Moses numbers the first-born A. M. 2514. B. C. 1490. and have the oversight of them dren of Israel, from a month old An. Exod. Isr. 2. that keep the charge of the sanctuary. 33 Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari.. 34 And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred. 35 And the chief of the house. of the father of the families of Merari, was Zuriel the son of Abihail these shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward.. 36 And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serveth thereto, 37 And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords. 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. 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. A. M. 2514. An. Exod. Isr. 2. 41. And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am the LORD) instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel 42 And Moses numbered, as the LORD com manded him, all the first-born among the chil dren of Israel. 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. 44 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 45 Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn 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. 46 And for those that are to be redeemed of the two hundred and threescore and thir teen of the first-born of the children of Israel, which are more than the Levites: 47 Thou shalt even take five shekels apiece by the poll, after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them. ( the shekel is twenty gerahs. :) 48 And thou shalt give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed, unto Aaron and to his sons. 49 And Moses took the redemption money 40 And the LORD said unto Moses, Num- of them that were over and above them that ber all the first-born of the males of the chil-were redeemed by the Levites: Verse 39. Which Moses and Aaron numbered] The word veaharon, “ and Aaron," has a point over each of its letters, probably designed as a mark of spuriousness. The word is wanting in the Samaritan, Syriac, and Coptic; it is wanting also in eight of Dr. Kennicott's MSS., and in four of De Rossi's. Moses alone, as Houbigant observes, is commanded to take the number of the Levites; see ver. 5, 11, 40, 44, and 51. All the males were twenty and two thousand.] This total does not agree with the particulars; for the Gershonites were 7,500, the Kohathites 8,600, the Merarites 6,200, total 22,300. Several methods of solving this difficulty have been proposed by learned men; Dr. Kennicott's is the most simple. Formerly the numbers in the Hebrew Bible were expressed by letters, and not by words at full length; and if two nearly similar letters were mistaken for each other, many errors in the numbers must be the consequence. Now it is probable that an error has crept into the number of the Gershonites, ver. 22, where, instead of 7,500, we should read 7,200, as caph, 500, might have been easily mistaken for resh, 200, especially if the down stroke of the caph had been a little shorter than ordinary, which is often the case in MSS. The extra 300 being taken off, the total is just 22,000, as mentioned in the 39th verse. Verse 43. All the first-born males—were twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen ] Thus we find there were 27,3 first-born a Ver. 46, 47. beyond the number of the Levites. These are ordered, ver. 46, to be redeemed; and the redemption price is to be five shekels each, ver. 47, about 15s. And this money, amounting to 1,365 shekels, equal to £204. 15s, English, he took of the first-born of Israel, verse 50. But how was this collected among 22,273 persons? Rabbi Solomon Jarchi says, 66 to prevent contention, Moses took 22,000 slips of parchment, and wrote on each a son of Levi, and 273 others, on which he wrote five shekels; then he mixed them in a basket, and each man took out one; those who drew the slips on which five shekels were written, paid the money; the others went free." This is a most stupid and silly tale, for such a mode of settlement never could have been resorted to by an intelligent, people. It would have been much more simple to have paid it out of a general fund; and it is very likely that in this way the expense was defrayed. number the sons of Kohath. 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 manded Moses. b Ver. 48. A. M. 2514. An: Exod. Isr. 2. LORD com This species of redeeming of men is referred to by St. Peter, 1 Epist. i. 18, 19: "Ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation, received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious (Timų aiμarı, valuable) blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot," &c. And it is not the first-born only which are thus redeemed, for he, by the grace of God, tasted death for EVERY man; Heb. ii. 9. Reader, give glory to God that such a ransom has been paid for thy soul, and see that, redeemed from thy vain conversation, thy empty, fruitless, and graceless observances, on which thou hast built thy hopes of salvation, thou walk in newness of life, giving thy whole soul with thankfulness unto the Father who hath translated thee from darkness, and placed thee in the kingdom of his beloved Son. To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever! Amen. CHAPTER IV. The Moses is commanded to take the sum of the sons of Kohath from thirty years old and upward, 1–4. service which they had to perform, 5-15. The office of Eleazar, 16. The family of Kohath to be continued among the Levites, 17–19. They are not to go into the holy of holies, 20. The sum of the sons of Gershon, 21-23. The service they had to perform, 24-27. They are to be under Ithamar, 28. The sum of the sons of Merari, 29, 30. families of Kohath, 2,750, ver. 34-37. The service they had to perform, 31-33. The sum of all the The sum of the families of Gershon, 2,630, ver. 38-41. The 42-45. The sum total of the families of Gershon, Kohath, ANI saying, 2 Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from a See chap. viii. 24; | 1 Chron. xxiii. 3, 24, 27. NOTES ON CHAP. IV. Verse 3. From thirty years old] In chap. viii. 24, the Levites are ordered to enter on the service of the tabernacle at the age of twenty-five years; and in 1 Chron. xxiii. 24, they were ordered to commence that work at twenty years of age. How can these different times be reconciled? 1. At the time of which Moses speaks here, the Levitical service was exceedingly severe, and consequently required men full grown, strong, and stout, to perform it; the age therefore of thirty years was appointed as the period for commencing this service, the weightier part of which is probably here intended. 2. In chap. viii. 24, Moses seems to speak of the service in a general way; the severe, which was to be performed by the full-grown Levites, and the less laborious work which VOL. I. ( 41 ) younger men might assist in; hence the age of twentyfive is fixed. 3. In David's time and afterwards, in the fixed tabernacle and temple, the laboriousness of the service no longer existed, and hence twenty years was the age fixed on for all Levites to enter into the work of the sanctuary. The rabbins say that the Levites began to learn to do the service at twenty-five, and that having been instructed five years, they began the public service at thirty, and thus they reconcile the two periods referred to above. We may well suppose that the sons of the prophets continued a considerable time under instructions before they were called fully to exercise themselves in the prophetic office. Service of the sons of Kohath. A. M. 2514. An. Exod. Isr. 2. until fifty years old, all that enter sanctuary, and put them in a cloth into the host, to do the work in of blue, and cover them with a the tabernacle of the congregation. covering of badgers' skins, and 4 This shall be the service of the sons of shall put them on a bar : Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things: b 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and his lamps, and his tongs, and his snuff dishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it: 10 And they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put it upon a bar. 11 And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put to the staves thereof: 12 And they shall take all the instruments of ministry, wherewith they minister in the b Ver. 15. c Ver. 19.- -d Exod. xxvi. 31. 10, 16. Exod. xxv. 13. Exod. XXV. Lev. xxiv. 6, 8. Or, pour out withal.31. Exod. xxv. 37, 38. Exod. xxx. 1, bowls. e Exod. xxv. 23, 29, 30; i Exod. xxv. 3.—m Or, and merciful ordinance. A preacher who devotes his whole time and strength to the service of the Church of God from twenty to fifty or sixty years of age, should be then excused from his severer labour, and maintained at the charge of the sanctuary. This would not only be a great comfort to a worn-out servant of God, but also of great use to the work of the ministry, which, to be faithfully and effectually performed, requires all the powers of the body and mind of man. Old faithful ministers are to be highly respected for their work's sake, and to be supplied with all the necessaries and comforts of life; but how little can they do in the public ministry of the word, however willing A. M. 2514. An. Exod. Isr. 2 13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon: 14 And they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, even the censers, the flesh hooks, and the shovels, and them basons, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers' skins, and put to the staves of it. t 16 And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat-offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof.. 17 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 18 Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites: 19 But thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto " the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden: 20 But they shall not go in to see when п Chap. vii. 9; x. 21; Deut. xxxi. 9; 2 Sam. vi. 13; 1 Chron. xv. 2, 15.02 Sam. vi. 6, 7; 1 Chron. xii. 9, 10.—P Chap. iii. 31.- - Exod. xxv. 6; Lev. xxiv. 2.- Exod. xxx. 34. Exod. xxix. 40. Exod. xxx. .23.- - Ver. 4. See Exod. xix. 21; 1 Sam. vi. 19. to work, when their eye waxes dim and their bodily strength fails! See on chap. viii. 25. Both for their own sakes, and for the good of the Church, they should be excused from a labour to which they must be almost every way inadequate. But notwithstanding this comparative inactivity, their counsels, advice, and experience will always be considered as a treasure to the Church of Christ. Verse 20: When the holy things are covered] Literally, yh keballa, when they are swallowed down; which shows the promptitude with which every thing belonging to the holy of holies was put out of sight, for these mysteries must ever be treated with the deep( 41* ) The different services to be A. M. 2514. the holy things are covered, lest | hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron An. Exod. Isr. 2. 22 Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, throughout the houses of their fathers, by their families; 23 From thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that enter into perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation. 24 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, to serve, and for y burdens: 25 And they shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the congregation, his covering, and the covering of the badgers' skins that is above upon it, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, 26 And the hangings of the court, and the hanging for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and all that is made for them so shall they serve. A. M. 2514. B. C. 1490. An. Exod. Isr. 2. 29 As for the sons of Merari, Ijar or Zif. thou shalt number them after their families, by the house of their fathers; d 30 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation. 31 And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation; the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and sockets thereof, e 32 And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name ye shall reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden. 33 This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tabernacle of the congregation, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 34 And Moses and Aaron and the chief of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites after their families, and after the house of their fathers, 35 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation: 36 And those that were numbered of them Ver. 3.- - Heb. warfare. Chap. iii. 36, 37.— Exod. xxvi. 15.-Exod. xxxviii. 21. Ver. 2. Thus we find that the whole number of the Levites amounted to 22,300, of whom 8,580 were fit for service, and 13,720 unfit, being either too old or too young. What an astonishing number of men, all properly ecclesiastics; all performing some service by which God was glorified, and the congregation at large benefited! See Ainsworth. FROM this and the preceding chapter we see the very severe labour which the Levites were obliged to perform while the journeyings of the Israelites lasted. When we consider that there was not less than 10 tons 13 cwt. 24 lb. 14. oz., i. e., almost ten tons and fourteen hundred pounds' weight of metal employed in the tabernacle, (see the notes on Exod. xxxviii.,) besides the immense weight of the skins, hangings, cords, boards, and posts, we shall find it was no very easy matter to transport this movable temple from place to place. The Gershontles, who were 7,500 men in the ser The sum of the families of A. M. 2514. by their families were two thou- unto fifty years old, every one An. Exod. Isr. 2. sand seven hundred and fifty. 38 And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, throughout their families, and by the house of their fathers, 39 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation, 40 Even those that were numbered of them, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty. 41 These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the LORD. 42 And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers, A. M. 2514. An. Exod, Isr. 2. Ijar or Zif. 44 Even those that were numbered of them after their families, were three thousand and two hundred. 45 These be those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses. 46 All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chief of Israel numbered, after their families, and after the house of their fathers, 47 From thirty years old and upward, even unto fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation, 48 Even those that were numbered of them, were eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore. 49 According to the commandment of the LORD they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered of him, as the LORD commanded vice, had to carry the tent, coverings, veils, hangings of the court, &c., &c., chap. iii. 25, 26. The Kohathites, who were 8,600 men, had to carry the ark, table, candlestick, allars, and instruments of the sanctuary, chap. iii. 31. The Merarites, who were 6,200 men, had to carry the boards, bars, pillars, sockets, and all matters connected with these belonging to the tabernacle, with the pillars of the court, their sockets, pins, and cords, chap. iii. 36, 37. The tabernacle was an epitome of the temple: the temple and tabernacle were representatives of the Church of the living God, and of the humanity of our blessed Lord. As God dwelt in the tabernacle and temple, so his fulness dwelt in the man Christ Jesus. These again were types of the Christian Church, which is termed the body of Christ, Eph. i. 23, where he dwells in the plenitude of the graces of his Spirit. Mr. Ainsworth has a very useful note on the 20th verse of this chapter, the most edifying part of which I shall here lay before the reader. He considers the tabernacle and temple, not only as pointing out the old dispensation, the annulling of which was typified by their destruction, but he considers also the former as emblematical of the body of man. "The apostle," says he, "treating of the death of the saints, uses this similitude: If our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For we that are in THIS TABERNACLE do groan, being burdened, not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life;' 2 Cor. v. 1-4. So Peter calls his death the putting off of his TABERNACLE, 2 Pet. i. 14. And this similitude is very fit; for, as here, in the tabernacle of Moses, the holy things were first covered and taken away, (see ver. 20,) so the soul and its powers are first withdrawn from the body by death. 2. As the curtains and coverings were taken off and folded up, so the skin and flesh of our bodies are pulled off and consumed. 3. As the boards of the tabernacle were disjointed and pulled asunder, so shall our bones and sinews: compare Job's description of the formation of man, chap. x. 8-12; and Solomon's account of his dissolution, Eccles. xii. 3, 4. 4. As the disjointed and dissolved tabernacle was afterwards set up again, Num. x. 21, so shall our bodies in the day of the resurrection; see 1 Cor. xv. 51-54." |