Numbers 3:14 - Barnes' Book Notes

Numbers 3:14

12 “Now behold, ^aI Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be ^bMine,

13 because ^aall the firstborn are Mine. ^bOn the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the Lord.”

Census of the Levites Commanded

14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying:

15 “Number the children of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their families; you shall number ^aevery male from a month old and above.”

16 So Moses numbered them according to the¹ word of the Lord, as he was commanded.

17 ^aThese were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

18 And these are the names of the sons of ^aGershon by their families: ^bLibni and Shimei.

19 And the sons of ^aKohath by their families: ^bAmram, Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

20 ^aAnd the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their fathers’ houses.

21 From Gershon came the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimites; these were the families of the Gershonites.

22 Those who were numbered, according to the number of all the males from a month old and above—of those who were numbered there were seven thousand five hundred.

23 ^aThe families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle westward.

24 And the leader of the father’s house of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael.

25 ^aThe duties of the children of Gershon in the tabernacle of meeting included ^bthe tabernacle, ^cthe tent with ^dits covering, the ^escreen for the door of the tabernacle of meeting,

26 ^athe screen for the door of the court, ^bthe hangings of the court which are around the tabernacle and the altar, and ^ctheir cords, according to all the work relating to them.

27 ^aFrom Kohath came the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites.

28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and above, there were eight thousand¹ six hundred keeping charge of the sanctuary.

29 ^aThe families of the children of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle.

30 And the leader of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of ^aUzziel.

31 ^aTheir duty included ^bthe ark, ^cthe table, ^dthe lampstand, ^ethe altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, ^fthe screen, and all the work relating to them.

32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the leaders of the Levites, with oversight of those who kept charge of the sanctuary.

33 From Merari came the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari.

Book Notes:

Barnes' Book Notes

Introduction to Numbers

The title commonly given to this book is evidently suggested by the two numberings of the people recorded in Num. 1 and Num. 26.

The book narrates the history of the Israelites during their sojourn in the wilderness from the completion of the law-giving at Sinai, Leviticus 27:34, to their mustering in the plains of Moab for actual entry into the land of promise.

The incidents are generally given in their chronological order, except in the third part. The five chapters comprised in this part appear to deal with a long period, from which only isolated episodes are given; and of these the dates can only be conjectured.

Between the two dates "the first day of the second month of the second year after they were come out of Egypt" Numbers 1:1, and the death of Aaron Numbers 33:38, intervene no less than 38 years and 3 months (compare Deuteronomy 2:14), the long and dreary period of tarrying in the wilderness until the disobedient generation had wasted away.

From the death of Aaron to the date given in the opening verses of Deuteronomy Deuteronomy 1:1-3, occurred a space of exactly six months, in which all the events narrated in the fourth part of the Book of Numbers, from Numbers 20:1 to the end, would seem to have occurred, with the probable exception of the defeat of the king of Arad Numbers 21:1-3.

As regards the authorship and date of composition, the notes of time, the tenor of the contents, no less than the direct assertions of the text itself, lead to the conclusion that Moses is properly spoken of as the writer of the Book of Numbers. It is in substance his work; though many portions of it were probably committed to writing many years before the whole was completed; and the concluding chapters were not written until toward the close of the 40th year after the exodus.