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 8:16

8:16 For they are entirely given ³  to me from among the Israelites. I have taken them for myself instead of ⁴  all who open the womb, the firstborn sons of all the Israelites.

Numbers 18:15

18:15 The firstborn of every womb which they present to the Lord, whether human or animal, will be yours. Nevertheless, the firstborn sons you must redeem, ⁵  and the firstborn males of unclean animals you must redeem.

Exodus 24:5-6

24:5 He sent young Israelite men, ⁶  and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls for peace offerings ⁷  to the Lord. 24:6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and half of the blood he splashed on the altar. ⁸ 

Exodus 32:26-29

32:26 So Moses stood at the entrance of the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come ⁹  to me.” ¹⁰  All the Levites gathered around him, 32:27 and he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Each man fasten ¹¹  his sword on his side, and go back and forth ¹²  from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and each one kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’” ¹³ 

32:28 The Levites did what Moses ordered, ¹⁴  and that day about three thousand men of the people died. ¹⁵  32:29 Moses said, “You have been consecrated ¹⁶  today for the Lord, for each of you was against his son or against his brother, so he has given a blessing to you today.” ¹⁷ 

Matthew 20:28

20:28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom ¹⁸  for many.”

Matthew 20:1

Workers in the Vineyard

20:1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner ¹⁹  who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

Matthew 2:6

2:6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are in no way least among the rulers of Judah,

for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” ²⁰ 

[3:12]  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.

[3:12]  ² tn Literally “in the place of.”

[8:16]  ³ tn As before, the emphasis is obtained by repeating the passive participle: “given, given to me.”

[8:16]  ⁴ tn Or “as substitutes” for all the firstborn of the Israelites.

[18:15]  ⁵ tn The construction uses the infinitive absolute and the imperfect tense of the verb “to redeem” in order to stress the point – they were to be redeemed. N. H. Snaith suggests that the verb means to get by payment what was not originally yours, whereas the other root גָאַל (ga’al) means to get back what was originally yours (Leviticus and Numbers [NCB], 268).

[24:5]  ⁶ tn The construct has “young men of the Israelites,” and so “Israelite” is a genitive that describes them.

[24:5]  ⁷ tn The verbs and their respective accusatives are cognates. First, they offered up burnt offerings (see Lev 1), which is וַיַּעֲלוּ עֹלֹת (vayya’alu ’olot); then they sacrificed young bulls as peace sacrifices (Lev 3), which is in Hebrew וַיִּזְבְּחוּ זְבָחִים (vayyizbÿkhu zÿvakhim). In the first case the cognate accusative is the direct object; in the second it is an adverbial accusative of product. See on this covenant ritual H. M. Kamsler, “The Blood Covenant in the Bible,” Dor le Dor 6 (1977): 94-98; E. W. Nicholson, “The Covenant Ritual in Exodus 24:3-8,” VT 32 (1982): 74-86.

[24:6]  ⁸ sn The people and Yahweh through this will be united by blood, for half was spattered on the altar and the other half spattered on/toward the people (v. 8).

[32:26]  ⁹ tn “come” is not in the text, but has been supplied.

[32:26]  ¹⁰ tn S. R. Driver suggests that the command was tersely put: “Who is for Yahweh? To me!” (Exodus, 354).

[32:27]  ¹¹ tn Heb “put.”

[32:27]  ¹² tn The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys: “pass over and return,” meaning, “go back and forth” throughout the camp.

[32:27]  ¹³ tn The phrases have “and kill a man his brother, and a man his companion, and a man his neighbor.” The instructions were probably intended to mean that they should kill leaders they knew to be guilty because they had been seen or because they failed the water test – whoever they were.

[32:28]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “did according to the word of Moses.”

[32:28]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “fell.”

[32:29]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Your hand was filled.” The phrase “fill your hands” is a familiar expression having to do with commissioning and devotion to a task that is earlier used in 28:41; 29:9, 29, 33, 35. This has usually been explained as a Qal imperative. S. R. Driver explains it “Fill your hand today,” meaning, take a sacrifice to God and be installed in the priesthood (Exodus, 355). But it probably is a Piel perfect, meaning “they have filled your hands today,” or, “your hand was filled today.” This was an expression meant to say that they had been faithful to God even though it turned them against family and friends – but God would give them a blessing.

[32:29]  ¹⁷ tn The text simply has “and to give on you today a blessing.” Gesenius notes that the infinitive construct seems to be attached with a vav (ו; like the infinitive absolute) as the continuation of a previous finite verb. He reads the verb “fill” as an imperative: “fill your hand today…and that to bring a blessing on you, i.e., that you may be blessed” (see GKC 351 §114.p). If the preceding verb is taken as perfect tense, however, then this would also be perfect – “he has blessed you today.”

[20:28]  ¹⁸ sn The Greek word for ransom (λύτρον, lutron) is found here and in Mark 10:45 and refers to the payment of a price in order to purchase the freedom of a slave. The idea of Jesus as the “ransom” is that he paid the price with his own life by standing in our place as a substitute, enduring the judgment that we deserved for sin.

[20:1]  ¹⁹ sn The term landowner here refers to the owner and manager of a household.

[2:6]  ²⁰ sn A quotation from Mic 5:2.