Numbers 4:18
in Numbers 4“Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be cut off from among the Levites.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites;
KJV
Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites:
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This verse in Numbers 4
Commentary
3 notes on this verseCut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites. Or give no occasion, as the Targum of Jonathan; or be not the cause of their cutting off, as Jarchi, through negligence or inadvertency of theirs, in packing up the above things, and delivering them to them.
This site's exposition
And the Lord spake unto Moses
on Numbers 4:17-20
The warning goes to Moses and Aaron rather than to the men in danger, and it takes the form of a charge to the priests, cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites. Careless covering would destroy the family that carries, so the weight of the risk sits on the men who pack. Verse 20 keeps the bearers out while the holy things are being covered, which means the Kohathites handled what they were never permitted to see. Adam Clarke observes that the Hebrew behind covered is nearer to swallowed up, and Henry read the whole arrangement as the darkness of that dispensation, which is a reading of the older commentators rather than a claim the text makes.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Note, Those who do not what they can to keep others from sin do what they can to cut them off. [1.] The Kohathites must not see the holy things till the priests had covered them,
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תַּכְרִ֕יתוּ | takhritu | you cut off | H3772 → | 288 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שֵׁ֖בֶט | shevet | [the] tribe of | H7626 → | 190 times |
| מִשְׁפְּחֹ֣ת | mishpechot | [the] clans of | H4940 → | 303 times |
| הַקְּהָתִ֑י | hakehati | the Kohathite[s] | H6956 → | 15 times |
| מִתּ֖וֹךְ | mitokh | from among | H8432 → | 418 times |
| הַלְוִיִּֽם׃ | halviyim | the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תַּכְרִ֕יתוּyou cut off
takhrituH3772 →288 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שֵׁ֖בֶט[the] tribe of
shevetH7626 →190 times
מִשְׁפְּחֹ֣ת[the] clans of
mishpechotH4940 →303 times
הַקְּהָתִ֑יthe Kohathite[s]
hakehatiH6956 →15 times
מִתּ֖וֹךְfrom among
mitokhH8432 →418 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
Exodus 19:21and the LORD said to him, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the LORD, lest many of them perish.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 6:19
But God struck down some of the people of Beth-shemesh because they looked inside the ark of the LORD. He struck down seventy men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck them…
- 1 Samuel 6:19
Through
Jeremiah 38:23All your wives and children will be brought out to the Chaldeans. And you yourself will not escape their grasp, for you will be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city will…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 41:10
Then Ishmael took captive all the remnant of the people of Mizpah—the daughters of the king along with all the others who remained in Mizpah—over whom Nebuzaradan captain of the guard had appointed Gedaliah…
- Jeremiah 39:6
There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also killed all the nobles of Judah.
- Jeremiah 38:18
But if you do not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans. They will burn it down, and you yourself…
- Jeremiah 41:10
Through
Numbers 16:32and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions.
it leads to
- Numbers 26:11
However, the line of Korah did not die out.
- Psalms 106:17
The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it covered the assembly of Abiram.
- Numbers 26:11
Through
Numbers 17:10The LORD said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebellious, so that you may put an end to their grumbling against…
it leads to
- Ephesians 5:6
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.
- Hebrews 9:4
containing the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. Inside the ark were the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.
- Ephesians 5:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.