Numbers 4:16
in Numbers 4Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall oversee the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, including the holy objects and their utensils.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the charge of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the continual meal-offering, and the anointing oil, the charge of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, the sanctuary, and the furniture thereof.
KJV
And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof.
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This verse in Numbers 4
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
have finished covering the holy objects
on Numbers 4:15-16
The Kohathites carry the holiest things in Israel, yet “they must not touch the holy objects, or they will die”. Matthew Henry names here the death of Uzzah, who steadied the ark on a cart at 2 Samuel 6:6-7. Eleazar, Aaron's elder surviving son, oversees the oil, incense, grain offering and anointing oil, while Gershon and Merari answer to his brother Ithamar.
This site's exposition
Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall oversee
The four items Eleazar keeps are the supplies of the daily service, the lamp oil, the incense, the grain offering and the anointing oil. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown say they were kept with him so they would be at hand each day. Matthew Henry held that his care weighed more than their loads.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
); he must take care that nothing was forgotten, left behind, or displaced. As a priest he had more honour than the Levites, but then he had more care; and that care was a heavier burden, no doubt, upon his heart, than all the burdens that were laid upon their shoulders. It is much easier to do the work of the tabernacle than to discharge the trusts of it, to obey than to rule.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Eleazar - He himself is to carry these things, and not to commit them to the sons of Kohath. The oversight - The care that all the things above mentioned be carried by the persons and in the manner expressed.
And to the office of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, pertaineth the oil for the light,....
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּפְקֻדַּ֞ת | ufekudat | and [the] oversight of | H6486 → | 32 times |
| אֶלְעָזָ֣ר׀ | ʾelazar | Eleazar | H499 → | 72 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אַהֲרֹ֣ן | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| הַכֹּהֵ֗ן | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| שֶׁ֤מֶן | shemen | [is] [the] oil of | H8081 → | 193 times |
| הַמָּאוֹר֙ | hamaor | the light | H3974 → | |
| וּקְטֹ֣רֶת | uketoret | and [the] incense of | H7004 → | 60 times |
| הַסַּמִּ֔ים | hasamim | the perfume<s> | H5561 → | |
| וּמִנְחַ֥ת | uminchat | and [the] grain offering of | H4503 → | 211 times |
| הַתָּמִ֖יד | hatamid | <the> continuity | H8548 → | 104 times |
| וְשֶׁ֣מֶן | veshemen | and [the] oil of | H8081 → | 193 times |
| הַמִּשְׁחָ֑ה | hamishchah | <the> anointing | H4888 → | |
| פְּקֻדַּ֗ת | pekudat | [the] oversight of | H6486 → | 32 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַמִּשְׁכָּן֙ | hamishkan | the tabernacle | H4908 → | 139 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בּ֔וֹ | bo | [is] in <the> it | ||
| בְּקֹ֖דֶשׁ | bekodesh | with [the] holy place | H6944 → | 469 times |
| וּבְכֵלָֽיו׃ ס | uvekhelav | and with equipment<s> its | H3627 → | 325 times |
וּפְקֻדַּ֞תand [the] oversight of
ufekudatH6486 →32 times
אֶלְעָזָ֣ר׀Eleazar
ʾelazarH499 →72 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אַהֲרֹ֣ןAaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
הַכֹּהֵ֗ןthe priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
שֶׁ֤מֶן[is] [the] oil of
shemenH8081 →193 times
הַמָּאוֹר֙the light
hamaorH3974 →
וּקְטֹ֣רֶתand [the] incense of
uketoretH7004 →60 times
הַסַּמִּ֔יםthe perfume<s>
hasamimH5561 →
וּמִנְחַ֥תand [the] grain offering of
uminchatH4503 →211 times
הַתָּמִ֖יד<the> continuity
hatamidH8548 →104 times
וְשֶׁ֣מֶןand [the] oil of
veshemenH8081 →193 times
הַמִּשְׁחָ֑ה<the> anointing
hamishchahH4888 →
פְּקֻדַּ֗ת[the] oversight of
pekudatH6486 →32 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַמִּשְׁכָּן֙the tabernacle
hamishkanH4908 →139 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁר־that
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
בּ֔וֹ[is] in <the> it
bo
בְּקֹ֖דֶשׁwith [the] holy place
bekodeshH6944 →469 times
וּבְכֵלָֽיו׃ סand with equipment<s> its
uvekhelavH3627 →325 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
1 Peter 2:25For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
it leads to
- Isaiah 53:6
We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.
- Ezekiel 34:6
My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the face of all the earth, with no one to search for them or seek them out.’
- Luke 15:4–6
“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds…
- Acts 20:28
Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.
- John 10:11–16
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
- Isaiah 53:6
Through
1 Timothy 2:5For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 8:6
yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and…
- Galatians 3:20
A mediator is unnecessary, however, for only one party; but God is one.
- Hebrews 9:15
Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, now that He has died to redeem them from the transgressions committed under…
- 1 Corinthians 8:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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 Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.