Numbers 3:5-10

"And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him. And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle. And they shall keep all the furniture of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given unto him on the behalf of the children of Israel. And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall keep their priesthood: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death."

This paragraph reveals the divine appointment of the tribe of Levi, not as priests, but as a special class of workers who would be employed continually in the service of the tabernacle, under the oversight and supervision of the High Priest. It is not true that they were thus constituted a tribe of slaves. Theirs was an honored and privileged position in which they were perpetually exempt from military service and were supported entirely and particularly for this service.

We cannot agree that this placement of the Levites as essentially custodians and caretakers of the tabernacle derives from a post-exilic priesthood intent upon degrading their kinsmen the Levites. Even if such a priesthood at such a time had devised such a thing, what kind of blindness could have induced them to support their designs by "finding" instructions in the book of God (The O.T.) that are detailed in so specific and circumstantial a manner as are these instructions in Numbers? The post-exilic priests had no tabernacle, and for an extended period had no temple either. Add to this the fact that the instructions for the Levites were detailed in such things as dismantling and transporting the tabernacle, which at the alleged time of those priests writing these passages, had not even existed for ages. Even Noth admitted that all this is "exceedingly remarkable!"[8] The proper word to describe such postulations, however, is not remarkable, but impossible! Moses alone can properly be considered as the human source through whom these instructions were conveyed to men, as clearly stated in Numbers 3:5: "Jehovah spake unto Moses."

"The stranger that cometh nigh ... " (Numbers 3:10). This repeated formula (also in Numbers 1:52) did not always have the same meaning. In Numbers 1:51, it means any non-Levites violating the restrictions would be put to death, and here it includes also any Levites who were not also priests. It is not clear whether human agency or divine fiat would accomplish the death of violators. In the case of Nadab and Abihu, just mentioned, it was by divine fiat, and from this, Jewish writers have concluded that God Himself would enforce this rule.[9]