Numbers 8:25

Num 8:25-26. From the age of fifty — they shall cease waiting — Shall be excused from carrying the parts and vessels of the tabernacle, and all the toilsome duties of the service, and shall only give advice and direction, and assist in lesser and easier works. How merciful and full of compassion are the laws of God! When his servants became advanced in years in his service, they were not required to do the same work which they did when younger. But doubtless many of them, who were of age to take the benefit of this kind provision made for them, would show their love to God by still exerting in some way their last remains of strength in his service. And surely happy are they who, by the blessing of God on a temperate life, are preserved to old age, with strength to labour in His service who gave them being, and died to redeem them.

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

Such office as was painful, as to bear burdens and such like.

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

from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, &c.--that is, on the laborious and exhausting parts of their work.

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

But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation,.... By giving advice, instructing younger Levites, and doing lighter service. Jarchi says, they shall return to shutting of doors, singing and loading wagons; but the last especially seems too burdensome: the ministry of such is explained by the next clause:

to keep the charge; of the tabernacle, to watch and observe that no stranger or unclean person enter into it; and this they were capable of when at the age of fifty, and upwards:

and shall do no service; heavy and laborious:

thus thou shall do unto the Levites touching their charge; dismiss them from service when at such an age, or however make their service easier; for this respects ancient men, as Aben Ezra notes; though it may include both their entrance on their work, and their cessation from it.

Next: Numbers Chapter 9

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

Serve, in any laborious functions, as the original imports.

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).

i.e. Upon the difficult and cumbersome part of their work.

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

at the age of fifty years

"at 50 years old" or "when they become 50 years old" (See: Numbers)

translationWords

brother

tent of meeting

Levi

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

ולא יעבד עוד [AND FROM THE AGE OF FIFTY YEARS HE SHALL CEASE WAITING UPON THE SERVICE] AND SHALL DO NO MORE SERVICE — the service of bearing loads on the shoulder, but he still returns (i. e. may be called upon) for closing the Temple gates, for the service of singing and for loading sacred articles upon the wagons; for this is the meaning of (v. 26) “But he shall serve את אחיו” i. e. together with his brethren, just as the Targum renders it (not, “he shall serve his brethren, i. e. wait upon them) (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 63).

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.

AND FROM THE AGE OF FIFTY YEARS HE SHALL RETURN FROM THE SERVICE OF THE WORK, AND HE SHALL SERVE NO MORE — “the service of carrying loads upon the shoulders, but he returns [i.e., he may still serve] to close the gates, or to sing, or to load the wagons.” This is Rashi’s language. But in the Sifre 63. the Rabbis mentioned only that “he returns to close the gates or to the work of the sons of Gershon” [but they did not say that he may return to the service of singing]! And this indeed appears correct [that a Levite above the age of fifty was not allowed to take part in the singing] — for if it were as the Rabbi [Rashi] has written, why were the twenty-year old Levites not appointed to sing, to close the gates and to load the wagons until they reached the required age, and why were they counted from thirty to fifty years old and only for the work of bearing burdens [since both before and after these two age-limits they could still serve by singing etc., therefore they should have been counted from twenty years, with no upper limit]? Moreover, why were the sons of Gershon and Merari counted in this way [from thirty to fifty] since all their work [i.e., singing, closing the gates and loading the wagons] could be done when they were older?We must rather say that since they were appointed to carry the ark at the age from thirty to fifty, they [therefore] were not appointed to sing, which was the main function of the Levites, unless they were also qualified to carry the ark, for all those who were appointed to sing were qualified to perform all the services [including the carrying of the ark]. And since the Kohathites [who were the only ones permitted to carry the ark] were counted from thirty to fifty years old, even for singing, they were all counted in this manner, in order that the sons of Gershon and Merari should not be qualified to sing during these years [i.e., below the age of thirty and above the age of fifty] and the sons of Kohath be disqualified. [Hence the age limits of thirty and fifty applied to the Kohathites’ singing, which was their main function, as well as to their carrying of the parts of the Tabernacle, and therefore these age limits applied to the function of singing of the sons of Gershon and Merari as well, and they could not, as Rashi wrote, return to the singing.] But for closing the gates or loading the wagons all of them were qualified [even after the age of fifty, as quoted in the Sifre above]. Furthermore it is written, from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entered in to do the work of the service, and the work of bearing burdens in the Tent of Meeting, and the Rabbis interpreted in the Tractate of Shechitath Chullin: is in contrast to the Tractate Schechitath Kodashim (The Slaughtering of Hallowed Animals), now generally called Zebachim (Offerings). “I might think that in Shiloh and in the Eternal House [at Jerusalem, when the services of the Levites were limited to gatekeeping and singing] it was also so [that the Levites were disqualified after the age of fifty]; Scripture therefore says, to do the work of service, and the work of bearing burdens. I have only said so with respect to a time when there is bearing burdens upon the shoulders.” Now [the expression] ‘avodath avodah’ [the work of service, but literally “a service of a service”] is a reference to singing, as Rashi has written above in Seder Naso; if so [it is clear that] when there was [the duty of] bearing the burdens upon the shoulders, the Levites were disqualified from singing as well [after the age of fifty]. And so it is said in the words of David, And the Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward, and it is further written there, Of these twenty and four thousand were to oversee the work of the House of the Eternal etc., Verse 4. and four thousand praised the Eternal with the instruments which I made to praise therewith., Verse 5. For until the House [of G-d in Jerusalem] was built, when they still had to carry [the ark and the Tabernacle] on their shoulders, they only appointed Levites to sing who were also fit to carry [i.e., from the age of thirty to fifty]; but David counted them again from twenty years old, Verse 27. to meet the requirements of the House [of G-d] when it was built, as has been explained [above at the end of Verse 4].

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.