Numbers 2:33
in Numbers 2But the Levites were not counted among the other Israelites, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
KJV
But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel; as the Lord commanded Moses.
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This verse in Numbers 2
Commentary
4 notes on this verseWe gather from the book of Numbers that there may be something greater than Israel too. For there the whole of Israel is numbered and reckoned in twelve tribes, as under a fixed number. But the tribe of Levi, being of greater eminence than the others, is accounted extra to this number and never thought of as being one of Israel's number [of twelve].
This site's exposition
But the Levites were not counted among the other Israelites
on Numbers 2:33-34
Levi stands outside the count here and is numbered apart at 3:39. It was taken “in place of every firstborn Israelite” at 3:12-13.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel,.... At this time, not among the Israelites, but by themselves, they being a camp of themselves: as the Lord commanded Moses; Num 1:48.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Such was the ideal form of the encampment in the wilderness: a form reproduced in the square court with which the temple was eventually surrounded, and in the vision of the heavenly city as seen by Ezekiel Eze 48:20, and by John (Rev 21:16; compare Rev 20:9). Thus the camp of God’s earthly people was divinely ordered so as to set forth the completeness of His Church; and to illustrate by its whole arrangement, which was determined by the tabernacle in the center, both the dependance of all on God, and the access which all enjoyed to God.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַ֨לְוִיִּ֔ם | vehalviyim | and the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָתְפָּקְד֔וּ | hatepakedu | they were enrolled | H6485 → | 303 times |
| בְּת֖וֹךְ | betokh | in among | H8432 → | 418 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| צִוָּ֥ה | tzivah | he had commanded | H6680 → | 494 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מֹשֶֽׁה׃ | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
וְהַ֨לְוִיִּ֔םand the Levites
vehalviyimH3881 →291 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
הָתְפָּקְד֔וּthey were enrolled
hatepakeduH6485 →303 times
בְּת֖וֹךְin among
betokhH8432 →418 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֛רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
צִוָּ֥הhe had commanded
tzivahH6680 →494 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מֹשֶֽׁה׃Moses
moshehH4872 →765 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Chuck Missler, Learn the Bible in 24 Hours; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS, PROLOGUE.