Numbers4
English Standard Version
1The Lord to and , ,
2 a of the of from the of , by their and their ’ ,
3from , who can on , to the in the of .
4This is the of the of in the of : the .
5When the is to , and his shall go and take the of the and the of the with it.
6Then they shall it a of and on top of a of , and shall in its .
7And the of the they shall a of and it the , the dishes for , the , and the for the ; the also shall be on .
8Then they shall over a of and the same with a of , and shall in its .
9And they shall a of and the for the , with its , its , its , and the for with it is .
10And they shall it with its in a of and it on the .
11And the they shall a of and it with a of , and shall in its .
12And they shall the of the that are in the and them in a of and them with a of and them on the .
13And they shall take away the from the and a over .
14And they shall on the of the altar, are used for the there, the , the , the , and the , the of the ; and they shall on it a of , and shall in its .
15And when and his have the and the of the , as the sets , that the of shall to carry , but they must the , lest they . These are the of the of that the of are to .
16And the of the shall have the for the , the , the , and the , with the of the and that is in it, of the and its .
17The Lord to and , ,
18 the of the of the be the ,
19but with them, that they may and when they to the : and his shall go and them to and to his ,
20but they shall go to look the even for a , lest they .
21The Lord to , ,
22 a of the of , by their ’ and by their .
23From , you shall them, who can to , to in the of .
24This is the of the of the , in and :
25they shall the of the and the of with and the of that is on of it and the for the of the of
26and the of the and the for the of the of the that is the and the , and their and all the for their . And they shall needs to be with regard to them.
27 the of the of the shall be at the of and his , in that they are to and in that they have to . And you shall to their that they are to .
28This is the of the of the of the in the of , and their is to be under the of the of the .
29As for the of , you shall them by their and their ’ .
30From , you shall them, who can on , to the of the of .
31And this is what they are to , as the of their in the of : the of the , with its , , and ,
32and the the with their , , and , with their and their . And you shall by the that they are to .
33 is the of the of the of , the of their in the of , under the of the of the .
34And and and the of the the of the , by their and their ’ ,
35from , who could on , for in the of ;
36and those by were .
37 was the of the of the , who in the of , and according to the of the Lord .
38Those of the of , by their and their ’ ,
39from , who could on for in the of —
40those by their and their ’ were .
41 was the of the of the of , who in the of , and to the of the Lord.
42Those of the of the of , by their and their ’ ,
43from , who could on , for in the of —
44those by were .
45 was the of the of the of , whom and to the of the Lord .
46 those who were of the , and and the of , by their and their ’ ,
47from , who could to the service of and the of in the of ,
48those were .
49 to the of the Lord they were , his task of . Thus they were by , as the Lord .
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Numbers 4.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The Levites' service. (1–3). The duties of the Kohathites. (4–20). The duties of the Gershonites and Merarites. (21–33). The numbers of the serviceable Levites. (34–49).
vv1-3
The middle-aged men of the tribe of Levi, all from thirty years old to fifty, were to be employed in the service of the tabernacle. The service of God requires the best of our strength, and the prime portion of our time, which cannot be better spent than to the honour of Him who is the First and Best. And the service of God should be done when we are most lively and active. Those do not consider this who put off repentance to old age, and so leave the best work to be done in the worst time.
vv4-20
The Kohathites were to carry the holy things of the tabernacle. All the holy things were to be covered; not only for security and respect, but to keep them from being seen. This not only marked the reverence due to holy things, but the mystery of the things signified by those types, and the darkness of the dispensation. But now, through Christ, the case is altered, and we are encouraged to come boldly to the throne of grace.
vv21-33
We have here the charge of the other two families of the Levites, which, though not so honourable as the first, yet was necessary, and to be done regularly. All the things were delivered them by name. It intimates the care God takes of his church and every member of it. The death of the saints is represented as the taking down of the tabernacle, 2Co 5:1, and the putting it off, 2Pe 1:14. All shall be raised up in the great day, when these vile bodies shall be made like the glorious body of Jesus Christ, and so shall be for ever with the Lord.
Key Words
דָבַר: perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue
מֹשֶׁה: Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver
אַהֲרוֹן: Aharon, the brother of Moses
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
נָשָׂא: to lift, in a great variety of applications, literal and figurative, absolute and relative
רֹאשׁ: the head (as most easily shaken), whether literal or figurative (in many applications, of place, time, rank, itc.)
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
קְהָת: Kehath, an Israelite
תָּוֶךְ: a bisection, i.e. (by implication) the centre
לֵוִי: Levi, a son of Jacob
Cross References
Numbers 4Compares Levite service age starting at 25 for training versus 30 for full carriage duties.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The age of thirty for entering full tabernacle service matches Christ entering His public ministry.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Illustrates the deadly judgment for looking into or touching holy things without authorization.
Supported by JFB
Historical example of Uzzah dying after touching the Ark of the Covenant contrary to God's command.
Supported by JFB
Details the dividing veil used to cover the Ark of Testimony.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Examines the placement and handling of the Ark's golden staves during transport.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Confirms the Kohathites had no carts; they carried the sanctuary items directly on their shoulders.
Supported by JFB
David later altered the service age to twenty due to temple work demands.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Establishes the commandment for the showbread to be set on the table continually.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Reiterates the strict death penalty for unauthorized Levites approaching holy vessels.
Supported by JFB
Warns priests to supervise Kohathites properly so they do not see holy things and die.
Supported by JFB
Spiritualizes the taking down of tabernacle curtains as the temporary dissolution of our earthly bodies.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Shows Ithamar superintending the metal work and counting of materials under Aaron.
Supported by JFB