Numbers 8:10
in Numbers 8You are to present the Levites before the LORD and have the Israelites lay their hands upon them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and thou shalt present the Levites before Jehovah. And the children of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites:
KJV
And thou shalt bring the Levites before the Lord: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites:
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This verse in Numbers 8
Commentary
5 notes on this verseShall put their hands upon the Levites - It has been argued from this that the congregation had a part in the appointment of their own ministers, and that this was done by the imposition of hands. However that may be, it appears that what was done on this occasion meant no more than that the people gave up this whole tribe to God in place of their firstborn; and that by this act they bound themselves to provide for them who, because of their sacred service, could follow no secular work.
This site's exposition
bring the Levites before the tabernacle
on Numbers 8:9-10
The whole assembly is gathered to watch, so the exchange is made in public and before witnesses. In the law the hand is laid on the head of the animal about to die, and Leviticus 4:15 has the elders doing it for the whole congregation; here the same act is done on living men. Adam Clarke reports the argument that this gives a congregation a part in appointing its own ministers, and he himself reads the act as Israel handing over the tribe in place of their own firstborn and binding themselves to keep men who could follow no other trade.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Some think that the first-born did it because in their stead the Levites were consecrated to God. Whatever God calls for from us to serve his own glory by, we must cheerfully resign it, lay our hands upon it, not to detain it but to surrender it, and let it go to him that is entitled to it. Sacrifices were to be offered for them, a sin-offering first (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The children of Israel - Not all of them, which was impossible, but some in the name of all the princes or chiefs of each tribe, who used to transact things in the name of their tribes.
And thou shalt bring the Levites before the Lord,....
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִקְרַבְתָּ֥ | vehikravta | and you will bring near | H7126 → | 280 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַלְוִיִּ֖ם | halviyim | the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
| לִפְנֵ֣י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְסָמְכ֧וּ | vesamekhu | and they will lay | H5564 → | 48 times |
| בְנֵי־ | venei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְדֵיהֶ֖ם | yedeihem | hands their | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַלְוִיִּֽם׃ | halviyim | the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
וְהִקְרַבְתָּ֥and you will bring near
vehikravtaH7126 →280 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַלְוִיִּ֖םthe Levites
halviyimH3881 →291 times
לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְסָמְכ֧וּand they will lay
vesamekhuH5564 →48 times
בְנֵי־[the] people of
venei-H1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֛לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְדֵיהֶ֖םhands their
yedeihemH3027 →1618 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַלְוִיִּֽם׃the Levites
halviyimH3881 →291 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 Timothy 5:22Do not be too quick in the laying on of hands and thereby share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 4:14
Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given you through the prophecy spoken over you at the laying on of the hands of the elders.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ephesians 5:11
Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
- 1 Timothy 3:10
Additionally, they must first be tested. Then, if they are above reproach, let them serve as deacons.
- 1 Timothy 3:6
He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same condemnation as the devil.
- Acts 6:6
They presented these seven to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
- 1 Timothy 4:14
Through
Acts 6:6They presented these seven to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 1:6
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
- 2 Timothy 1:6
Through
Leviticus 1:4He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.
it leads to
- Leviticus 3:8
He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood on all sides of the…
- Leviticus 3:2
He is to lay his hand on the head of the offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood on all…
- Leviticus 3:8
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the 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.