Numbers 3:1-36

Levite Priesthood Established

¹Now these are the records of the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. ²These then are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ³These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. ⁴But Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of the Lord when they offered strange fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of their father Aaron.

⁵Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶“Bring the tribe of Levi forward and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. ⁷They shall perform the duties for him and for the whole congregation in front of the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle. ⁸They shall also take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, along with the duties of the sons of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. ⁹So you shall assign the Levites to Aaron and to his sons; they are exclusively assigned to him from the sons of Israel. ¹⁰So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons that they may keep their priesthood, but the layman who comes near shall be put to death.”

¹¹Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹²“Now, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every firstborn, the firstborn of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine. ¹³For all the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I fatally struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from the human firstborn to animals. They shall be Mine; I am the Lord.”

¹⁴Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, ¹⁵“Count the sons of Levi by their fathers’ households, by their families; every male from a month old and upward you shall count.” ¹⁶So Moses counted them according to the word of the Lord, just as he had been commanded. ¹⁷These, then, are the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁸And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei; ¹⁹and the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel; ²⁰and the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ households.

²¹Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimeites; these were the families of the Gershonites. ²²Their numbered men, in the counting of every male from a month old and upward, their numbered men were 7,500. ²³The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle westward, ²⁴and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Gershonites: Eliasaph the son of Lael.

Duties of the Levites

²⁵Now the duties of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting included the tabernacle and the tent, its covering, and the curtain for the entrance of the tent of meeting, ²⁶and the curtains of the courtyard, the curtain for the entrance of the courtyard which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its ropes, according to all the service concerning them.

²⁷Of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites. ²⁸In the counting of every male from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, performing the duties of the sanctuary. ²⁹The families of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, ³⁰and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Kohathite families: Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. ³¹Now their duties included the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they minister, the curtain, and all the service concerning them; ³²and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was the head of the leaders of Levi, and he had the supervision of those who performed the duties of the sanctuary.

³³Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari. ³⁴Their numbered men in the counting of every male from a month old and upward: 6,200. ³⁵And the leader of the fathers’ households of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the northward side of the tabernacle. ³⁶Now the appointment of duties of the sons of Merari included the framework of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its bases, all its equipment, and all the service concerning them,

Firstborn Redeemed