Numbers 1:49

1:49 “Only the tribe of Levi ¹  you must not number ²  or count ³  with ⁴  the other Israelites.

Numbers 18:2

18:2 “Bring with you your brothers, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, so that they may join ⁵  with you and minister to you while ⁶  you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony.

Numbers 36:4-6

36:4 And when the Jubilee of the Israelites is to take place, ⁷  their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. So their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of our ancestral tribe.” ⁸ 

Moses’ Decision

36:5 Then Moses gave a ruling ⁹  to the Israelites by the word ¹⁰  of the Lord: “What the tribe of the Josephites is saying is right. 36:6 This is what ¹¹  the Lord has commanded for Zelophehad’s daughters: ‘Let them marry ¹²  whomever they think best, ¹³  only they must marry within the family of their father’s tribe.

Numbers 36:12

36:12 They were married into the families of the Manassehites, the descendants of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father’s family.

[1:49]  ¹ sn From the giving of the Law on the priesthood comes the prerogative of the tribe of Levi. There were, however, members of other tribes who served as priests from time to time (see Judg 17:5).

[1:49]  ² tn The construction has literally, “only the tribe of Levi you shall not number.” The Greek text rendered the particle אַךְ (’akh) forcefully with “see to it that” or “take care that.” For the uses of this form, see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 65, §388-89.

[1:49]  ³ tn Heb “lift up their head.”

[1:49]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the midst of the sons of Israel.”

[18:2]  ⁵ sn The verb forms a wordplay on the name Levi, and makes an allusion to the naming of the tribe Levi by Leah in the book of Genesis. There Leah hoped that with the birth of Levi her husband would be attached to her. Here, with the selection of the tribe to serve in the sanctuary, there is the wordplay again showing that the Levites will be attached to Aaron and the priests. The verb is יִלָּווּ (yillavu), which forms a nice wordplay with Levi (לֵוִי). The tribe will now be attached to the sanctuary. The verb is the imperfect with a vav (ו) that shows volitive sequence after the imperative, here indicating a purpose clause.

[18:2]  ⁶ tn The clause is a circumstantial clause because the disjunctive vav (ו) is on a nonverb to start the clause.

[36:4]  ⁹ tn The verb הָיָה (hayah) is most often translated “to be,” but it can also mean “to happen, to take place, to come to pass,” etc.

[36:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the tribe of our fathers.”

[36:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “commanded.”

[36:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “mouth.”

[36:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the word that.”

[36:6]  ¹⁸ tn The idiom again is “let them be for wives for….”

[36:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to the one who is good in their eyes.”