Numbers 3&4: Levite Duties
Introduction
Photocredit: FreeImages.com/Vivek Chugh |
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Descendants of Kohath
Age Range | Number of Kohathites |
---|---|
1 month old and up | 8,600 |
30 - 50 years old | 2,750 |
The number of sons of Kohath from the ages of 30-50 years old was 2,750. Since they were in charge of the holy objects, special instructions were given to them. Before they could touch the items, Aaron had to cover them properly. The ark was to be covered with the vail, the badgers' skins, and a cloth of blue. The staves were to be placed in the ark's rings and then the Kohathites could touch it. The table of shewbread had to be covered in a blue cloth with the dishes, cutlery, etc. placed atop; a scarlet cloth was to cover the dishes, and badgers' skins were placed over that. Also in need of covering with a blue cloth and badgers' skin was the candlestick with the lamp, tongs, snuff-dishes, and oil vessels. The golden altar was to be covered in the manner as well. Ashes from the altar were placed in a purple cloth. Censors, flesh-hooks, and other vessels were placed with the ashes. If the Kohathites touched any of these objects uncovered, they would die.
Eleazar's Duties
As the son of Aaron and on course to become the next high priest, Eleazar was given special duties. These duties included the handling of the oil for the lamp, incense, daily meat offering, and anointing oil. It makes sense that God would give Eleazar management roles and specific duties to carry out to prepare him for the role of High Priest. TopDescendants of Gershon
Age Range | Number of Gershonites |
---|---|
1 month old and up | 7,500 |
30 - 50 years old | 2,630 |
Ithamar, Aaraon's other son (and thus a Kohathite), was appointed to oversee their tasks. I wonder if Aaron was required to ask the Gershonites for the badgers' skins to cover the holy objects? It seems that if they were keeping track of the badgers' skins, there would be interplay there.
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Descendants of Merari
Age Range | Number of Merari's Descendants |
---|---|
1 month old and up | 6,200 |
30 - 50 years old | 3,200 |
Census Report
Numbers 3:40-51 details God's appointment of the Levites as the first born of Israel (replacing the actual firstborn). In total, there were 22,273 first born males. Numbers 3:39 tells us there were only 22,000 Levite males, however, and we learn that the extra 273 firstborns had to be ransomed with money.The Number of Levite Males
The problem is that if you add 6,200 + 8,600 + 7,500 you don't get 22,000. The sum of these numbers is 22,300. Not only is this different than the sum given, but it makes a ransom unnecessary. The issue may stem from verse 28; the addition of only one letter in the original Hebrew changes the total of sum of the Kohathites to 8,300 instead of 8,600.[1][5] Another suggestion is that 300 of the Levites were firstborns themselves. As such they could not redeem anyone.[2][5] The source which explains the latter solutions leans to it because the scribes who translated the Hebrew to Greek, and further from to English would have been aware that these numbers did not sum to 22,000 and did not see an issue with the value. This implies they understood something we do not which made this conflict easily reconcilable.Too Low?
Some believe the number of first borns is too low given the number of males in the nation. If there are 603,550 males and on only 22,273 first borns, it implies that each male has on average 27 brothers. Many possibilities are neglected in this opinion, however. For starters, when they count the "firstborn of the males" does this mean firstborn males or male firstborns? Since there is a 50-50 chance of a family having a daughter as the firstborn, we could expect only about 301,775 of the males to have a male firstborn in their family. This would create and average of about 13 brothers. Also, it is suggested that only able bodied men able to go to war were counted (Numbers 1:45), which would mean some of the men may have had elderly or disabled brothers that were not included in the census. Others cite the possibility that these firstborns are only the firstborns since leaving Egypt. The issue of redeeming the firstborns is related to the "matrix" that is opened by God at the time of the last plague in Egypt. Matrix is equated to womb by scholars and most Bible resources[3][4] and likely represents God opening the womb of Israel as a nation. Thus only those born after He opened the matrix (at the onset of the last plague in Egypt) would be subject to redemption. We cannot be sure since the Bible does not explicitly say, but as shown above, there are plenty of explanations for the numbers given.Top
References
- Holman Bible Publishers. Holman KJV Study Bible. pg. 235. 2014
- Riddle, J. "Numbers 3:28, 39 and the Infallibility of Scripture". Stylos. July 2008
- "Matrix". Bible Hub. 2016
- Kapusta, Philip P."Matrix". A King James Dictionary. 2016
- "Numbers 3:39 Commentary". Bible Hub. 2016
Published on Saturday, March 5, 2016
Bible Study, Chapter Study, In God I Trust, Levites, Numbers
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Bible Study, Chapter Study, In God I Trust, Levites, Numbers
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