Numbers 18:20
in Numbers 18Then 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any portion among them: I am thy portion and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.
KJV
And the Lord spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.
⋯
This verse in Numbers 18
Commentary
6 notes on this verseIndeed, do you wish to know what the difference is between the priests of God and the priests of Pharaoh? Pharaoh grants lands to his priests. The Lord, on the other hand, does not grant his priests a portion in the land but says to them, "I am your portion."
This site's exposition
I am thy part and thine inheritance
on Numbers 18:20-24
Every portion listed above this verse exists because of it. Aaron is told he will hold no ground in the land, and the portion named in its place is God himself, I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel. Joshua 13:14 and 13:33 record the rule being kept when the land was actually divided, and Deuteronomy 18:1-2 repeats it to the next generation. Albert Barnes observes that Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek long before this at Genesis 14:20, and that verse 21 is where the tithe is first assigned to the Levites, which Hebrews 7:5 takes up by name.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
For all this people had twelve tribes after the number of the twelve sons of Jacob. What we call tribes are as it were distinct houses and congregations of people. This people, I say, had twelve tribes, out of which twelve tribes one tribe was Judah, out of which came the kings. There was another tribe, Levi, out of which came the priests. To the priests serving the temple no land was allotted. So it was necessary that among twelve tribes all the land of promise should be shared. Having separated one tribe of higher dignity, the tribe of Levi, which was of the priests, there would have remained eleven, unless by the adoption of the two sons of Joseph the number twelve were completed.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the Lord spake unto Aaron,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
I am thy part and thine inheritance - The principal part of what was offered to God was the portion of the priests, therefore they had no inheritance of land in Israel; independently of that they had a very ample provision for their support. The rabbins say twenty-four gifts were given to the priests, and they are all expressed in the law. Eight of those gifts the priests ate nowhere but in the sanctuary: these eight are the following: - 1. The flesh of the Sin-Offering, whether of beasts or fowls, Lev 6:25, Lev 6:26.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I am thy part and thine inheritance - Compare the marginal references.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶֽל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אַהֲרֹ֗ן | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| בְּאַרְצָם֙ | beartzam | in land their | H776 → | 2504 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִנְחָ֔ל | tinchal | you will have an inheritance | H5157 → | 59 times |
| וְחֵ֕לֶק | vechelek | and a share | H2506 → | 67 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִהְיֶ֥ה | yihyeh | it will belong | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְךָ֖ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| בְּתוֹכָ֑ם | betokham | in midst of them | H8432 → | 418 times |
| אֲנִ֤י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| חֶלְקְךָ֙ | chelkecha | [am] share your | H2506 → | 67 times |
| וְנַחֲלָ֣תְךָ֔ | venachalatekha | and inheritance your | H5159 → | 222 times |
| בְּת֖וֹךְ | betokh | in among | H8432 → | 418 times |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ ס | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶֽל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אַהֲרֹ֗ןAaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
בְּאַרְצָם֙in land their
beartzamH776 →2504 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִנְחָ֔לyou will have an inheritance
tinchalH5157 →59 times
וְחֵ֕לֶקand a share
vechelekH2506 →67 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִהְיֶ֥הit will belong
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
לְךָ֖to <the> you
lekha
בְּתוֹכָ֑םin midst of them
betokhamH8432 →418 times
אֲנִ֤יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
חֶלְקְךָ֙[am] share your
chelkechaH2506 →67 times
וְנַחֲלָ֣תְךָ֔and inheritance your
venachalatekhaH5159 →222 times
בְּת֖וֹךְin among
betokhH8432 →418 times
בְּנֵ֥י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ סIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 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
Lamentations 3:24“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”
it leads to
- Psalms 73:26
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
- Psalms 16:5
The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure.
- Psalms 142:5
I cry to You, O LORD: “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
- Lamentations 3:21
Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope:
- Psalms 33:18
Surely the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His loving devotion
- Psalms 73:26
Through
Ezekiel 44:28In regard to their inheritance, I am their inheritance. You are to give them no possession in Israel, for I am their possession.
it leads to
- 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.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 18:1–2
Through
Joshua 13:33To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance. The LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, just as He had promised them.
it leads to
- 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 18:7
The Levites, however, have no portion among you, because their inheritance is the priesthood of the LORD. And Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have already received the inheritance that Moses the…
- Deuteronomy 10:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 76:1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 16:5.