Numbers 3:16
in Numbers 3So Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he had been commanded.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Moses numbered them according to the word of Jehovah, as he was commanded.
KJV
And Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded.
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This verse in Numbers 3
Commentary
4 notes on this verseMoses numbered them - Though Moses and Aaron conjointly numbered the twelve tribes, yet Moses alone numbered the Levites; “for as the money with which the first-born of Israel, who exceeded the number of Levites, were redeemed, was to be paid to Aaron and his sons, Num 3:48, it was decent that he, whose advantage it was that the number of the first-born of Israel should exceed, should not be authorized to take that number himself.” - Dodd, from Bishop Kidder.
This site's exposition
And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness
on Numbers 3:14-16
Levi is counted from a month old and upward while every other tribe was counted from twenty years old and upward at 1:3. The difference follows from what each count is for, since the other tribes were mustered for war and Levi is being matched head for head against a class of firstborn that begins at a month. Numbers 1:47-49 had already kept Levi off the army roll, and Clarke observes that a count from twenty years would have left the tribe far short of the firstborn it was to replace.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Number the children of Levi--They were numbered as well as the other tribes; but the enumeration was made on a different principle--for while in the other tribes the number of males was calculated from twenty years and upward [Nu 1:3], in that of Levi they were counted "from a month old and upward." The reason for the distinction is obvious.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּפְקֹ֥ד | vaiyifkod | and he enrolled | H6485 → | 303 times |
| אֹתָ֛ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֖ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פִּ֣י | pi | [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| צֻוָּֽה׃ | tzuvah | he had been commanded | H6680 → | 494 times |
וַיִּפְקֹ֥דand he enrolled
vaiyifkodH6485 →303 times
אֹתָ֛ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
מֹשֶׁ֖הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פִּ֣י[the] mouth of
piH6310 →498 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֖רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
צֻוָּֽה׃he had been commanded
tzuvahH6680 →494 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
Deuteronomy 21:5And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve Him and pronounce blessings in His name and to give a ruling in every…
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 23:13
The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart forever to consecrate the most holy things, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister before Him, and to pronounce…
- Deuteronomy 10:8
At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to serve Him, and to pronounce blessings in…
- Malachi 2:7
For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts.
- Deuteronomy 19:17
both parties to the dispute must stand in the presence of the LORD, before the priests and judges who are in office at that time.
- Numbers 6:22–27
Then the LORD said to Moses,
- 1 Chronicles 23:13
Through
Numbers 4:49At the LORD’s command they were numbered through Moses and each one was assigned his work and burden, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
it leads to
- Numbers 1:54
Thus the Israelites did everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
- Numbers 4:31
This is the duty for all their service at the Tent of Meeting: to carry the frames of the tabernacle with its crossbars, posts, and bases,
- Numbers 1:54
Through
Numbers 3:39The 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.
it leads to
- Numbers 26:62
The 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.
- Numbers 26:62
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).