And the Lord spake unto Moses, and unto Aaron ,.... After they had taken the number of the Levites, and made an exchange of the firstborn of Israel for them; and now they are ordered to number them a second time, and take out from them such as were fit for service: saying ; as follows. read more
Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi ,.... They were to begin with them first, and number them: after their families, by the house of their fathers ; as many as were of the age after mentioned; and the reason why they began with Kohath, and not Gershon, the eldest son, as in the former numbering, was; not as Aben Ezra suggests, because of Moses and Aaron, who sprung from him, for that, if it had any strength in it, would have held good before; but rather, as... read more
From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old ,.... This is the full time of the Levites service, and the prime season of man's life for business; at thirty years of age he is at his full strength, and when fifty it begins to decline: it is said in the Misnah F24 Pirke Abot, c. 5. sect. 21. ,"a son of thirty years for strength,'upon which one of the commentators F25 Bartenora in Pirke Abot, c. 5. sect. 21. makes this remark, that the Levites set up the tabernacle... read more
This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath, in the tabernacle of the congregation ,.... What follows, Numbers 4:4 , about the most holy things ; which Aben Ezra interprets only of the ark, which was indeed a most holy thing, and stood in the most holy place; but there were other holy things, in the care of which the service of the Kohathites lay; as the shewbread table, the candlestick, and the altars of incense and burnt offering, and the vail, and the ministering: vessels,... read more
And when the camp setteth forward ,.... Upon the cloud's removing and the trumpets blowing: Aaron shall come, and his sons ; into the holy place: and they shall take down the covering vail : the vail that divided between the holy and the most holy place, which covered all in the holy of holies out of sight: and cover the ark of testimony with it ; together with the mercy seat and cherubim on it, that they might not be seen nor touched by the Levites when they carried them. Now... read more
And shall put thereon the covering of badgers' skins ,.... Not that which covered the tabernacle, for that was committed to the Gershonites, Numbers 4:25 ; but a covering made of these on purpose for the present use, to preserve the ark from rain and dust; and this covering was put not immediately upon the ark, but upon the other coverings that were over the ark, and so preserved the vail as well as the ark: and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue ; it is a matter of... read more
And upon the table of shewbread they shall spread a cloth of blue ,.... That that also might not be seen nor touched by the Levites: and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and the covers to cover withal : all which belonged to the shewbread table; the use of which; see Gill on Exodus 25:29 ; these seem to be put not immediately upon the table, but upon the blue cloth spread over the table: and the continual bread shall be thereon : the shewbread is called... read more
And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet ,.... Upon the dishes and other vessels belonging to the shewbread table, and on the shewbread itself: and cover the same with a covering of badgers' skins ; this was clearly the outward covering, and seems to confirm the observation made in Numbers 4:6 ; that the same sort of covering was the outermost covering of the ark: and shall put in the staves thereof ; which belonged to the table, and were made to carry it with on... read more
And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and his lamps ,.... Which had lamps in it, and were continually lighted, and gave light in the holy place: and his tongs, and his snuff dishes, and all the oil vessels thereof , wherewith they minister unto it ; by supplying the lamps with oil, and snuffing and trimming them. read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Numbers 4:1-20
We have here a second muster of the tribe of Levi. As that tribe was taken out of all Israel to be God's peculiar, so the middle-aged men of that tribe were taken from among the rest to be actually employed in the service of the tabernacle. Now observe, I. Who were to be taken into this number. All the males from thirty years old to fifty. Of the other tribes, those that were numbered to go forth to war were from twenty years old and upward, but of the Levites only from thirty to fifty; for... read more