Numbers 8:6

8:6 “Take the Levites from among the Israelites and purify ¹  them.

Numbers 8:15

8:15 “After this, the Levites will go in ²  to do the work ³  of the tent of meeting. So you must cleanse them ⁴  and offer them like a wave offering. ⁵ 

[8:6]  ¹ 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.

[8:15]  ² tn The imperfect tense could also be given the nuance of the imperfect of permission: “the Levites may go in.”

[8:15]  ³ tn Heb “to serve.”

[8:15]  ⁴ tn The two verbs in the rest of this verse are perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutive constructions, making them equal to the imperfect. Some commentators try to get around the difficulty of repetition by making these future perfects, “and you will have cleansed,” as opposed to a summary statement, “for thus you will cleanse….”

[8:15]  ⁵ tc The Greek text adds “before the Lord.”