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Numbers 18:4

in Numbers 18

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.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the Tent: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you.

KJV

And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you.

This verse in Numbers 18

Commentary

6 notes on this verse
A stranger - i. e. every one not a Levite. So in Num 18:7, it denotes each one who was not a priest: compare Num 3:10; Num 16:40.

This site's exposition

shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary

on Numbers 18:1-4

Chapter 17 closes with Israel crying that every one who comes near the tabernacle dies. This chapter answers that cry by fixing where the danger is carried, and it lays it on Aaron and his sons. Adam Clarke points out the play on the name in verse 2, since Levi comes from a root meaning to be joined, and the Levites are the tribe joined to the priests as their assistants. The word here comes to Aaron directly rather than through Moses, which happens three times in this chapter and rarely anywhere else in the Torah.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

), though they must by no means come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary, nor at the altar meddle with the great services of burning the fat and sprinkling the blood.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

And they shall be joined unto thee,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Many of the Levites had of late set themselves against Aaron, but henceforward God promises that they should be heartily joined to him in interest and affection, and should no more contest with him. It was a good sign to Aaron that God owned him when he inclined the hearts of those concerned to own him too. The Levites are said to be given as a gift to the priests,

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

The Levites were to attend the priests as servants--bestowed on them as "gifts" to aid in the service of the tabernacle--while the high and dignified office of the priesthood was a "service of gift." "A stranger," that is, one, neither a priest nor a Levite, who should intrude into any departments of the sacred office, should incur the penalty of death.

The words behind it

14 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וְנִלְו֣וּand they will join themselves

    venilvuH3867

  • עָלֶ֔יךָto you

    ʾaleikhaH59215755 times

  • וְשָֽׁמְר֗וּand they will keep

    veshameruH8104468 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H85310935 times

  • מִשְׁמֶ֙רֶת֙[the] duty of

    mishmeretH493178 times

  • אֹ֣הֶל[the] tent of

    ʾohelH168345 times

  • מוֹעֵ֔דmeeting

    moedH4150223 times

  • לְכֹ֖לto all

    lekholH36055413 times

  • עֲבֹדַ֣ת[the] service of

    ʾavodatH5656145 times

  • הָאֹ֑הֶלthe tent

    haohelH168345 times

  • וְזָ֖רand a stranger

    vezarH211477 times

  • לֹא־not

    lo'-H38085168 times

  • יִקְרַ֥בhe will draw near

    yikravH7126280 times

  • אֲלֵיכֶֽם׃to you

    ʾaleikhemH4135510 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    1 Samuel 6:19

    But God struck down some of the people of Beth-shemesh because they looked inside the ark of the LORD. He struck down seventy men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck them…

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 6:7

      And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down on the spot for his irreverence, and he died there beside the ark of God.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Numbers 4:20

      But the Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects, even for a moment, or they will die.”

    • Exodus 19:21

      and the LORD said to him, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the LORD, lest many of them perish.

    • Numbers 4:15

      When 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…

  • Through

    Numbers 1:51

    Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever it is to be pitched, the Levites are to set it up. Any outsider who goes near it must…

    it leads to

    • Numbers 3:38

      Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons were to camp to the east of the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, before the Tent of Meeting. They were to perform the duties of the sanctuary as a service…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Numbers 3:10

      So 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 18:22

      No longer may the Israelites come near to the Tent of Meeting, or they will incur guilt and die.

  • Through

    Numbers 3:10

    So 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.”

    it leads to

    • Numbers 1:51

      Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever it is to be pitched, the Levites are to set it up. Any outsider who goes near it must…

Where this verse is studied

About Numbers

The Bronze Serpent, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Bronze Serpent, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.