Matthew Poole and continuators on Numbers 3

1 THese also are the generations of Aaron and Moses, in the day that the LORD spake with Moses in mount Sinai .

Which follow in this chapter.

(i. e.) Either 1. The things done by them, as the word generation is sometimes used, as Gen. 6. 9. and 25. 19. and 37. 2. Or rather 2. The Kindred or Family, for that is the subject of this chapter, and not their events or actions. Obj. Aarons Family indeed is here mentioned, but not Moses his Family. Answ. Moses his Family and Children are here included under the general name of the Amramite, ver. 27. which includes all the Children and Grand-chilfiren of Amram, the persons onely of Aaron and Moses being excepted. And the generations of Moses are thus obscurely mentioned, because they were but common Levites, the Priesthood being given solely to Aarons posterity, whence Aaron is here put before Moses, who elsewhere is commonly named after him.

This seems to be added, because Nadab and Abihu mentioned ver. 2. were then alive, though dead at the time of taking this account.

4 And Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar ministred in the priests office in the sight of Aaron their father.

In the time of Aarons life, as this phrase is taken N[illegible: 1+ letters]ab. [illegible: 1+ letters]. 4. See also Psal. 72. 5, 17. and under their fathers inspection and direction, and as their fathers servants or ministers, in the Priests-office, for servants are oft described by this phrase of being or standing or [illegible: 1 word] in the sight or [illegible: 1 word] of their master.

Marginal references: Lev. 10. 1. chap. 26. 61. 1 Chron. 24. 2.

6 Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them , before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him.

Offer them to the Lord for his special service. This was promised to them before and now actually conferred upon them.

7 And they shall keep his charge , and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle.

(i. e.) Aarons charge, or those things which are committed principally to Aarons care and oversight, and under him and his direction to the Levites.

(i. e.) Of all the sacrifices and services which were due to the Lord from all the people, and because all the people could not and might not perform them, or at least diverse of them, in their own persons, therefore they were to be performed by some particular persons in their name and stead, formerly by the first-born, Numb. 8. 16. and now by the Levites. See Numb. 1. 53. and 16. 9.

Emphatically, not within the Tabernacle, for the care of these things within the holy place was appropriated to the Priests, as the care of the most holy place was peculiar to the High-priest.

8 And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel , to do the service of the tabernacle.

Those things which all the children of Israel are in their several places and stations obliged to take care of, though not in their persons, yet by others in their stead.

9 And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel.

To attend upon him and observe his orders and case him of part of his burden in things hereafter mentioned.

Marginal references: chap. 8. 19.; Heb. [illegible: 1 word] give[illegible: 1+ letters].

10 And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priests office : and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

In their own persons, not by the Levites.

(i. e.) Every one who is of another family than Aarons, yea though he be a Levite. See Numb. 1. 53. and 16. 40.

To wit, to execute any part of the Priest office.

12 And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel, instead of all the first-born that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine.

Who were Gods propriety by right of Redemption, Exod. 13. 12. and to whom the administration of holy things was formerly committed, which now was taken away from them, either because they had forfeited this priviledge by joyning with the rest of their brethren in the idolatrous worship of the calf, or because they were to be mainly concerned in the distribution and management of the inheritances which now they were going to possess, and therefore could not be at leisure to attend upon the service of the Sanctua[illegible: 1+ letters]y: Which made it fit that this work should be committed to other hands. And God would not commit it to some other persons in each Tribe, which might be an occasion of Idolatry, confusion, division, and contempt of sacred things, but to one distinct Tribe, which might be intirely devoted to that service, and particularly to the Tribe of Levi, partly out of his respect to Moses and Aaron, branches of this Tribe; partly as a recompence of their zeal for God and against Idolaters. See Exod. 32. 25, 29. Deut. 33. 9. and partly because it was the smallest of the Tribes, and therefore most likely to find both employment in and maintenance for the work.

Marginal references: chap. 8. 16, and 18. 6.

13 Because all the first-born are mine, for on the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast, mine they shall be: I am the LORD

Who may appoint whom I please for my service.

Marginal references: Exod. 13. 2. Lev. 27. 26. chap. 8. 16. Luk. 2. 23.; Exod. 13. 12, 15.

15 Number the children of Levi, after the house of their fathers, by their families: every male from a month old and upward, shalt thou number them.

Because at that time the first-born, in whose stead the Levites came, Numb. 8. 16. were offered to God, Luk. 2. 22. and to be redeemed, Numb. 18. 16. And from that time the Levites were consecrated to God and were, as soon as they were capable, to be instructed in their work. Elsewhere they are numbred from twenty five years old, when they were entred as novices to part of their work, Numb. 8. 24. and from thirty years old, when they were compleatly admitted to their whole office.

25 And the charge of the sons of Gershon, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall be the tabernacle , and the tent , the covering thereof , and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:

Not the boards which belonged to Merari ver. 36. but the ten curtains mentioned Exod. 26. 1.

To wit, the curtains of goats hair.

(i. e.) The coverings, of rams-skins and badgers-skins. See Numb. 4. 25.

Marginal references: Exod. 25. 9.; Exod. 26. 1.; Exod. 26. 7. 14.; Exod. 26. 36.

26 And the hangings of the court, and the curtain for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and the cords of it , for all the service thereof.

By which the Tabernacle was fastened to the pins, and stretched out, Exod. 35. 18.

Marginal references: Exod. 27. 9.; Exod. 27. 16.

27 And of Kohath was the family of the Amramite, and the family of the Izharite, and the family of the Hebronite, and the family of the Uzzielite: these are the families of the Kohathite.

This Family had many priviledges above the others: Of that were Moses and Aaron, and all the Priests: They had the chief place about the Tabernacle, and the care of the most holy things, here below ver. 31. and in the Land of Canaan they had twenty three Citie[illegible: 1+ letters] ▪ which were almost as many as both their brethren received. See Ios. 21.

28 In the number of all the males, from a month old and upward were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary .

Or, keepers, &c. i. e. appointed for that work, as soon as they were capable of it.

(i. e.) Of those holy things contained in or nearly belonging to the sanctuary, expressed, verse 31.

31 And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the hanging , and all the service thereof .

Which covered the most holy place, for all other hangings belonging to the Gershonites.

(i. e.) All the other furniture belonging to it, of which see Numb. 4. 7, 9, 14.

Marginal references: Exod. 25. 1[illegible: 1+ letters].; Exod. 25. 2[illegible: 1+ letters].; Exod. 25. 3[illegible: 1+ letters].; Exod. 27. 1. and 30. 1.; Exod. 26. 3[illegible: 1+ letters].

32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the Priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites : and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.

Next under the High-priest, whence he is called the second Priest, 2 King. 25. 18. and in case of the High-Priests absence by sickness or other necessary occasions, he was to perform his work, 1 King. 4. 4. and he had a superiority over all the rest of the Priests and Levites.

(i. e.) Over those three persons, who were each the chief of their several families, of whom see here, ver. 24, 31, 35.

37 And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords .

Therefore these were for another use than those mentioned, verse 26.

38 But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward; shall be Moses and Aaron, and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel : and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

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 rendred.

39 All that were numbred of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron numbred at the commandment of the LORD, throughout their families, all the males, from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand .

Obj. But if the partial numbers, mentioned ver. 22, 28, 34. be put together, they make exactly 22300. Answ. The odd 300 are omitted here, either according to the use of the Holy Scripture, where in so great numbers small summes are commonly neglected, or, because they were the first-born of the Levites and therefore belonged to God already, and so could not be given to him again instead of the other first-born. See Levit. 27. 29. If this number of first-born seem very small to come from 22000 Levites, it must be considered, That onely such first-born are here named as were males, and such as continued in their parents Families, not such as had erected new families of their own. Adde to this, that God so ordered things by his wi[illegible: 1+ letters]e providence for divers weighty reasons, that this Tribe should be much the least of all the Tribes, as is evident by comparing the numbers of the other Tribes, from twenty years old, Numb. 1. with the number of this from a moneth old; and therefore it is not strange if the number of their first-born be less than in other Tribes. Although if the other Tribes had been computed from a moneth old, as this was, their number of 600000, had probably been double or treble to that, and consequently the number of their first-born being 22273 verse 43. would have been as unproportionable to their whole summe, as this of 300 first-born Levites seems to their whole number. And some adde, that onely those firstborn are numbred both in this and in the other Tribes, which were born since they came out of Egypt, when God challenged all the first-born to be his.

Marginal references: See chap▪ 62.

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.

That they may be compared with the number of the Levites for the reason here following.

41 And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am the LORD) in stead of all the first-born among the children of Israel , and the cattle of the Levites in stead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel.

To wit, such as are now alive of them, but those which should be born of them hereafter are otherwise disposed.

Not that they were to be taken from the Levites or to be sacrificed to God, any more than the Levites themselves were, but that they together with the Levites were to be presented before the Lord by way of acknowledgment, that the Levites might be set apart for Gods service, and their cattle for themselves as Gods ministers and for their support in Gods work.

45 Take the Levites in stead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites in stead of their cattle, and the Levites shall be mine, I am the LORD.

To wit, the 22000 reckoned up, ver. 39. of which see the notes there.

47 Thou shalt even take five shekels a piece by the poll, after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them: the shekel is twenty gerahs.

Which was the price to be paid for the redemption of a first-born a month old, Numb. 18. 15, 16. but this mony though paid for these 273 persons was probably paid out of the common stock of all, except lots were cast who should pay, which is not probable in so small a concern accompanied with so much trouble.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1+ letters]xod. 30. 13. [illegible: 1 word]. 27. 25. [illegible: 1 word]. 18. 16. [illegible: 1 word]. 45. 12.

48 And thou shalt give the number wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed unto Aaron and to his sons .

To whom all the Levites were given, and therefore the mony which came in their stead.