Numbers 3:6-9

3:6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, ¹  and present ²  them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. ³  3:7 They are responsible for his needs ⁴  and the needs of the whole community before the tent of meeting, by attending ⁵  to the service of the tabernacle. 3:8 And they are responsible for all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and for the needs of the Israelites, as they serve ⁶  in the tabernacle. 3:9 You are to assign ⁷  the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they will be assigned exclusively ⁸  to him out of all ⁹  the Israelites.

Numbers 18:2-6

18:2 “Bring with you your brothers, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, so that they may join ¹⁰  with you and minister to you while ¹¹  you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. 18:3 They must be responsible to care for you and to care for the entire tabernacle. However, they must not come near the furnishings of the sanctuary and the altar, or both they and you will die. 18:4 They must join ¹²  with you, and they will be responsible for the care of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent, but no unauthorized person ¹³  may approach you. 18:5 You will be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the care of the altar, so that there will be ¹⁴  no more wrath on the Israelites. 18:6 I myself have chosen ¹⁵  your brothers the Levites from among the Israelites. They are given to you as a gift from the Lord, to perform the duties ¹⁶  of the tent of meeting.

Numbers 18:1

Responsibilities of the Priests

18:1 ¹⁷ The Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your tribe ¹⁸  with you must bear the iniquity of the sanctuary, ¹⁹  and you and your sons with you must bear the iniquity of your priesthood.

Numbers 23:28

23:28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks toward the wilderness. ²⁰ 

Ezekiel 44:11-14

44:11 Yet they will be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple, and serving the temple. They will slaughter the burnt offerings and the sacrifices for the people, and they will stand before them to minister to them. 44:12 Because they used to minister to them before their idols, and became a sinful obstacle ²¹  to the house of Israel, consequently I have made a vow ²²  concerning them, declares the sovereign Lord, that they will be responsible ²³  for their sin. 44:13 They will not come near me to serve me as priest, nor will they come near any of my holy things, the things which are most sacred. They will bear the shame of the abominable deeds they have committed. 44:14 Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple, all of its service and all that will be done in it.

[3:6]  ¹ 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.

[3:6]  ² 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).

[3:6]  ³ 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.

[3:7]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text uses the perfect tense of שָׁמַר(shamar) with a vav (ו) consecutive to continue the instruction of the preceding verse. It may be translated “and they shall keep” or “they must/are to keep,” but in this context it refers to their appointed duties. The verb is followed by its cognate accusative – “they are to keep his keeping,” or as it is often translated, “his charge.” This would mean whatever Aaron needed them to do. But the noun is also used for the people in the next phrase, and so “charge” cannot be the meaning here. The verse is explaining that the Levites will have duties to perform to meet the needs of Aaron and the congregation.

[3:7]  ⁵ tn The form is the Qal infinitive construct from עָבַד (’avad, “to serve, to work”); it is taken here as a verbal noun and means “by (or in) serving” (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 36, §195). This explains the verb “keep [his charge].” Here too the form is followed by a cognate accusative; they will be there to “serve the service” or “work the work.”

[3:8]  ⁶ tn The construction uses the infinitive construct (epexegetically) followed by its cognate accusative. It would convey “to serve the service of the tabernacle,” but more simply it may be rendered as “serving.” Their spiritual and practical service is to serve.

[3:9]  ⁷ tn The verb וְנָתַתָּה (vÿnatattah) is normally “give.” Here, though, the context refers to the assignment of the Levites to the priests for their duties. The form is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive, continuing the sequence for the imperfect of instruction.

[3:9]  ⁸ tn This emphasis is derived from the simple repetition of the passive participle, נְתוּנִם נְתוּנִם (nÿtunim nÿtunim). See GKC 396 §123.e. The forms serve as the predicate with the subject pronoun.

[3:9]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text simply has the preposition, “from the Israelites.”

[18:2]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn The clause is a circumstantial clause because the disjunctive vav (ו) is on a nonverb to start the clause.

[18:4]  ¹² tn Now the sentence uses the Niphal perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive from the same root לָוָה (lavah).

[18:4]  ¹³ tn The word is “stranger, alien,” but it can also mean Israelites here.

[18:5]  ¹⁴ tn The clause is a purpose clause, and the imperfect tense a final imperfect.

[18:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “taken.”

[18:6]  ¹⁶ tn The infinitive construct in this sentence is from עָבַד (’avad), and so is the noun that serves as its object: to serve the service.

[18:1]  ¹⁷ sn This chapter and the next may have been inserted here to explain how the priests are to function because in the preceding chapter Aaron’s position was affirmed. The chapter seems to fall into four units: responsibilities of priests (vv. 1-7), their portions (vv. 8-19), responsibilities of Levites (vv. 20-24), and instructions for Levites (vv. 25-32).

[18:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “your father’s house.”

[18:1]  ¹⁹ sn The responsibility for the sanctuary included obligations relating to any violation of the sanctuary. This was stated to forestall any further violations of the sanctuary. The priests were to pay for any ritual errors, primarily if any came too near. Since the priests and Levites come near all the time, they risk violating ritual laws more than any. So, with the great privileges come great responsibilities. The bottom line is that they were responsible for the sanctuary.

[23:28]  ²⁰ tn Or perhaps as a place name, “Jeshimon” (cf. 21:20).

[44:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “a stumbling block of iniquity.” This is a unique phrase of the prophet Ezekiel (cf. also Ezek 7:19; 14:3, 4, 7; 18:30).

[44:12]  ²² tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”

[44:12]  ²³ tn Heb “will bear.”