Numbers 3:32
in Numbers 3The chief of the leaders of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest; he oversaw those responsible for the duties of the sanctuary.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be prince of the princes of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.
KJV
And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.
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This verse in Numbers 3
Commentary
4 notes on this verseChief - Next under the high-priest; whence he is called the second priest, 2 Kings xxv, 18, and in case of the high-priest's absence by sickness or other necessary occasions, he was to perform his work, and he had a superiority over all the rest of the priests and Levites.
This site's exposition
And their charge shall be the ark
on Numbers 3:31-32
The ark, the table, the candlestick, the altars and the vessels of the sanctuary go to Kohath, the heaviest honour with the smallest allowance of transport. Numbers 7:9 gives this house no wagons at all, because these things travel on men's shoulders, and 2 Samuel 6:3-7 is where that rule is set aside and a man dies for it. Eleazar is set over the chiefs of the Levites, which puts one priest above the whole arrangement and marks the line the high priesthood passes into at Numbers 20:26.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
chief--rather, "chiefs" of the Levites. Three persons are mentioned as chiefs of these respective divisions [Nu 3:24, 30, 35]. And Eleazar presided over them; whence he is called "the second priest" (2Ki 25:18); and in the case of the high priest's absence from illness or other necessary occasions, he performed the duties (1Ki 4:4).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּנְשִׂיא֙ | unesi' | and [the] leader of | H5387 → | 134 times |
| נְשִׂיאֵ֣י | nesiei | [the] leaders of | H5387 → | 134 times |
| הַלֵּוִ֔י | halevi | the Levite[s] | H3881 → | 291 times |
| אֶלְעָזָ֖ר | ʾelazar | [was] Eleazar | H499 → | 72 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אַהֲרֹ֣ן | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| הַכֹּהֵ֑ן | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| פְּקֻדַּ֕ת | pekudat | [the] oversight of | H6486 → | 32 times |
| שֹׁמְרֵ֖י | shomerei | [the] keepers of | H8104 → | 468 times |
| מִשְׁמֶ֥רֶת | mishmeret | [the] duty of | H4931 → | 78 times |
| הַקֹּֽדֶשׁ׃ | hakodesh | the holy place | H6944 → | 469 times |
וּנְשִׂיא֙and [the] leader of
unesi'H5387 →134 times
נְשִׂיאֵ֣י[the] leaders of
nesieiH5387 →134 times
הַלֵּוִ֔יthe Levite[s]
haleviH3881 →291 times
אֶלְעָזָ֖ר[was] Eleazar
ʾelazarH499 →72 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אַהֲרֹ֣ןAaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
הַכֹּהֵ֑ןthe priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
פְּקֻדַּ֕ת[the] oversight of
pekudatH6486 →32 times
שֹׁמְרֵ֖י[the] keepers of
shomereiH8104 →468 times
מִשְׁמֶ֥רֶת[the] duty of
mishmeretH4931 →78 times
הַקֹּֽדֶשׁ׃the holy place
hakodeshH6944 →469 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
2 Kings 25:18The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
it leads to
- Ezra 7:1
Many years later, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,
- Jeremiah 21:1
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said,
- 1 Chronicles 6:14
Azariah was the father of Seraiah, and Seraiah was the father of Jehozadak.
- Jeremiah 29:25
this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “In your own name you have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah,…
- Jeremiah 52:24
The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
- Ezra 7:1
Through
Numbers 4:27All the service of the Gershonites—all their transport duties and other work—is to be done at the direction of Aaron and his sons; you are to assign to them all that they are responsible…
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 11:2
Now I commend you for remembering me in everything and for maintaining the traditions, just as I passed them on to you.
- Luke 1:70
as He spoke through His holy prophets, those of ages past,
- 1 Corinthians 11:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.