Numbers 16:10
in Numbers 16He has brought you near, you and all your fellow Levites, but you are seeking the priesthood as well.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and that he hath brought thee near, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee? and seek ye the priesthood also?
KJV
And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?
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This verse in Numbers 16
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
you sons of Levi
on Numbers 16:8-10
Moses names what the speech had left unnamed. The complaint used the language of equality, and the thing wanted was the office: you are seeking the priesthood as well. The words Is it not enough come twice in this chapter in opposite mouths, here of the Levites brought near to God and at verse 13 of the exodus.
This site's exposition
but you are seeking the priesthood as well
Albert Barnes reads this verse as the unmasking of Korah's real aim, priestly rank for himself and his fellow Levites. The talk of equality served to win the Reubenites. The words you and all your fellow Levites show whose ambition it was.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And he hath brought thee near to him,.... To be in his courts, to watch in his house, and wait on his priests, for which an ample provision was made by tithes.
Note, It will help to keep us from envying those that are above us duly to consider how many there are below us. Instead of fretting that any are preferred before us in honour, power, estate, or interest, in gifts, graces, or usefulness, we have reason to bless God if we, who are less than the least, are not put among the very last.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
ויקרב אתך AND HE HATH BROUGHT THEE NEAR to that service from which He has excluded the rest of the congregation of Israel.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּקְרֵב֙ | vaiyakrev | and he has brought near | H7126 → | 280 times |
| אֹֽתְךָ֔ | ʾotekha | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אַחֶ֥יךָ | ʾacheikha | brothers your | H251 → | 630 times |
| בְנֵי־ | venei- | [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| לֵוִ֖י | levi | Levi | H3878 → | 59 times |
| אִתָּ֑ךְ | ʾitakh | with you | H854 → | 929 times |
| וּבִקַּשְׁתֶּ֖ם | uvikashtem | but you seek | H1245 → | |
| גַּם־ | gam- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| כְּהֻנָּֽה׃ | kehunah | priesthood | H3550 → | 14 times |
וַיַּקְרֵב֙and he has brought near
vaiyakrevH7126 →280 times
אֹֽתְךָ֔<obj.> you
ʾotekhaH853 →10935 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אַחֶ֥יךָbrothers your
ʾacheikhaH251 →630 times
בְנֵי־[the] descendants of
venei-H1121 →4930 times
לֵוִ֖יLevi
leviH3878 →59 times
אִתָּ֑ךְwith you
ʾitakhH854 →929 times
וּבִקַּשְׁתֶּ֖םbut you seek
uvikashtemH1245 →
גַּם־also
gam-H1571 →769 times
כְּהֻנָּֽה׃priesthood
kehunahH3550 →14 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Romans 12:10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.
it leads to
- Philippians 2:3
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.
- John 13:34–35
A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another.
- Hebrews 13:1
Continue in brotherly love.
- 1 John 4:11
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
- 1 Peter 3:8–9
Finally, all of you, be like-minded and sympathetic, love as brothers, be tenderhearted and humble.
- Philippians 2:3
Through
Luke 22:24A dispute also arose among the disciples as to which of them would be considered the greatest.
it leads to
- Mark 9:34
But they were silent, for on the way they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Mark 9:34
Through
Proverbs 13:10Arrogance leads only to strife, but wisdom is with the well-advised.
it leads to
- Proverbs 19:20
Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days.
- Proverbs 19:20
Through
3 John 1:9I have written to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not accept our instruction.
it leads to
- Titus 1:7–16
As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-absorbed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money.
- Titus 1:7–16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Numbers
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.