Numbers 3:12

3:12 “Look, ¹  I myself have taken the Levites from among the Israelites instead of ²  every firstborn who opens the womb among the Israelites. So the Levites belong to me,

Numbers 3:45

3:45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn males among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock. And the Levites will be mine. I am the Lord.

Numbers 7:5

7:5 “Receive these gifts ³  from them, that they may be ⁴  used in doing the work ⁵  of the tent of meeting; and you must give them to the Levites, to every man ⁶  as his service requires.” ⁷ 

Numbers 8:11

8:11 and Aaron is to offer ⁸  the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the Israelites, that they may do the work ⁹  of the Lord.

Numbers 10:2

10:2 “Make ¹⁰  two trumpets of silver; you are to make ¹¹  them from a single hammered piece. ¹²  You will use them ¹³  for assembling the community and for directing the traveling of the camps.

Numbers 34:4

34:4 and then the border will turn from the south to the Scorpion Ascent, ¹⁴  continue to Zin, and then its direction ¹⁵  will be from the south to Kadesh Barnea. Then it will go to Hazar Addar and pass over to Azmon.

Numbers 34:12

34:12 Then the border will continue down the Jordan River ¹⁶  and its direction will be to the Salt Sea. This will be your land by its borders that surround it.’”

Numbers 35:12

35:12 And they must stand as your towns of refuge from the avenger in order that the killer may not die until he has stood trial before the community.

¹ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) here carries its deictic force, calling attention to the fact that is being declared. It is underscoring the fact that the Lord himself chose Levi.

² tn Literally “in the place of.”

³ tn The object is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied.

⁴ tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; following the imperative, this could be given an independent volitive translation (“they shall be”), but more fittingly a subordinated translation expressing the purpose of receiving the gifts.

⁵ tn The sentence uses the infinitive construct expressing purpose, followed by its cognate accusative: “[that they may be] for doing the work of” (literally, “serving the service of”).

⁶ tn The noun אִישׁ (’ish) is in apposition to the word “Levites,” and is to be taken in a distributive sense: “to the Levites, [to each] man according to his service.”

⁷ tn The expression כְּפִי (kÿfi) is “according to the mouth of.” Here, it would say “according to the mouth of his service,” which would mean “what his service calls for.”

⁵ tn The Hebrew text actually has “wave the Levites as a wave offering.” The wave offering was part of the ritual of the peace offering and indicated the priest’s portion being presented to God in a lifted, waving motion for all to see. The Levites were going to be in the sanctuary to serve the Lord and assist the priests. It is unclear how Moses would have presented them as wave offerings, but the intent is that they would be living sacrifices, as Paul would later say in Rom 12:1 for all Christians.

⁶ tn The construction emphasizes the spiritual service of the Levites, using the infinitive construct of עָבַד (’avad) followed by its cognate accusative.

⁷ tn The Hebrew text uses what is called the “ethical dative” – “make [for] you two trumpets.” It need not be translated, but can simply be taken to underscore the direct imperative.

⁸ tn The imperfect tense is again instruction or legislation.

⁹ sn The instructions are not clearly spelled out here. But the trumpets were to be made of silver ingots beaten out into a sheet of silver and then bent to form a trumpet. There is archaeological evidence of silver smelting as early as 3000 b.c. Making silver trumpets would have been a fairly easy thing for the Israelites to do. The trumpet would have been straight, with a tapered form, very unlike the “ram’s horn” (שׁוֹפָר, shofar). The trumpets were used by the priests in Israel from the outset, but later were used more widely. The sound would be sharp and piercing, but limited in scope to a few notes. See further C. Sachs, The History of Musical Instruments.

¹⁰ tn Heb “and they shall be for you for assembling,” which is the way of expressing possession. Here the intent concerns how Moses was to use them.

⁹ tn Or “the Ascent of Scorpions” (עַקְרַבִּים [’aqrabbim] means “scorpions” in Hebrew).

¹⁰ tn Heb “its going forth,” or the way it runs.

¹¹ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.