Numbers 3:38

Num 3:38. For the charge — Either in their stead, that charge which they were obliged to keep, if God had not committed it to those: or for their benefit; for their preservation, as the word may be rendered.

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

3:38 The preeminent campsite east of the Tabernacle was reserved for . . . Moses, Aaron, and his priestly sons.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

That none should enter into the Tabernacle contrary to God’s appointment.

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

those that encamp, &c.--That being the entrance side, it was the post of honor, and consequently reserved to Moses and the priestly family. But the sons of Moses had no station here.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(38) Keeping the charge of the sanctuary . . . —The word mikdash (sanctuary) appears to be of a more comprehensive import than mishkan, the shittimwood building, or ohel, the tent which covered it, and it seems to include the court which surrounded the Tabernacle, as in Lev_12:4; Lev_21:12.

For the charge of the children of Israel—i.e., to attend to everything which was commanded the children of Israel.

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

38. Moses] The mention of his name in a command given to him is strange. It would be still stranger if he were the writer of the passage.

the charge] i.e. that which has to be attended to.

for the charge of the children of Israel] An idiomatic use of ‘for’ confined to late writings. It is virtually equivalent to ‘and.’ (Cf. Num_3:26 ‘for all the service’ with Num_3:31; Num_3:36 ‘and all the service.’) That which had to be attended to for the laity was the offering of sacrifice on the altar in the court.

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.

All that were numbered of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron,

numbered at the commandment of the Lord, throughout their families,.... Whence it appears, that Moses was not alone, but Aaron with him, in numbering the Levites, and that by the appointment of the Lord. The word "Aaron", in the Hebrew text, has a dot on every letter, for what reason it is not certain; the word itself is left out in the Samaritan and Syriac versions:

all the males, from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand; 22,000 men; but by putting the sums together they amount to three hundred more; for of the Gershonites there were 7,500, and of the Kohathites 8,600, and of the Merarites 6,200, in all 22,300; which difficulty some endeavour to remove by saying, as Aben Ezra observes, that the Scripture takes a short way, mentioning the thousands, and leaving out the hundreds but this, he says, is not right, nor is it the way of the Scripture in this chapter: and in an after account of the firstborn of the Israelites, not only the hundreds are mentioned, but the broken number of seventy three. Others think there is a corruption crept into the text somewhere in the particular numbers, through the inadvertency of some copyist; and suppose it to be in the number of the Kohathites, where they fancy six, is put instead of three: but there is no occasion to suppose either of these, for which there is no foundation, since the reason why three hundred are left out in the sum total may be, because there were so many firstborn among the Levites, and these could not be exchanged for the firstborn of the other tribes; they, as such, being the Lord's, and one firstborn could not redeem another; and so it is said in the Talmud (t), these three hundred were firstborn, and there is no firstborn redeems a firstborn, or frees from the redemption price of five shekels.

(t) T. Bab. Becoroth, fol. 5. 1.

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

Sons, the children of Aaron. Those of Moses were among the Levites, 1 Paralipomenon xxiii. 13. They did not remain with their father. --- In the, &c. Hebrew, "to guard the," &c., in order to supply for the rest of the Israelites, ver. 9. (St. Augustine, q. 4.)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

For the charge of the children of Israel; either in their stead. that charge which they were obliged to keep either by themselves. or by others appointed by them, if God had not committed it to those; or for their good, and service, and benefit; for their preservation, as the word may be rendered.

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

Before the tabernacle toward the east,... Moses, and Aaron and his sons. The most central and honourable place in the camp, and the most convenient for constant and direct access to the sanctuary. Moses held a wholly personal and exceptional position as king in Jeshurun; (Deu_33:5) Aaron was hereditary high priest. Between them they represented the union of royal and sacerdotal authority, which had many partial continuations in Jewish history, but was fully realized in Christ.

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

For the charge - Either in their stead, that charge which they were obliged to keep, if God had not committed it to those: or for their benefit; for their preservation, as the word may be rendered.

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

Moses and Aaron, with the sons of the latter (the priests), were to encamp in front, before the tabernacle, viz., on the eastern side, "as keepers of the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel," i.e., to attend to everything that was binding upon the children of Israel in relation to the care of the sanctuary, as no stranger was allowed to approach it on pain of death (see Num 1:51).

Num 3:39

The number of the Levites mustered, 22,000, does not agree with the numbers assigned to the three families, as 7500 + 8600 + 6200 = 22,300. But the total is correct; for, according to Num 3:46, the number of the first-born, 22,273, exceeded the total number of the Levites by 273. The attempt made by the Rabbins and others to reconcile the two, by supposing the 300 Levites in excess to be themselves first-born, who were omitted in the general muster, because they were not qualified to represent the first-born of the other tribes, is evidently forced and unsatisfactory. The whole account is so circumstantial, that such a fact as this would never have been omitted. We must rather assume that there is a copyist's error in the number of one of the Levitical families; possibly in Num 3:28 we should read שׁלשׁ for שׁשׁ (8300 for 8600). The puncta extraordinaria above ואהרן are intended to indicate that this word is either suspicious or spurious (see at Gen 33:5); and it is actually omitted in Sam., Syr., and 12 MSS, but without sufficient reason: for although the divine command to muster the Levites (Num 3:5 and Num 3:14) was addressed to Moses alone, yet if we compare Num 4:1, Num 4:34, Num 4:37, Num 4:41, Num 4:45, where the Levites qualified for service are said to have been mustered by Moses and Aaron, and still more Num 4:46, where the elders of Israel are said to have taken part in the numbering of the Levites as well as in that of the twelve tribes (Num 1:3-4), there can be no reason to doubt that Aaron also took part in the mustering of the whole of the Levites, for the purpose of adoption in the place of the first-born of Israel; and no suspicion attaches to this introduction of his name in Num 3:39, although it is not mentioned in Num 3:5, Num 3:11, Num 3:14, Num 3:40, and Num 3:44.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

final regulations

v. 38. But those that encamp before the Tabernacle toward the east, even before the Tabernacle of the Congregation eastward, for its entrance was on that side, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the Sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel, performing the duties of the priesthood for all the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death, v. 10.

v. 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, in round numbers, the exact figure being 22,300, or the three hundred were subtracted, as the Jews say, because they themselves were first-born and could therefore not be used in a comparison with the other tribes.

v. 40. And the Lord said unto Moses, Number all the first-born of the males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names.

v. 41. And thou shalt take the Levites for Me (I am the Lord) instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel, as their substitutes in the service of the Sanctuary; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel, to be consecrated to the Lord and by Him designated for the use of the Levites.

v. 42. And Moses numbered, as the Lord commanded him, all the first-born among the children of Israel.

v. 43. And all the first-born males by the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those that were numbered of them, were twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen (22,273).

v. 44. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

v. 45. Take the Levites instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be Mine. I am the Lord.

v. 46. And for those that are to be redeemed of the two hundred and threescore and thirteen of the first-born of the children of Israel, which are more than the Levites;

v. 47. thou shalt even take five shekels apiece by the poll (about $3. 20), after the shekel of the Sanctuary shalt thou take them, this being the standard of weight; (the shekel is twenty gerahs;)

v. 48. and thou shalt give the money wherewith the odd, the surplus, number of them is to be redeemed unto Aaron and to his sons, as ransom money.

v. 49. And Moses took the redemption money of them that were over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites, the 22,000 that were ransomed by the equal number of the Levites;

v. 50. of the first-born of the children of Israel took he the money; a thousand three hundred and threescore and five shekels, after the shekel of the Sanctuary (1,365 shekels being about equal to $4,368);

v. 51. and Moses gave the money of them that were redeemed unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses. Although the men in the service of the ministry of the Word in the New Testament are supported by voluntary gifts, these gifts, for all of that, should not be less plentiful than were those under the Law.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

his sons

Here "his" refers to Aaron

toward the sunrise

This is the east side of the tabernacle. AT: "on the east side, where the sun rises" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

for the fulfillment of the duties

The word "fulfilment" is an abstract noun that can be expressed as a verb. AT: "to perform the duties" (See: Abstract Nouns)

Any foreigner who approaches the sanctuary must be put to death

This can be stated in active form. AT: "You must kill any foreigner who approaches the sanctuary" or "Any foreigner who approaches the sanctuary must die" (See: Active or Passive)

twenty-two thousand men

"22,000 men" or "22,000 males" (See: Numbers)

translationWords

Moses

Aaron

tent of meeting

fulfill

sanctuary

Israel

alien

die

clan

Levi

Yahweh

command

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

משה ואהרן ובניו [BUT THOSE THAT ENCAMP BEFORE THE DWELLING … SHALL BE] MOSES, AND AARON AND HIS SONS — and adjacent to him was the standard of the camp of Judah, and next to the latter were encamped Issachar and Zebulun — “Well is it with the righteous, well with his neighbour!” Because they (the sons of Judah, Issachar and Zebulun) were the neighbours of Moses who occupied himself with the Torah, they themselves became eminent scholars in the Law, as it is said, (Psalms 60:9) “Judah is my lawgiver”; (I Chronicles 12:32) “and of the children of Issachar which were men that had understanding of the times to know what Israel had to do [the heads of them were two hundred]” — i.e., two hundred heads of the Sanhedrin; and (Judges 5:14) “and out of Zebulun came those that handle the pen of the writer” (Midrash Tanchuma, Bamidbar 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.