Numbers 4:12

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

They shall take all the vessels of ministry, with which they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a blue cloth, and cover them with a covering of sealskin, and shall put them on the frame.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Highlights

1 first appearance in the Hebrew Bible

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הַשָּׁרֵ֜ת

shârêth

H8335

“the · ministry”

Particle, Definite Article + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute

Appears 2× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears here

Full BDB Definition

Origin: infinitive of H8334

TWOT: 2472a

ministry, religious ministry, service in 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 →

21: words
18: distinct lemmas
Pentateuch: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is הַשָּׁרֵ֜ת ministry H8335 — appearing just 2 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

First appearance in Scripture

This word makes its first canonical appearance in the Hebrew Bible here:

הַשָּׁרֵ֜ת ministry H8335

Shared distinctive vocabulary

הַשָּׁרֵ֜ת ministry H8335 occurs in 2 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

2 Chronicles 24:14

Grammatical profile

5 verbs
10 nouns
3 prepositions
3 particles

Verb forms

וְלָקְחוּ֩ Qal · Sequential Perfect
יְשָֽׁרְתוּ Piel · Imperfect
וְנָֽתְנוּ֙ Qal · Sequential Perfect
וְכִסּ֣וּ Piel · Sequential Perfect
וְנָתְנ֖וּ Qal · Sequential Perfect

Repetition

A word recurs within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

וְנָֽתְנוּ֙ to give H5414 ×2

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 37 words from the Hebrew and 38 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.

In the original languages it is 21 Hebrew tokens and 29 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Numbers 4:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

1 Chronicles 9:29 Some of them also were appointed over the furniture, and over all the vessels of the sanctuary, and over the fine flour, and the wine, and the oil, and the frankincense, and the spices.
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 31:10 the finely worked garments--the holy garments for Aaron the priest--the garments of his sons to minister in the priest's office,
Numbers 3:8 They shall keep all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting, and the obligations of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.
Numbers 4:7 On the table of show bread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the spoons, the bowls, and the cups with which to pour out; and the continual bread shall be on it.
Numbers 4:9 They shall take a blue cloth, and cover the lampstand of the light, and its lamps, and its snuffers, and its snuff dishes, and all its oil vessels, with which they minister to it.
2 Kings 25:14–15 The pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass with which they ministered, took they away.
2 Chronicles 4:11 Huram made the pots, and the shovels, and the basins. So Huram made an end of doing the work that he did for king Solomon in the house of God:

2 Chronicles 4:16 The pots also, and the shovels, and the flesh-hooks, and all the vessels of it, did Huram his father make for king Solomon for the house of Yahweh of bright brass.
2 Chronicles 4:19 Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables whereon was the show bread;
2 Chronicles 4:22 and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the fire pans, of pure gold: and as for the entry of the house, the inner doors of it for the most holy place, and the doors of the house, [to wit], of the temple, were of gold.

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 4:12 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

וְלָקְחוּ֩ אֶת כָּל כְּלֵ֨י הַשָּׁרֵ֜ת אֲשֶׁ֧ר יְשָֽׁרְתוּ בָ֣ם בַּקֹּ֗דֶשׁ וְנָֽתְנוּ֙ אֶל בֶּ֣גֶד תְּכֵ֔לֶת וְכִסּ֣וּ אוֹתָ֔ם בְּמִכְסֵ֖ה ע֣וֹר תָּ֑חַשׁ וְנָתְנ֖וּ עַל הַמּֽוֹט

They shall take all the vessels of ministry, with which they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a blue cloth, and cover them with a covering of sealskin, and shall put them on the frame.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Numbers 4:12 Septuagint · lemma form

καί λαμβάνω πᾶς ὁ σκεῦος ὁ λειτουργικός ὅσος λειτουργέω ἐν αὐτός ἐν ὁ ἅγιος καί ἐνβάλλω εἰς ἱμάτιον ὑακίνθινος καί καλύπτω αὐτός κάλυμμα δερμάτινος ὑακίνθινος καί ἐπιτίθημι ἐπί ἀναφορεύς

And they shall take all the instruments of service, with which they minister in the sanctuary: and shall place them in a cloth of blue, and shall cover them with blue skin covering, and put them upon staves.

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)

וְיִסְבוּן יָת כָּל מָנֵי שִׁמוּשָׁא דִי יְשַׁמְשׁוּן בְּהוֹן בְּקוּדְשָׁא וְיִתְּנוּן לִלְבוּשׁ תִּכְלָא וִיכַסוּן יָתְהוֹן בְּחוֹפָאָה דִמְשַׁךְ סַסְגוֹנָא וְיִתְּנוּן עַל אֲרִיחָא

(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)

וְיִסְבוּן יַת כָּל מָאנֵי שִׁמוּשָׁא דִי יְשַׁמְשׁוּן בְּהוֹן בְּקוּדְשָׁא וְיִתְּנוּן לִלְבוּשׁ דְתִכְלָא וִיכַסוּן יַתְהוֹן בְּחוֹפָאָה דִמְשַׁךְ סַסְגוֹנָא וְיִתְּנוּן עַל קוֹפָא

and place it upon a beam.

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 4:12 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 →

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown

instruments of ministry--the official dress of the priests (Exo 31:10).

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

John Gill's Exposition

And they shall take all the instruments of ministry,

wherewith they minister in the sanctuary,.... The garments in which the priests, ministered in the sanctuary, which were laid up in proper places, and which they only wore when in service:

and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers' skins; all wrapped up in one bundle:

and shall put them on a bar; the same sort of carriage on which the candlestick and its vessels were borne; see Gill on Num 4:10.

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 instruments of ministry; the sacred garments used by the priests in their holy ministrations. See Exo 31:10.

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

The Pulpit Commentary

All the instruments of ministry. These do not seem to be, at any rate exclusively, the vessels pertaining to the golden altar. They are not packed up with it, but separately, in a blue cloth and a skin covering of their own. Probably they include all the vessels and utensils used inside the tabernacle which have not been previously mentioned.

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 instruments of ministry - The sacred garments used by the priests in their holy ministrations. Cover them - All these coverings were designed,

1. For safety, that these holy things might not be filled by rain, or tarnished by the sun.

2. For decency, most of them had a cloth of blue, or purple, or scarlet over them; the ark, a cloth wholly of blue, perhaps an emblem of the azure skies, which are spread between us and the Majesty on high;

3. For concealment. It was a fit sign of the darkness of that dispensation. The holy things were then covered. But Christ hath now destroyed the face of the covering.

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

unfoldingWord translationNotes

Door43 World Missions Community

the carrying frame

a wooden rectangle made with poles used to carry things

for the work in the holy place

The word "work" is an abstract noun that can be expressed with the verb "serving." AT: "used when serving Yahweh in the holy place" (See: Abstract Nouns)

in the work of the altar

The word "work" is an abstract noun that can be expressed with the verb "serving." AT: "when serving at the altar" (See: Abstract Nouns)

insert the carrying poles

The poles were inserted into rings on the sides of the altar so they could be used to carry it. This can be stated clearly. AT: "insert the carrying poles into the rings on the sides of the altar" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

holy place

sea cow

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

Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

את כל כלי השרת אשר ישרתו בם בקדש [AND THEY SHALL TAKE] ALL THE VESSELS OF MINISTRY, WHEREWITH THEY MINISTER IN THE HOLY PLACE — i.e. in the Tabernacle which is called holy; these were the vessels for the incense with which they performed the ministry at the inner altar.

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 21 words (18 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is shârêth (“ministry”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

The word shârêth carries the sense “ministry.” How does it shape the verse?
This is the first place “ministry” appears in Scripture (first appears here). What does its debut here establish?
How does 2 Chronicles 24:14, which shares the word «ministry», read alongside this verse?
What does the repetition of “to give” (2× in this one verse) do in this verse?
These translations render this verse differently. What is at stake in choosing one wording over another?
«וְלָקְחוּ֩» is a Qal Sequential Perfect verb. How does that grammatical form shape the action described?
Compare how Jamieson, Fausset & Brown and John Gill's Exposition read this verse. Where do they agree or differ?

Things to notice

1 word makes its first canonical appearance in Scripture here.
This verse counts 21 Hebrew ↔ 29 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 17 words in this verse.
“to give” occurs 2× in this single verse.
18 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 21 words in this verse.