1 And the Lord spake vnto Moses, and vnto Aaron, saying,
2 Take the summe of the sonnes of Kohath, from among the sonnes of Leui, after their families, by the house of their fathers.
3 From thirty yeeres old and vpward, euen vntil fifty yeres old, all that enter into the hoste, to doe the worke in the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
4 This shall bee the seruice of the sonnes of Kohath, in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, about the most Holy things.
5 ¶ And when the Campe setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sonnes, and they shall take downe the couering Uaile, and couer the Arke of Testimony with it:
6 And shall put thereon the couering of badgers skinnes, & shall spread ouer it a cloth wholly of blew, and shall put in the staues thereof.
7 And vpon the table of Shewbread they shall spread a cloth of blew, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoones, and the bowles, and couers to couer withall: and the continual bread shalbe thereon.
8 And they shall spread vpon them a clothe of scarlet, and couer the same with a couering of badgers skinnes, and shall put in the staues thereof.
9 And they shall take a cloth of blew, and couer the candlesticke of the light, and his lampes, and his tongs, and his snuffe dishes, and all the oyle vessels thereof, wherewith they minister vnto it.
10 And they shall put it, and all the vessels thereof, within a couering of badgers skinnes, and shall put it vpon a barre.
11 And vpon the golden Altar they shall spread a cloth of blew, and couer it with a couering of badgers skinnes, and shall put to the staues thereof.
12 And they shall take all the instruments of ministery, wherewith they minister in the Sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blew, and couer them with a couering of badgers skinnes, and shall put them on a barre.
13 And they shall take away the ashes from the Altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon:
14 And they shall put vpon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, euen the censers, the fleshhookes, and the shouels, and the basons, all the vessels of the Altar: and they shall spread vpon it a couering of badgers skinnes, and put to the staues of it.
15 And when Aaron and his sonnes haue made an end of couering the Sanctuary, and all the vessels of the Sanctuary, as the campe is to set forward; after that, the sonnes of Kohath shall come to beare it: but they shal not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sonnes of Kohath in the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
16 ¶ And to the office of Eleazar the sonne of Aaron the Priest, perteineth the oile for the light, and the sweet incense, and the dayly meat offering, and the anoynting oyle, and the ouersight of all the Tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the Sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof.
17 ¶ And the Lord spake vnto Moses, and vnto Aaron, saying,
18 Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites, from among the Leuites.
19 But thus doe vnto them, that they may liue, and not die: when they approche vnto the most Holy things, Aaron and his sonnes shall goe in, and appoint them euery one to his seruice, and to his burden.
20 But they shall not goe in to see when the holy things are couered, lest they die.
21 ¶ And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying,
22 Take also the summe of the sonnes of Gershon, throughout the houses of their fathers, by their families:
23 From thirtie yeeres old and vpward, vntill fiftie yeeres old shalt thou number them: all that enter in to performe the seruice, to doe the worke in the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
24 This is the seruice of the families of the Gershonites, to serue, and for burdens.
25 And they shall beare the curtaines of the Tabernacle, and the Tabernacle of the Congregation; his couering, and the couering of the badgers skinnes that is aboue vpon it, and the hanging for the doore of the Tabernacle of the Congregation:
26 And the hangings of the Court, and the hanging for the doore 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 seruice, and all that is made for them: so shall they serue.
27 At the appointment of Aaron and his sonnes, shall be all the seruice of the sonnes of the Gershonites, in all their burdens, and in all their seruice: and yee shall appoint vnto them in charge all their burdens.
28 This is the seruice of the families of the sonnes of Gershon, in the Tabernacle of the Congregation: and their charge shalbe vnder the hande of Ithamar the sonne of Aaron the Priest.
29 ¶ As for the sonnes of Merari, thou shalt number them after their families, by the house of their fathers:
30 From thirty yeeres old and vpward, euen vnto fiftie yeeres old shalt thou number them, euery one that entreth in to the seruice, to doe the worke of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
31 And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their seruice, in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, the boards of the Tabernacle, and the barres thereof, and the pillars thereof, and sockets thereof:
32 And the pillars of the Court round about, and their sockets, and their pinnes, and their coards, with all their instruments, and with all their seruice: and by name yee shall reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden.
33 This is the seruice of the families of the sonnes of Merari, according to all their seruice in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, vnder the hand of Ithamar the sonne of Aaron the Priest.
34 ¶ And Moses and Aaron, and the chiefe of the Congregation, numbred the sonnes of the Kohathites, after their families, and after the house of their fathers;
35 From thirtie yeeres old and vpward, euen vnto fiftie yeeres old, euery one that entreth in to the seruice, for the worke in the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
36 And those that were numbred of them by their families, were two thousand, seuen hundred and fiftie.
37 These were they that were numbred of the families of the Kohathites; all that might doe seruice in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, which Moses and Aaron did number, according to the commandement of the Lord, by the hand of Moses.
38 And those that were numbred of the sonnes of Gershon, throughout their families, and by the house of their fathers;
39 From thirtie yeeres old and vpward, euen vnto fiftie yeeres old, euery one that entreth in to the seruice, for the worke in the Tabernacle of the Congregation:
40 Euen those that were numbred of them, throughout their families, by the houses of their fathers, were two thousand, and sixe hundred and thirtie.
41 These are they that were numbred of the families of the sonnes of Gershon, of all that might doe seruice in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, whom Moses and Aaron did number, according to the commandement of the Lord.
42 ¶ And those that were numbred of the families of the sonnes of Merari, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers:
43 From thirtie yeeres old and vpward, euen vnto fiftie yeeres old, euery one that entreth in to the seruice, for the worke in the Tabernacle of the Congregation:
44 Euen those that were numbred of them after their families, were three thousand and two hundred.
45 These be those that were numbred of the families of the sonnes of Merari, whom Moses & Aaron numbred according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.
46 All those that were numbred of the Leuites, whom Moses and Aaron, and the chiefe of Israel numbred, after their families, and after the house of their fathers:
47 From thirty yeeres old and vpward, euen vnto fifty yeeres old, euery one that came to doe the seruice of the ministery, and the seruice of the burden in the Tabernacle of the Congregation:
48 Euen those that were numbred of them, were eight thousand, and fiue hundred, and fourescore.
49 According to the commandement of the Lord, they were numbred by the hand of Moses, euery one according to his seruice, and according to his burden: Thus were they numbred of him, as the Lord commanded Moses.
The Levites' service. (1-3) The duties of the Kohathites. (4-20) The duties of the Gershonites and Merarites. (21-33) The numbers of the serviceable Levites. (34-49)1-3 The middle-aged men of the tribe of Levi, all from thirty years old to fifty, were to be employed in the service of the tabernacle. The service of God requires the best of our strength, and the prime portion of our time, which cannot be better spent than to the honour of Him who is the First and Best. And the service of God should be done when we are most lively and active. Those do not consider this who put off repentance to old age, and so leave the best work to be done in the worst time.
4-20 The Kohathites were to carry the holy things of the tabernacle. All the holy things were to be covered; not only for security and respect, but to keep them from being seen. This not only marked the reverence due to holy things, but the mystery of the things signified by those types, and the darkness of the dispensation. But now, through Christ, the case is altered, and we are encouraged to come boldly to the throne of grace.
21-33 We have here the charge of the other two families of the Levites, which, though not so honourable as the first, yet was necessary, and to be done regularly. All the things were delivered them by name. It intimates the care God takes of his church and every member of it. The death of the saints is represented as the taking down of the tabernacle, #2Co 5:1|, and the putting it off, #2Pe 1:14|. All shall be raised up in the great day, when these vile bodies shall be made like the glorious body of Jesus Christ, and so shall be for ever with the Lord.
34-49 God so ordered it, that though the Merarites were the fewest in number, yet they should have most able men among them; for whatever service God calls men to, he will furnish them for it, give strength in proportion to the work, and grace sufficient. The least of the tribes had many more able men than the Levites: those who engage in the service of this world, are many more than those devoted to the service of God. May our souls be wholly devoted to his service.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.