Numbers 3:5
in Numbers 3Then the LORD said to Moses,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
KJV
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
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This verse in Numbers 3
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Then the LORD said to Moses
on Numbers 3:5-7
Adam Clarke and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the Hebrew verb behind “Bring” in verse 6 is the word for presenting an offering. So the tribe is given as a gift, and at Numbers 8:11 Aaron presents it as a wave offering.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
Origen of AlexandriaCOMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS, PROLOGUE · Written before 253.
proposed
Further, the priests are described as being more eminent than the Levites; for this same Scripture tells us that "the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Bring the tribe of Levi and make them stand in the sight of Aaron the priest, to minister to him.' " Do you see how here too he both speaks of the priests as superior to the Levites and once more makes the Levites appear as more eminent than the children of Israel?
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... After he had given him the order for the numbering the children of Israel, and for the manner of their encampment and journeying: saying; as follows.
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
5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר | vaydaber | and he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֥ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| לֵּאמֹֽר׃ | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
וַיְדַבֵּ֥רand he spoke
vaydaberH1696 →1141 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁ֥הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
לֵּאמֹֽר׃<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About Numbers

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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) and Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS, PROLOGUE.
