Numbers 18:7
in Numbers 18But only you and your sons shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and what is inside the veil, and you are to perform that service. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but any outsider who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priesthood for everything of the altar, and for that within the veil; and ye shall serve: I give you the priesthood as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
KJV
Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest’s office for every thing of the altar, and within the vail; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest’s office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
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This verse in Numbers 18
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
attend to the duties of the sanctuary
on Numbers 18:5-7
Verse 5 gives the guard's purpose, so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again. The barrier protects the people outside it, and the sentence on any outsider who comes near repeats 3:10.
This site's exposition
I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift
Both ends of the sanctuary belong to Aaron's house. The altar stands in the court and what is inside the veil lies behind the curtain. Leviticus 16:2 and 16:34 open that inner room to the high priest alone, once a year.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest's office,....
Not, "You shall rule" (it was never intended that they should lord it over God's heritage), but "You shall serve God and the congregation." Note, The priesthood is a service. If any desire the office of a bishop he desires a good work. Ministers must remember that they are ministers, that is, servants, of whom it is required that they be humble, diligent, and faithful.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The Levites were to attend the priests as servants--bestowed on them as "gifts" to aid in the service of the tabernacle--while the high and dignified office of the priesthood was a "service of gift." "A stranger," that is, one, neither a priest nor a Levite, who should intrude into any departments of the sacred office, should incur the penalty of death.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַתָּ֣ה | veatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| וּבָנֶ֣יךָ | uvaneikha | and sons your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אִ֠תְּךָ | ʾitekha | with you | H854 → | 929 times |
| תִּשְׁמְר֨וּ | tishmeru | you will keep | H8104 → | 468 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כְּהֻנַּתְכֶ֜ם | kehunatkhem | priesthood your | H3550 → | 14 times |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | to every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| דְּבַ֧ר | devar | <the> matter of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַמִּזְבֵּ֛חַ | hamizbeach | the altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
| וּלְמִבֵּ֥ית | ulemibeit | and to from inside | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| לַפָּרֹ֖כֶת | laparokhet | to the curtain | H6532 → | |
| וַעֲבַדְתֶּ֑ם | vaavadtem | and you will serve | H5647 → | 288 times |
| עֲבֹדַ֣ת | ʾavodat | a service of | H5656 → | 145 times |
| מַתָּנָ֗ה | matanah | a gift | H4979 → | 17 times |
| אֶתֵּן֙ | ʾeten | I give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כְּהֻנַּתְכֶ֔ם | kehunatkhem | priesthood your | H3550 → | 14 times |
| וְהַזָּ֥ר | vehazar | and the stranger | H2114 → | 77 times |
| הַקָּרֵ֖ב | hakarev | <the> approaching | H7131 → | 12 times |
| יוּמָֽת׃ ס | yumat | he will be put to death | H4191 → | 839 times |
וְאַתָּ֣הand you
veatahH859 →1094 times
וּבָנֶ֣יךָand sons your
uvaneikhaH1121 →4930 times
אִ֠תְּךָwith you
ʾitekhaH854 →929 times
תִּשְׁמְר֨וּyou will keep
tishmeruH8104 →468 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כְּהֻנַּתְכֶ֜םpriesthood your
kehunatkhemH3550 →14 times
לְכָל־to every
lekholH3605 →5413 times
דְּבַ֧ר<the> matter of
devarH1697 →1440 times
הַמִּזְבֵּ֛חַthe altar
hamizbeachH4196 →401 times
וּלְמִבֵּ֥יתand to from inside
ulemibeitH1004 →2046 times
לַפָּרֹ֖כֶתto the curtain
laparokhetH6532 →
וַעֲבַדְתֶּ֑םand you will serve
vaavadtemH5647 →288 times
עֲבֹדַ֣תa service of
ʾavodatH5656 →145 times
מַתָּנָ֗הa gift
matanahH4979 →17 times
אֶתֵּן֙I give
ʾetenH5414 →2011 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כְּהֻנַּתְכֶ֔םpriesthood your
kehunatkhemH3550 →14 times
וְהַזָּ֥רand the stranger
vehazarH2114 →77 times
הַקָּרֵ֖ב<the> approaching
hakarevH7131 →12 times
יוּמָֽת׃ סhe will be put to death
yumatH4191 →839 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
John 3:27John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.
it leads to
- James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
- 1 Corinthians 4:7
For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
- 1 Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of…
- 1 Peter 4:10–11
As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.
- 1 Corinthians 2:12–14
We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
- James 1:17
Through
Numbers 18:20Then the LORD said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 44:28
In regard to their inheritance, I am their inheritance. You are to give them no possession in Israel, for I am their possession.
- Deuteronomy 10:9
That is why Levi has no portion or inheritance among his brothers; the LORD is his inheritance, as the LORD your God promised him.
- Joshua 13:33
To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance. The LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, just as He had promised them.
- Ezekiel 44:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies8
On this chapter
About Numbers
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.