Numbers 3:8
in Numbers 3They shall take care of all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting and fulfill obligations for the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they shall keep all the furniture of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.
KJV
And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.
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This verse in Numbers 3
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAll the instruments - The tabernacle itself and all its contents: see all described, Num 3:25, Num 3:26, Num 3:31, Num 3:36, Num 3:37. The Levites were to perform the most common and laborious offices. It was their business to take down, put up, and carry the tabernacle and its utensils; for it was the object of their peculiar care. In a word, they were the servants of the priests.
This site's exposition
shall keep all the instruments
on Numbers 3:8-11
The Levites are given wholly to Aaron out of Israel, and the sentence closing verse 10 is the fence around the arrangement. That same clause stands four times in this book, at 1:51, here, at 3:38 and at 18:7, and the stranger it warns off is any Israelite outside Aaron's house, a Levite included. Wesley reads it that way, and Korah in chapter 16 is the case that tests whether it means what it says.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Of the children of Israel - Those things which all the children of Israel are in their several places and stations obliged to take care of, though not in their persons, yet by others in their stead.
And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation,.... Take care of them that none be lost or come to any damage, especially while it was moving, and carried from place to place; then the several parts of it, as well as the vessels in it, were committed to their care and charge, the particulars of which see in Num 3:25, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle; See Gill on Num 3:7.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Bring the tribe of Levi near--The Hebrew word "bring near" is a sacrificial term, denoting the presentation of an offering to God; and the use of the word, therefore, in connection with the Levites, signifies that they were devoted as an offering to the sanctuary, no longer to be employed in any common offices.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשָׁמְר֗וּ | veshameru | and they will keep | H8104 → | 468 times |
| אֶֽת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| כְּלֵי֙ | kelei | [the] articles of | H3627 → | 325 times |
| אֹ֣הֶל | ʾohel | [the] tent of | H168 → | 345 times |
| מוֹעֵ֔ד | moed | meeting | H4150 → | 223 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִשְׁמֶ֖רֶת | mishmeret | [the] duty of | H4931 → | 78 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לַעֲבֹ֖ד | laavod | by serving | H5647 → | 288 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֲבֹדַ֥ת | ʾavodat | [the] service of | H5656 → | 145 times |
| הַמִּשְׁכָּֽן׃ | hamishkan | the tabernacle | H4908 → | 139 times |
וְשָׁמְר֗וּand they will keep
veshameruH8104 →468 times
אֶֽת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
כְּלֵי֙[the] articles of
keleiH3627 →325 times
אֹ֣הֶל[the] tent of
ʾohelH168 →345 times
מוֹעֵ֔דmeeting
moedH4150 →223 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
מִשְׁמֶ֖רֶת[the] duty of
mishmeretH4931 →78 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
לַעֲבֹ֖דby serving
laavodH5647 →288 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עֲבֹדַ֥ת[the] service of
ʾavodatH5656 →145 times
הַמִּשְׁכָּֽן׃the tabernacle
hamishkanH4908 →139 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
Numbers 4:15When 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…
it leads to
- Numbers 7:9
But he did not give any to the Kohathites, since they were to carry on their shoulders the holy objects for which they were responsible.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Samuel 6:6–7
When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen had stumbled.
- Deuteronomy 31:9
So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel.
- Numbers 10:21
Then the Kohathites set out, transporting the holy objects; the tabernacle was to be set up before their arrival.
- 1 Chronicles 13:9–10
When they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark, because the oxen had stumbled.
- Numbers 7:9
Through
Numbers 10:21Then the Kohathites set out, transporting the holy objects; the tabernacle was to be set up before their arrival.
it leads to
- Numbers 10:17
Then the tabernacle was taken down, and the Gershonites and the Merarites set out, transporting it.
- Numbers 4:4–16
This service of the Kohathites at the Tent of Meeting regards the most holy things.
- Numbers 10:17
Through
Numbers 10:17Then the tabernacle was taken down, and the Gershonites and the Merarites set out, transporting it.
it leads to
- Numbers 7:6–8
So Moses took the carts and oxen and gave them to the Levites.
- Numbers 7:6–8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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 Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.