Numbers 3:16

3:16 So Moses numbered them according to the word ¹  of the Lord, just as he had been commanded. ² 

Numbers 4:29

The Service of the Merarites

4:29 “As for the sons of Merari, you are to number them by their families and by their clans.

Numbers 8:6

8:6 “Take the Levites from among the Israelites and purify ³  them.

Numbers 16:21

16:21 “Separate yourselves ⁴  from among this community, ⁵  that I may consume them in an instant.”

[3:16]  ¹ tn Heb “at the mouth of the Lord.”

[3:16]  ² tn The Pual perfect may be given the past perfect translation in this sentence because the act of commanding preceded the act of numbering.

[8:6]  ³ tn The verb טָהַר (tahar) means that Moses was “to purify” or “to make ceremonially clean” the Levites so that they could enter the sanctuary and do the work prescribed for them. Whatever is “unclean” is not permitted in the sanctuary at all.

[16:21]  ⁵ tn The verb is הִבָּדְלוּ (hibbadÿlu), the Niphal imperative of בָּדַל (badal). This is the same word that was just used when Moses reminded the Levites that they had been separated from the community to serve the Lord.

[16:21]  ⁶ sn The group of people siding with Korah is meant, and not the entire community of the people of Israel. They are an assembly of rebels, their “community” consisting in their common plot.