Numberschapter 8
26 verses · BSBNumbers book hub →
A.Seven lamps giving light in frontvv. 1-4
1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Speak to Aaron and tell him: ‘When you set up the seven lamps, they are to light the area in front of the lampstand.’” 3 And Aaron did so; he set up the lamps facing toward the front of the lampstand, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 4 This is how the lampstand was constructed: it was made of hammered gold from its base to its blossoms, fashioned according to the pattern the LORD had shown Moses.
B.The Levites shaved, waved, and given awayvv. 5-22
5 Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Take the Levites from among the Israelites and make them ceremonially clean. 7 This is what you must do to cleanse them: Sprinkle them with the water of purification. Have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves. 8 Then have them take a young bull with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering. 9 Bring the Levites before the Tent of Meeting and assemble the whole congregation of Israel. 10 You are to present the Levites before the LORD and have the Israelites lay their hands upon them. 11 Aaron is to present the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the sons of Israel, so that they may perform the service of the LORD. 12 And the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and offer to the LORD one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, to make atonement for the Levites. 13 You are to have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons and then present them before the LORD as a wave offering. 14 In this way you shall separate the Levites from the rest of the Israelites, and the Levites will belong to Me. 15 After you have cleansed them and presented them as a wave offering, they may come to serve at the Tent of Meeting. 16 For the Levites have been wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself in place of all who come first from the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel. 17 For every firstborn male in Israel is Mine, both man and beast. I set them apart for Myself on the day I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. 18 But I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel. 19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites, to perform the service for the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting and to make atonement on their behalf, so that no plague will come against the Israelites when they approach the sanctuary.” 20 So Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel did with the Levites everything that the LORD had commanded Moses they should do. 21 The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes, and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the LORD. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them. 22 After that, the Levites came to perform their service at the Tent of Meeting in the presence of Aaron and his sons. Thus they did with the Levites just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
C.Serve at twenty-five, step back at fiftyvv. 23-26
23 And the LORD said to Moses, 24 “This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years of age or older shall enter to perform the service in the work at the Tent of Meeting. 25 But at the age of fifty, they must retire from performing the work and no longer serve. 26 After that, they may assist their brothers in fulfilling their duties at the Tent of Meeting, but they themselves are not to do the work. This is how you are to assign responsibilities to the Levites.”
Chapter summary
The lamps lit and the Levites consecrated.
Read the rest, the context and the outline ▾Show less ▴
Chapter summary
The lamps lit and the Levites consecrated.
Read the rest, the context and the outline ▾Show less ▴
The lamps lit and the Levites consecrated. Aaron lights the seven lamps of the candlestick so that they shine over against it. The Levites cleansed by the water of purifying, shaving all their flesh, washing their clothes; a bullock for sin offering, another for burnt offering. The people lay hands on the Levites. A corporate transfer. And Aaron offers them as a wave offering. Their service: from twenty-five until fifty years. The chapter gives both a visible picture of worship (the lamps before the face of God) and a procedural picture (the Levites received on behalf of all the firstborn of Israel).
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. 1–4 Seven lamps giving light in front
- B. 5–22 The Levites shaved, waved, and given away
- C. 23–26 Serve at twenty-five, step back at fifty
Top cross-references8 chapters ▾
Numbers 85 verses
- Numbers 8:7This is what you must do to cleanse them: Sprinkle them with the water of purification. Have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves.
- Numbers 8:11Aaron is to present the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the sons of Israel, so that they may perform the service of the LORD.
- Numbers 8:13You are to have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons and then present them before the LORD as a wave offering.
- Numbers 8:15After you have cleansed them and presented them as a wave offering, they may come to serve at the Tent of Meeting.
- Numbers 8:21The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes, and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the LORD. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them.
- Read Numbers 8 →
Numbers 35 verses
- Numbers 3:9Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been given exclusively to him from among the Israelites.
- 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 3:23The Gershonite clans were to camp on the west, behind the tabernacle,
- Numbers 3:32The chief of the leaders of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest; he oversaw those responsible for the duties of the sanctuary.
- 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 →
Exodus 254 verses
- Exodus 25:9You must make the tabernacle and design all its furnishings according to the pattern I show you.
- Exodus 25:18Make two cherubim of hammered gold at the ends of the mercy seat,
- Exodus 25:31Then you are to make a lampstand of pure, hammered gold. It shall be made of one piece, including its base and shaft, its cups, and its buds and petals.
- Exodus 25:37Make seven lamps and set them up on the lampstand so that they illuminate the area in front of it.
- Read Exodus 25 →
Leviticus 84 verses
- Leviticus 8:3and assemble the whole congregation at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.”
- Leviticus 8:6Then Moses presented Aaron and his sons and washed them with water.
- Leviticus 8:14Moses then brought the bull near for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.
- Leviticus 8:29He also took the breast—Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination—and waved it before the LORD as a wave offering, as the LORD had commanded him.
- Read Leviticus 8 →
4 more chapters this one speaks with
Numbers 193 verses
- Numbers 19:7Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may enter the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean until evening.
- Numbers 19:13Anyone who touches a human corpse and fails to purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person must be cut off from Israel. He remains unclean, because the water of purification has not been sprinkled on him, and his uncleanness is still on him.
- Numbers 19:19The man who is ceremonially clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third day and on the seventh day. After he purifies the unclean person on the seventh day, the one being cleansed must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and that evening he will be clean.
- Read Numbers 19 →
Numbers 42 verses
- Numbers 4:3men from thirty to fifty years old—everyone who is qualified to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.
- Numbers 4:23from thirty to fifty years old, counting everyone who comes to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.
- Read Numbers 4 →
Exodus 402 verses
- Exodus 40:12Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.
- Exodus 40:25and set up the lamps before the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him.
- Read Exodus 40 →
Leviticus 12 verses
- Leviticus 1:3If one’s offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to present an unblemished male. He must bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for its acceptance before the LORD.
- Leviticus 1:4He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.
- Read Leviticus 1 →
Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.