Numberschapter 18

A.You shall bear the guilt of the sanctuaryvv. 1-7

1 So the LORD said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s house must bear the iniquity involving the sanctuary. And you and your sons alone must bear the iniquity involving your priesthood. 2 But bring with you also your brothers from the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and assist you and your sons before the Tent of the Testimony. 3 And they shall attend to your duties and to all the duties of the Tent; but they must not come near to the furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar, or both they and you will die. 4 They are to join you and attend to the duties of the Tent of Meeting, doing all the work at the Tent; but no outsider may come near you. 5 And you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and of the altar, so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again. 6 Behold, I Myself have selected your fellow Levites from the Israelites as a gift to you, dedicated to the LORD to perform the service for the Tent of Meeting. 7 But only you and your sons shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and what is inside the veil, and you are to perform that service. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but any outsider who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”

B.I am your portion and your inheritancevv. 8-20

8 Then the LORD said to Aaron, “Behold, I have put you in charge of My offerings. As for all the sacred offerings of the Israelites, I have given them to you and your sons as a portion and a permanent statute. 9 A portion of the most holy offerings reserved from the fire will be yours. From all the offerings they render to Me as most holy offerings, whether grain offerings or sin offerings or guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and your sons. 10 You are to eat it as a most holy offering, and every male may eat it. You shall regard it as holy. 11 And this is yours as well: the offering of their gifts, along with all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I have given this to you and your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. Every ceremonially clean person in your household may eat it. 12 I give you all the freshest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain that the Israelites give to the LORD as their firstfruits. 13 The firstfruits of everything in their land that they bring to the LORD will belong to you. Every ceremonially clean person in your household may eat them. 14 Every devoted thing in Israel belongs to you. 15 The firstborn of every womb, whether man or beast, that is offered to the LORD belongs to you. But you must surely redeem every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals. 16 You are to pay the redemption price for a month-old male according to your valuation: five shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel, which is twenty gerahs. 17 But you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep, or a goat; they are holy. You are to sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. 18 And their meat belongs to you, just as the breast and right thigh of the wave offering belong to you. 19 All the holy offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD I give to you and to your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. It is a permanent covenant of salt before the LORD for you and your offspring.” 20 Then the LORD said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.

C.The tithe of Israel belongs to Levivv. 21-24

21 Behold, I have given to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the service of the Tent of Meeting. 22 No longer may the Israelites come near to the Tent of Meeting, or they will incur guilt and die. 23 The Levites are to perform the work of the Tent of Meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites. 24 For I have given to the Levites as their inheritance the tithe that the Israelites present to the LORD as a contribution. That is why I told them that they would not receive an inheritance among the Israelites.”

D.Levi tithes too — the best of the bestvv. 25-32

25 And the LORD instructed Moses, 26 “Speak to the Levites and tell them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you as your inheritance, you must present part of it as an offering to the LORD—a tithe of the tithe. 27 Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress. 28 So you are to present an offering to the LORD from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites, and from these you are to give the LORD’s offering to Aaron the priest. 29 You must present the offering due the LORD from all the best of every gift, the holiest part of it.’ 30 Therefore say to the Levites, ‘When you have presented the best part, it will be reckoned to you as the produce of the threshing floor or winepress. 31 And you and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere; it is the compensation for your work at the Tent of Meeting. 32 Once you have presented the best part of it, you will not incur guilt because of it. But you must not defile the sacred offerings of the Israelites, or else you will die.’”

Commentary on this chapter: read the Exposition

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Chapter summary

The priests' and Levites' portion.

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The priests' and Levites' portion. Aaron and his sons bear the iniquity of the sanctuary; their brethren the Levites are joined unto them. All the heave offerings of holy things, the best of the oil, the best of the wine and wheat, the firstfruits. Given to Aaron and his sons as a portion. The firstborn of man redeemed at five shekels; the firstborn of the unclean beast redeemed. ‘I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel’. The priesthood holds no land because it holds the LORD. All the tithe of Israel goes to the Levites; the Levites tithe the tithe to the priests. Economic fabric of a holy people.

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.

Context

Law · Moses — Numbers overview

A. 1–7 You shall bear the guilt of the sanctuary
B. 8–20 I am your portion and your inheritance
C. 21–24 The tithe of Israel belongs to Levi
D. 25–32 Levi tithes too — the best of the best

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

Numbers 189 verses
- Numbers 18:1So the LORD said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s house must bear the iniquity involving the sanctuary. And you and your sons alone must bear the iniquity involving your priesthood.
- Numbers 18:4They are to join you and attend to the duties of the Tent of Meeting, doing all the work at the Tent; but no outsider may come near you.
- Numbers 18:7But only you and your sons shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and what is inside the veil, and you are to perform that service. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but any outsider who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”
- Numbers 18:11And this is yours as well: the offering of their gifts, along with all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I have given this to you and your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. Every ceremonially clean person in your household may eat it.
- Numbers 18:20Then the LORD said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.
- Numbers 18:21Behold, I have given to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the service of the Tent of Meeting.
- Read Numbers 18: 3 more there →
Numbers 37 verses
- Numbers 3:7They are to perform duties for him and for the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, attending to the service of the tabernacle.
- Numbers 3:9Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been given exclusively to him from among the Israelites.
- Numbers 3:10So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood; but any outsider who approaches the tabernacle must be put to death.”
- Numbers 3:12“Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb. The Levites belong to Me,
- Numbers 3:31Their duties were the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the articles of the sanctuary used with them, and the curtain—all the service for these items.
- Numbers 3:45“Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock. The Levites belong to Me; I am the LORD.
- Read Numbers 3: 1 more there →
Leviticus 64 verses
- Leviticus 6:16Aaron and his sons are to eat the remainder. It must be eaten without leaven in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.
- Leviticus 6:18Any male among the sons of Aaron may eat it. This is a permanent portion from the offerings made by fire to the LORD for the generations to come. Anything that touches them will become holy.”
- Leviticus 6:25“Tell Aaron and his sons that this is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, the sin offering shall be slaughtered before the LORD; it is most holy.
- Leviticus 6:29Any male among the priests may eat it; it is most holy.
- Read Leviticus 6 →
Leviticus 73 verses
- Leviticus 7:6Every male among the priests may eat of it. It must be eaten in a holy place; it is most holy.
- Leviticus 7:7The guilt offering is like the sin offering; the same law applies to both. It belongs to the priest who makes atonement with it.
- Leviticus 7:31The priest is to burn the fat on the altar, but the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons.
- Read Leviticus 7 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

Exodus 293 verses
- Exodus 29:16You are to slaughter the ram, take its blood, and sprinkle it on all sides of the altar.
- Exodus 29:26Take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s ordination and wave it before the LORD as a wave offering, and it will be your portion.
- Exodus 29:27Consecrate for Aaron and his sons the breast of the wave offering that is waved and the thigh of the heave offering that is lifted up from the ram of ordination.
- Read Exodus 29 →
Leviticus 223 verses
- Leviticus 22:2“Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings that the Israelites have consecrated to Me, so that they do not profane My holy name. I am the LORD.
- Leviticus 22:9The priests must keep My charge, lest they bear the guilt and die because they profane it. I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
- Leviticus 22:15The priests must not profane the sacred offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD
- Read Leviticus 22 →
Numbers 162 verses
- Numbers 16:40just as the LORD commanded him through Moses. This was to be a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his followers.
- Numbers 16:46Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, because wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has begun.”
- Read Numbers 16 →
Numbers 42 verses
- Numbers 4:15When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all their equipment, as soon as the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites shall come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy objects, or they will die. These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the Tent of Meeting.
- Numbers 4:19In order that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and what he is to carry.
- Read Numbers 4 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.