High Priest, see Hebrews 4:14, although His exact age was not mentioned, see Luke 3:23). The Talmud Tractate Hulilin suggests when the priest-to-be reaches maturity (based on pubic hair, not a specific age), but then goes on to say they wouldn’t be allowed to serve until turning twenty.[5]
The age of eligibility for the office is not fixed in the Law; but according to rabbinical tradition it was twenty (2 Chron. 31:17; Maimonides, “Yad,” Kele ha-Miḳdash, v. 15; Ḥul. 24b; ‘Ar. 13b)[6]
Regardless of other writings, the Bible does not mention nor clearly state the minimum age requirement for a priest. It should be noted that the age groupings listed in the book of Numbers for male Israelites range from simply being counted to being qualified for a specific job category or service. For all non-Levites, the count was for all 20 year and older that were capable to fight in order serve in military service (see Numbers chapters 1 and 2). For the Levites to be counted for redemption, the age range was one month and older (Numbers chapter 3). For all Levites 30-50 years old they were required to serve God through their assigned Tabernacle logistics duty (see above). In chapter eight we will see that the Levites will also have a non-physical ministry associated with the Tabernacle where they can serve from the age of 25 years and older (see Numbers 8:24-25). Each category had different age brackets and criteria, however none of the categories seem to apply specifically to a priest.
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 6635.
[2] See the commentaries under Genesis 2:1-3 and Exodus 6:26-27.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 4853.
[4] Strong’s Hebrew 5712.
[5] Neusner, J. (2011). The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary (Vol. 20, p. 104). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.
[6] Singer, I. (Ed.). (1901–1906). In The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day, 12 Volumes (Vol. 6, p. 390). New York; London: Funk & Wagnalls.