Numbers 1:5

1:5 Now these are the names of the men who are to help ¹  you:

from ²  Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur;

Numbers 3:6

3:6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, ³  and present ⁴  them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. ⁵ 

Numbers 8:13

8:13 You are to have the Levites stand before Aaron ⁶  and his sons, and then offer them as a wave offering to the Lord.

Numbers 9:8

9:8 So Moses said to them, “Remain ⁷  here and I will hear ⁸  what the Lord will command concerning you.”

Numbers 12:5

12:5 And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent; he then called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward.

Numbers 22:24

22:24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a path ⁹  among the vineyards, where there was a wall on either side. ¹⁰ 

Numbers 27:19

27:19 set him ¹¹  before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community, and commission ¹²  him publicly. ¹³ 

¹ tn The verb is עָמַד (’amad, “to stand”). It literally then is, “who will stand with you.” They will help in the count, but they will also serve as leaders as the camp moves from place to place.

² tn The preposition lamed (ל) prefixed to the name could be taken in the sense of “from,” but could also be “with regard to” (specification).

³ sn The use of the verb קָרַב (qarav) forms an interesting wordplay in the passage. The act of making an offering is described by this verb, as was the reference to the priests’ offering of strange fire. Now the ceremonial presentation of the priests is expressed by the same word – they are being offered to God.

⁴ tn The verb literally means “make it [the tribe] stand” (וְהַעֲמַדְתָּ אֹתוֹ, vÿha’amadta ’oto). The verb is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive; it will take the same imperative nuance as the form before it, but follow in sequence (“and then”). This refers to the ceremonial presentation in which the tribe would take its place before Aaron, that is, stand before him and await their assignments. The Levites will function more like a sacred guard than anything else, for they had to protect and care for the sanctuary when it was erected and when it was transported (see J. Milgrom, Studies in Levitical Terminology, 8-10).

⁵ tn The verb וְשֵׁרְתוּ (vÿsherÿtu) is the Piel perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive; it carries the same volitional force as the preceding verb forms, but may here be subordinated in the sequence to express the purpose or result of the preceding action.

⁵ tc The Greek text adds the Lord here: “before the Lord, before Aaron.”

⁷ tn The verb is simply “stand,” but in the more general sense of waiting to hear the answer.

⁸ tn The cohortative may be subordinated to the imperative: “stand…[that I] may hear.”

⁹ tn The word means a “narrow place,” having the root meaning “to be deep.” The Greek thought it was in a field in a narrow furrow.

¹⁰ tn Heb “a wall on this side, and a wall on that side.”

¹¹ tn This could be translated “position him,” or “have him stand,” since it is the causative stem of the verb “to stand.”

¹² tn The verb is the Piel perfect of צִוָּה (tsivvah, literally “to command”). The verb has a wide range of meanings, and so here in this context the idea of instructing gives way to a more general sense of commissioning for duty. The verb in sequence is equal to the imperfect of instruction.

¹³ tn Heb “in their eyes.”