Numbers 8:18
in Numbers 8But I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I have taken the Levites instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel.
KJV
And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel.
⋯
This verse in Numbers 8
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
For the Levites have been wholly given to Me
on Numbers 8:16-18
The text grounds the exchange in the tenth plague, “the day I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt”. Exodus 13:2 claimed every firstborn, and Numbers 3:12-13 set the Levites in their place.
This site's exposition
I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn
Verse 18 repeats the claim of verse 16, framing the Egypt clause of verse 17 between two statements of the exchange. John Gill reads it as God giving up His right in the firstborn and taking the Levites for His service. Numbers 18:16 set later firstborn sons at five shekels.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), of which before, ch. iii. Note, What is in sincerity offered to God shall be graciously owned and accepted by him. And his ministers who have obtained mercy of him to be faithful have particular marks of favour and honour put upon them: they shall be mine, and then (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel. Gave up his right in the firstborn, and instead of them took the Levites for his use and service: see Num 3:12.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאֶקַּח֙ | vaekach | and I have taken | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַלְוִיִּ֔ם | halviyim | the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
| תַּ֥חַת | tachat | in place of | H8478 → | 505 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בְּכ֖וֹר | bekhor | firstborn | H1060 → | 122 times |
| בִּבְנֵ֥י | bivnei | among [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וָאֶקַּח֙and I have taken
vaekachH3947 →966 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַלְוִיִּ֔םthe Levites
halviyimH3881 →291 times
תַּ֥חַתin place of
tachatH8478 →505 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
בְּכ֖וֹרfirstborn
bekhorH1060 →122 times
בִּבְנֵ֥יamong [the] people of
bivneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Numbers
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; 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.