Numbers 3:25

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

The charge of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, its covering, and the screen for the door of the Tent of Meeting,

World English Bible · Public Domain

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מִכְסֵ֕הוּ

mikçeh

H4372

“covering · his”

Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct + Suffix, Personal, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular

Appears 16× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Genesis 8:13

Full BDB Definition

Origin: from H3680

TWOT: 1008c

a covering - covering (of the ark) - covering (of the skins of the tabernacle)

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

12: words
9: distinct lemmas
Pentateuch: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is מִכְסֵ֕הוּ covering H4372 — appearing just 16 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

מִכְסֵ֕הוּ covering H4372 occurs in 12 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

12 nouns

Repetition

Words recur within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

בְּאֹ֣הֶל tent H168 ×3
מוֹעֵ֔ד appointed time H4150 ×2

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 32 words from the Hebrew and 30 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Numbers 3:25 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Exodus 25:9 According to all that I show you, the pattern of the tent, and the pattern of all of its furniture, even so you shall make it.
Exodus 26:1–14 "Moreover you shall make the tent with ten curtains; of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, with cherubim. The work of the skillful workman you shall make them.
Exodus 26:36–37 "You shall make a screen for the door of the Tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the embroiderer.
Exodus 36:8–19 All the wise-hearted men among those who did the work made the tent with ten curtains; of fine twined linen, blue, purple, and scarlet, with cherubim, the work of the skillful workman, they made them.
Exodus 36:37–38 He made a screen for the door of the tent, of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of an embroiderer;
Exodus 40:19 He spread the covering over the tent, and put the roof of the tent above on it, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
Exodus 40:28 He put up the screen of the door to the tent.
Numbers 3:7 They shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle.

Numbers 4:24–28 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in bearing burdens:
Numbers 7:7 He gave two wagons and four oxen to the sons of Gershon, according to their service:
Numbers 10:17 The tent was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who bore the tent, set forward.
1 Chronicles 9:14–33 Of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari;
1 Chronicles 23:32 and that they should keep the charge of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brothers, for the service of the house of Yahweh.
1 Chronicles 26:21–22 The sons of Ladan, the sons of the Gershonites belonging to Ladan, the heads of the fathers' [houses] belonging to Ladan the Gershonite: Jehieli.
2 Chronicles 31:2 Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites after their divisions, every man according to his service, both the priests and the Levites, for burnt offerings and for peace-offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the camp of Yahweh.
2 Chronicles 31:11–18 Then Hezekiah commanded to prepare chambers in the house of Yahweh; and they prepared them.

Ezra 8:28–30 I said to them, You are holy to Yahweh, and the vessels are holy; and the silver and the gold are a freewill-offering to Yahweh, the God of your fathers.
Mark 13:34 "It is like a man, traveling to another country, having left his house, and given authority to his servants, and to each one his work, and also commanded the doorkeeper to keep watch.
Romans 12:6–8 Having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, if prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith;
Colossians 4:17 Tell Archippus, "Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you fulfill it."
1 Timothy 1:18 This charge I commit to you, my child Timothy, according to the prophecies which led the way to you, that by them you may wage the good warfare;

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Numbers 3:25 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

וּמִשְׁמֶ֤רֶת בְּנֵֽי גֵרְשׁוֹן֙ בְּאֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד הַמִּשְׁכָּ֖ן וְהָאֹ֑הֶל מִכְסֵ֕הוּ וּמָסַ֕ךְ פֶּ֖תַח אֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵֽד

The charge of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, its covering, and the screen for the door of the Tent of Meeting,

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Numbers 3:25 Septuagint · lemma form

καί ὁ φυλακή υἱός γεδσων ἐν ὁ σκηνή ὁ μαρτύριον ὁ σκηνή καί ὁ κάλυμμα καί ὁ κατακάλυμμα ὁ θύρα ὁ σκηνή ὁ μαρτύριον

And the charge of the sons of Gedson in the tabernacle of witness was the tent and the veil, and the covering of the door of the tabernacle of witness,

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

Targum Onkelos Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

וּמַטְרַת בְּנֵי גֵרְשׁוֹן בְּמַשְׁכַּן זִמְנָא מַשְׁכְּנָא וּפְרָסָא חוֹפָאֵהּ וּפְרָסָא דִתְרַע מַשְׁכַן זִמְנָא

(no public-domain English translation for this verse)

Targum Onkelos — Aramaic: “Onkelos Genesis” (public domain); “Onkelos Exodus” (public domain); “Onkelos Leviticus” (public domain); “Onkelos Numbers” (public domain); “Onkelos Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “J.W. Etheridge. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch. London: Longmans, Green, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

וּמַטְרַת בְּנֵי גֵרְשׁוֹן בְּמַשְׁכַּן זִימְנָא מַשְׁכְּנָא וּפְרָסָא חוֹפָאָה וּפְרָסָא דְבִתְרַע מַשְׁכַּן זִמְנָא

And the charge of the Beni Gershon in the tabernacle of ordinance shall be the tent, and the covering that overspreadeth, and the hanging of the door of the tabernacle of ordinance,

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan — Aramaic: “Targum Jonathan on Genesis” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Exodus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Leviticus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Numbers” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, trans. J. W. Etheridge, London, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on Numbers 3:25 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Joseph Benson's Commentary

Num 3:25-26. The tabernacle — Not the boards, which belonged to Merari, (Num 3:36,) but the ten curtains. The tent — The curtains of goats’ hair. The coverings — That is, the coverings of rams’ skins and badgers’ skins. The cords — By which the tabernacle was fastened to the pins, and stretched out, Exo 35:18.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Geneva Bible (1599)

Geneva Bible translators

Their charge was to carry the covering and hangings of the Tabernacle.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(25) In the tabernacle of the congregation.—Better, in the tent of meeting. It is important to distinguish between the ohel—i.e., the tent—and the mishkan—i.e., the tabernacle—which was the building of shittim wood with its curtains which was within the tent. The word ohel, where it occurs in the second place in this verse, evidently means the outer covering, as in Exo_26:7, where the passage may be literally rendered thus :—“And thou shalt make curtains (or hangings) of goats’ (hair) for an ohel upon (or over) the mishkan.”

The covering thereof.—The mikseh (covering) appears to include the two coverings described in Exo_26:14—viz., the covering of rams’ skins and that of badgers’ skins or seals’ skins.

The hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation—i.e., for the entrance or opening of the tent of meeting. This hanging was of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined linen, and was hung at the entrance—i.e., the eastern or open end of the tent (Exo_26:36). The word rendered door (pethach, not deleth) means an opening. At a later period, when the Tabernacle was at Shiloh, it had doors (1Sa_3:15). Both words occur in 1Ki_6:31 : “And for the entering (or at the opening) of the oracle he made doors.” &c.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

25. the tabernacle; the Tent; the covering] Since the wooden framework is to be carried by the Merarites, these three expressions denote only the stuff hangings; cf. Num_4:25. An explanation of the terms is found in Exo_26:1-14. As an ordinary tent consists mainly of the covering, the wood-work being only an accessory to support it, so (1) the tabernacle (or rather dwelling) proper consisted of ten strips of linen worked in three colours with figures of cherubim, and joined by hooks and loops into one whole (Num_3:1; Num_3:6 b). (2) The tent1 [Note: The spelling of the word in the R.V. with a capital T is misleading.] consisted of eleven strips of goats’ hair, joined together in the same way, and covering the ‘dwelling’ (Num_3:7; Num_3:11 b, 13b). (3) The covering was of rams’ skins dyed red (probably tanned) and of the water-tight skin of some marine animal such as the porpoise or dugong (Num_3:14).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Gill's Exposition

And the charge of the sons of Gershom,.... The Libnites and Shimites:

in the tabernacle of the congregation; or with respect to the things of it, when it was taken down and committed to them; for otherwise they had no place in it, nor might they enter into it, or do any service therein:

shall be the tabernacle and the tent; the former intends not the boards of it, which were the charge of the Merarites, Num 3:36; but the curtains, as Aben Ezra, or the under curtains, as Jarchi calls them, which were made of fine twined linen, Exo 26:1; and the latter is to be understood of the eleven curtains, as Aben Ezra, the curtains of goats hair, which were made for the roof of the tabernacle, as Jarchi observes, see Exo 26:7,

the covering thereof: made of rams' skins, and badgers' skins, which were thrown over the tent, Exo 26:14,

and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation; the vail, as Jarchi calls it; not what divided the holy and most holy places, for that fell to the charge of the Kohathites, Num 3:31; but the vail or hanging which was at the door of the tent, or which led into the holy place, Exo 26:36.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

The tabernacle; not the boards, which belonged to Merari, Num 3:36, but the ten curtains mentioned Exo 26:1.

The tent, to wit, the curtains of goats’ hair.

The covering thereof, i.e. the coverings of rams’ skins and badgers’ skins. See Num 4:25.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

Daniel D. Whedon

25. Tabernacle… tent… covering — The tabernacle consisted of three chief parts, namely, the dwelling place, mishkan, or tabernacle strictly so called; the tent, ohel; and mikseh, the covering. The tabernacle itself was made of ten curtains of fine linen, ornamented with coloured cherubim resting upon a framework of boards, and was composed of the holy place and the most holy, corresponding to the adytum, ναος, or innermost sanctuary of the temple at Jerusalem. The tent — a goat’s hair fabric — was to cover the tabernacle, while spread over the tent was the covering made of the red skins of rams, or tachash skins, as a protection from the weather. See note on Num_4:6. Much confusion arises from the fact that in English tent and tabernacle are synonyms, and mean about the same as covering.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Pulpit Commentary

The charge of the sons of Gershon. See Num_4:24-26.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Wesley's Explanatory Notes

The tabernacle - Not the boards, which belonged to Merari, ver. 36, but the ten curtains. The tent - The curtains of goats hair. The coverings - That is, the coverings of rams-skins and badgers- skins.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

המשכן THE DWELLING — i.e. the lower curtains (those which were spread immediately over the boards of the Tabernacle).

והאהל AND THE TENT (the word has not its usual meaning of “tent”; cf. Rashi on Exodus 26:7—12) — i.e. the curtains of goats’ hair that were made as a roofing (to cover the lower curtains).

מכסהו THE COVERING THEREOF — the covering made of rams’ skins and tachash skins (cf. Rashi on Exodus 35:11).

ומסך פתח AND THE SCREEN FOR THE ENTRANCE — i.e. the Veil (cf. Rashi on Exodus 35:12).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Numbers, in the Pentateuch, opens this verse with 12 words (9 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is mikçeh (“covering”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

The word mikçeh carries the sense “covering.” How does it shape the verse?
Genesis 8:13 shares the word «covering» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
“tent” occurs 3× in this one verse. What is the effect of the repetition?
The translations on this page render this verse differently — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment. What might account for the different wordings?
Reading how Joseph Benson's Commentary and Geneva Bible (1599) read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

These translations choose different wording for 13 words in this verse.
“tent” occurs 3× in this single verse.
9 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 12 words in this verse.