Numbers 1:49
in Numbers 1“Do not number the tribe of Levi in the census with the other Israelites.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Only the tribe of Levi thou shalt not number, neither shalt thou take the sum of them among the children of Israel;
KJV
Only thou shalt not number the tribe of Levi, neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel:
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This verse in Numbers 1
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers
on Numbers 1:47-49
Levi is left out by name, and the text gives the exclusion as a command spoken to Moses, which John Gill reads as clearing Moses of partiality toward his own tribe. Levi is counted, in chapter 3 and on another basis, all the males from a month old and upward rather than the men of fighting age, with the total at 3:39 standing at twenty two thousand. Genesis 49:5-7 had left Levi under a word about being scattered in Israel, and Exodus 32:26-29 records the tribe that came to Moses at the gate of the camp, which Albert Barnes reads as the ground of the charge given here.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Levi - Because they were not generally to go out to war, which was the thing principally eyed in this muster, ver. 3, 20, 45, but were to attend upon the service of the tabernacle. They that minister upon holy things, should not entangle themselves in secular affairs. The ministry itself is work enough for a whole man, and all little enough to be employed in it.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-3-anchored-49-49
Only thou shall not number the tribe of Levi,.... That is, along with the other tribes, for it might be numbered by itself, as it afterwards was, Num 3:43, neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel; which confirms what is before observed: now this being the declared will of God clears Moses from all partiality to his own tribe, he doing nothing but what he had a command of God for it.
The ministry is itself work enough for a whole man, and all little enough to be employed in it. It is an admonition to ministers to distinguish themselves by their exemplary conversation from common Israelites, not affecting to seem greater, but aiming to be really better, every way better than others.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַ֣ךְ | ʾakh | only | H389 → | 161 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַטֵּ֤ה | mateh | [the] tribe of | H4294 → | 252 times |
| לֵוִי֙ | levi | Levi | H3878 → | 59 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִפְקֹ֔ד | tifkod | you will enroll | H6485 → | 303 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| רֹאשָׁ֖ם | rosham | head their | H7218 → | 599 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִשָּׂ֑א | tisa' | you will lift up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| בְּת֖וֹךְ | betokh | in among | H8432 → | 418 times |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
אַ֣ךְonly
ʾakhH389 →161 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מַטֵּ֤ה[the] tribe of
matehH4294 →252 times
לֵוִי֙Levi
leviH3878 →59 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִפְקֹ֔דyou will enroll
tifkodH6485 →303 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
רֹאשָׁ֖םhead their
roshamH7218 →599 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִשָּׂ֑אyou will lift up
tisa'H5375 →656 times
בְּת֖וֹךְin among
betokhH8432 →418 times
בְּנֵ֥י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
7 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Numbers 26:62The registration of the Levites totaled 23,000, every male a month old or more; they were not numbered among the other Israelites, because no inheritance was given to them among the Israelites.
it leads to
- Numbers 35:2–8
“Command the Israelites to give, from the inheritance they will possess, cities for the Levites to live in and pasturelands around the cities.
- Numbers 3:39
The total number of Levites that Moses and Aaron counted by their clans at the LORD’s command, including all the males a month old or more, was 22,000.
- Deuteronomy 10:9
That is why Levi has no portion or inheritance among his brothers; the LORD is his inheritance, as the LORD your God promised him.
- Numbers 18:20–24
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.
- Deuteronomy 18:1–2
The Levitical priests—indeed the whole tribe of Levi—shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They are to eat the offerings made by fire to the LORD; that is their inheritance.
- Numbers 35:2–8
Through
Numbers 2:33But the Levites were not counted among the other Israelites, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
it leads to
- Numbers 1:47–49
The Levites, however, were not numbered along with them by the tribe of their fathers.
- Numbers 26:57–62
Now these were the Levites numbered by their clans: The Gershonite clan from Gershon, the Kohathite clan from Kohath, and the Merarite clan from Merari.
- Numbers 1:47–49
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Numbers
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.