Numbers 4:49

4:49 According to the word of the Lord they were numbered, ¹  by the authority of Moses, each according to his service and according to what he was to carry. ²  Thus were they numbered by him, ³  as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Numbers 18:6

18:6 I myself have chosen ⁴  your brothers the Levites from among the Israelites. They are given to you as a gift from the Lord, to perform the duties ⁵  of the tent of meeting.

Numbers 18:23

18:23 But the Levites must perform the service ⁶  of the tent of meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. ⁷  It will be a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations that among the Israelites the Levites ⁸  have no inheritance. ⁹ 

[4:49]  ¹ tn The verb is the simple perfect tense – “he numbered them.” There is no expressed subject; therefore, the verb can be rendered as a passive.

[4:49]  ² tn Or “his burden.”

[4:49]  ³ tn The passive form simply reads “those numbered by him.” Because of the cryptic nature of the word, some suggest reading a preterite, “and they were numbered.” This is supported by the Greek, Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate. It would follow in the emendation that the relative pronoun be changed to “just as” (כַּאֲשֶׁר, ka’asher). The MT is impossible the way it stands; it can only be rendered into smooth English by adding something that is missing.

[18:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “taken.”

[18:6]  ⁵ 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.

[18:23]  ⁷ tn The verse begins with the perfect tense of עָבַד (’avad) with vav (ו) consecutive, making the form equal to the instructions preceding it. As its object the verb has the cognate accusative “service.”

[18:23]  ⁸ sn The Levites have the care of the tent of meeting, and so they are responsible for any transgressions against it.

[18:23]  ⁹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Levites) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[18:23]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text uses both the verb and the object from the same root to stress the point: They will not inherit an inheritance. The inheritance refers to land.