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Texts -- Numbers 4:1-13 (NET)

Context
The Service of the Kohathites
4:1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron : 4:2 “Take a census of the Kohathites from among the Levites , by their families and by their clans , 4:3 from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old , all who enter the company to do the work in the tent of meeting . 4:4 This is the service of the Kohathites in the tent of meeting , relating to the most holy things . 4:5 When it is time for the camp to journey , Aaron and his sons must come and take down the screening curtain and cover the ark of the testimony with it. 4:6 Then they must put over it a covering of fine leather and spread over that a cloth entirely of blue , and then they must insert its poles . 4:7 “On the table of the presence they must spread a blue cloth , and put on it the dishes , the pans , the bowls , and the pitchers for pouring , and the Bread of the Presence must be on it continually . 4:8 They must spread over them a scarlet cloth , and cover the same with a covering of fine leather ; and they must insert its poles . 4:9 “They must take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand of the light , with its lamps , its wick-trimmers , its trays , and all its oil vessels , with which they service it. 4:10 Then they must put it with all its utensils in a covering of fine leather , and put it on a carrying beam . 4:11 “They must spread a blue cloth on the gold altar , and cover it with a covering of fine leather ; and they must insert its poles . 4:12 Then they must take all the utensils of the service , with which they serve in the sanctuary , put them in a blue cloth , cover them with a covering of fine leather , and put them on a carrying beam . 4:13 Also, they must take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it.

Pericope

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Bible Dictionary

  • Priest

    [smith] The English word is derived from the Greek presbyter , signifying an "elder" (Heb. cohen). Origin. --The idea of a priesthood connects itself in all its forms, pure or corrupted, with the consciousness, more or less distinct ...
    [nave] PRIEST. Before Moses Melchizedek, Gen. 14:18; Heb. 5:6, 10, 11; 6:20; 7:1-21. Jethro, Ex. 2:16. Priests in Israel before the giving of the law, Ex. 19:22, 24. Called angel, Eccl. 5:6. Mosaic Ex. 28:1-4; 29:9, 44; Num....

  • Kohathites

    [ebd] the descendants of Kohath. They formed the first of the three divisions of the Levites (Ex. 6:16, 18; Num. 3:17). In the journeyings of the Israelites they had the charge of the most holy portion of the vessels of the tabern...

  • Levites

    [nave] LEVITES The descendants of Levi. Set apart as ministers of religion, Num. 1:47-54; 3:6-16; 16:9; 26:57-62; Deut. 10:8; 1 Chr. 15:2. Substituted in the place of the firstborn, Num. 3:12, 41-45; 8:14, 16-18; 18:6. Religious ...

  • PRIESTS AND LEVITES

    [isbe] PRIESTS AND LEVITES - (kohen, "priest"; nothing is definitely known as to the origin of the word; Lewi, "Levite," on which see LEVI): I. DIFFERENT VIEWS OF THE HISTORY 1. The Old View 2. The Graf-Wellhausen View 3. Mediating...

  • David

    [ebd] beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother's name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam. 17:25. As to his personal ...

  • EXODUS, THE BOOK OF, 3-4

    [isbe] EXODUS, THE BOOK OF, 3-4 - III. Historical Character. 1. General Consideration: The fact that extra-Israelitish and especially Egyptian sources that can lay claim to historical value have reported nothing authentic concernin...

  • Altar

    [ebd] (Heb. mizbe'ah, from a word meaning "to slay"), any structure of earth (Ex. 20:24) or unwrought stone (20:25) on which sacrifices were offered. Altars were generally erected in conspicuous places (Gen. 22:9; Ezek. 6:3; 2 Kin...
    [nave] ALTAR Built by Noah, Gen. 8:20; Abraham, Gen. 12:7, 8; 13:18; 22:9; Isaac, Gen. 26:25; Jacob, Gen. 33:20; 35:1-7; Moses, Ex. 17:15; 24:4; Balaam, Num. 23:1, 14, 29; Joshua, Deut. 27:4-7; Josh. 8:30-32; Reubenites and Gadites...

  • Colors

    [nave] COLORS Symbolical uses of. Black A Symbol of Affliction and Calamity. Job 3:5; Job 10:20-22; Job 30:26; Psa. 107:10, 11; Psa. 143:3; Isa. 5:30; Isa. 8:22; Isa. 9:19; Isa. 24:11; Isa. 50:3; Joel 2:6, 10; Joel 3:14, 15; Amos...

  • Tabernacle

    [nave] TABERNACLE One existed before Moses received the pattern authorized on Mount Sinai, Ex. 33:7-11. The one instituted by Moses was called Sanctuary, Ex. 25:8; Tabernacle, Ex. 27:21; 33:7; 2 Chr. 5:5; of Testimony, Ex. 38:21; ...

  • Skin

    [isbe] SKIN - (`or, geledh, "human skin" (Job 16:15), basar, "flesh," in the sense of "nakedness" (Ps 102:5 the King James Version); derma): Literal: The word `or designates the skin of both men and animals, the latter both raw and...
    [nave] SKIN Clothes of, Gen. 3:21. For covering the tabernacle, Ex. 25:5; Num. 4:8-14. Diseases of, Lev. 13:38, 39; Deut. 28:27; Job 7:5. See: Boils; Leprosy.

  • Skin, Coats made of

    [ebd] (Gen. 3:21). Skins of rams and badgers were used as a covering for the tabernacle (Ex. 25:5; Num. 4:8-14).

  • Badger

    [ebd] this word is found in Ex. 25:5; 26:14; 35:7, 23; 36:19; 39:34; Num. 4:6, etc. The tabernacle was covered with badgers' skins; the shoes of women were also made of them (Ezek. 16:10). Our translators seem to have been misled ...
    [nave] BADGER Skins of, used for covering of tabernacle, Ex. 25:5; 26:14; 35:7, 23; 36:19; 39:34; Num. 4:6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 25. For sandals, Ezek. 16:10.

  • Blue

    [ebd] generally associated with purple (Ex. 25:4; 26:1, 31, 36, etc.). It is supposed to have been obtained from a shellfish of the Mediterranean, the Helix ianthina of Linnaeus. The robe of the high priest's ephod was to be all o...

  • PORPOISE

    [isbe] PORPOISE - por'-pus (the Revised Version margin has "porpoise-skin" for `or tachash, the Revised Version (British and American) "sealskin," the King James Version "badgers' skins" (Ex 25:5; 26:14; 35:7,23; 36:19; 39:34; Nu 4...

  • Ark

    [ebd] Noah's ark, a building of gopher-wood, and covered with pitch, 300 cubits long, 50 cubits broad, and 30 cubits high (Gen. 6:14-16); an oblong floating house of three stories, with a door in the side and a window in the roof....
    [nave] ARK 1. Noah's. Directions for building of, Gen. 6:14-16. Noah and family preserved in, Gen. 6:18; 7:8; Matt. 24:38; Heb. 11:7; 1 Pet. 3:20. Animals saved in, Gen. 6:19, 20; 7:1-16. 2. Of Bulrushes, Ex. 2:3. 3. In the Tab...

  • COVER; COVERING

    [isbe] COVER; COVERING - kuv'-er, kuv'-er-ing: The translation of several Hebrew words. The covering of the ark (mikhceh, Gen 8:13) was possibly the lid of a hatchway (compare Mitchell, World before Abraham, 215). To the sons of Ko...

  • Lampstand

    [nave] LAMPSTAND Of the Tabernacle Made after divine pattern, Ex. 25:31-40; 37:17-24; Num. 8:4. Place of, Ex. 26:35; 40:24, 25; Heb. 9:2. Furniture of, Ex. 25:38; 37:23; Num. 4:9, 10. Burned every night, Ex. 27:20, 21. Trimmed...

  • EZEKIEL, 1

    [isbe] EZEKIEL, 1 - e-ze'-ki-el: I. THE PROPHET AND HIS BOOK 1. The Person of Ezekiel Name, Captivity and Trials 2. The Book (1) Its Genuineness (2) Its Structure (3) Relation to Jeremiah (4) Fate of the Book and Its Place in the C...

  • COLOR; COLORS

    [isbe] COLOR; COLORS - kul'-er, kul'-erz: The word translated "color" in the King James Version is `ayin, which literally means "eye" or "appearance," and has been so translated in the Revised Version (British and American). In the...

  • EZEKIEL, 2

    [isbe] EZEKIEL, 2 - II. Significance of Ezekiel in Israel's Religious History. Under the first head we will consider the formal characteristics and significance of the book; and the examination of its contents will form the subject...
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Arts

Questions

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The Structure of the Tabernacle

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

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  • I. Experiences of the older generation in the wilderness chs. 1-25A. Preparations for entering the Promised Land from the south chs. 1-101. The first census and the organization of the people chs. 1-42. Commands and rituals t...
  • The first 10 chapters in Numbers describe Israel's preparation for entering the land.". . . just as the way from Goshen to Sinai was a preparation of the chosen people for their reception into the covenant with God, so the wa...
  • Note the recurrance of a key word in the Pentateuch in verse l: toledot."For the first time after the formative events of the Exodus deliverance and the revelation on Mount Sinai, the people of Israel are organized into a hol...
  • Moses did not arrange the three Levitical families in the text here in the order of the ages of their founders. He arranged them in the order of the holiness of the articles that they managed.The Kohathites--who included Mose...
  • Before going into battle against the Midianites as God commanded (25:18), the Lord directed Moses to take another census of the Israelites. Evidently the 24,000 who died in the recent plague (25:9) were the last of the genera...
  • "Just as the censuses of chs. 1, 3, and 4 led to a flurry of preparations for departure from Sinai, so the second censuses in ch. 26 lead to preparations for departure from the plains of Moab and entry into the land of Canaan...
  • Not all the people who later assembled to see the ark were as careful as those from Bethshemesh, however. The Mosaic Law specified that no one was to look into the ark or that person would die (Num. 4:5, 20; cf. 2 Sam. 6:6-7)...
  • In 1004 B.C. David became king of all Israel and Judah.50This was his third anointing (cf. 1 Sam. 16:13; 2 Sam. 2:4). The people acknowledged David's previous military leadership of all Israel as well as God's choice of him t...
  • Verses 1 and 2 of chapter 23 provide an outline for what follows in chapters 23-27 but in reverse order. After David appointed Solomon as his coregent in 973 B.C., he began the preparations the writer described here.David ada...
  • As Solomon had done, these Jews contracted with the Phoenicians to the north to supply wood for the temple (cf. 2 Chron. 2:16). The people needed several months of preparations before actual construction began on the site in ...
  • "The setting of the Mesopotamian dream-visions--which occurred in both the Assyrian period and the Babylonian period . . . --consisted of four elements: (1) the date, (2) the place of reception, (3) the recipient, and (4) the...
  • Why did Luke place his genealogy of Jesus at this point in his Gospel? Probably he did so because this was the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. Matthew recorded Jesus' genealogy to show that He had a legitimate right by b...
  • 8:48 Since the Jews could not refute Jesus' challenge they resorted to verbal abuse (cf. 7:52). Perhaps they called Him a Samaritan because He had questioned their ties to Abraham. This may have been a Samaritan attack agains...
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