Numbers 3
06 Sep 2026 - Theology
The Levites
For the second time, the Lord instructs Moses to put the Levites in charge of guarding the Tabernacle.
Numbers 3:6-8 - “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him. And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle. And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.”
Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar are now the high priests. A short mention is made in verse 4 of Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu who died when they offered strange fire to the Lord (see Leviticus 10). The Levites are given to Aaron and his sons as their servants, doing the work of setting up the Tabernacle when the Israelites stop, and packing it up and carrying it when it is time for the people to travel. (9)
The Levites are special in another way - they belong to the Lord.
Numbers 3:12-13 - “And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine; Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the Lord.”
We saw already in Exodus 13 that all firstborn males were set apart for the Lord:
Exodus 13:12 - “That thou shalt set apart unto the Lord all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the Lord’s.”
However, here in Numbers God says He has taken the Levites instead of the firstborn of all Israel. Why did God make this change? Perhaps it is because the true firstborn of Israel had forfeited this privilege by joining with the rest of the people in the worship of the golden calf, from which only the tribe of Levi abstained of (see Exodus 32).
Exodus 32:26-28 - “Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord’s side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.”
So Moses was told to record the names of the Levites, family by family. Moses does this, and then places each family in charge of a specific part of the Tabernacle.
Numbers 3:39 - “All that were numbered of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the Lord, throughout their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand [22,000].”
The Lord then repeated His claim upon the Levites instead of the firstborn for Himself:
Numbers 3:41 - “And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am the Lord) instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel.”
The number of firstborn males in the entire congregation of Israel totaled 22,273, but there were only 22,000 Levites. So the Lord commanded that each of the 273 additional firstborn be redeemed (bought back) at “five shekles per head”. This money, 1365 shekles, was given to Aaron and his sons to be used for the worship of the Lord.
References
- The Hebrew - Greek Key Study Bible (KJV Version)
- The Torah Portion-by-Portion by Rabbi Seymour Rossel (2007)