Albert Barnes Commentary Numbers 4
Albert Barnes Commentary
Numbers 4
Albert Barnes Commentary
Numbers 4
"This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, [about] the most holy things:" — Numbers 4:4 (ASV)
About the most holy things - Omit “about.” The sense is, “this is the charge of the sons of Kohath, the most holy things:” that is, the ark of the covenant, the table of showbread, the candlestick, and the golden altar, together with the furniture belonging to them. It appears, from a comparison of Numbers 4:16, Numbers 4:28, and Numbers 4:33, that the ministry of the Kohathites was superintended by Eleazar, the older of the two surviving sons of Aaron; and that of the two other families by Ithamar.
"and shall put thereon a covering of sealskin, and shall spread over it a cloth all of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof." — Numbers 4:6 (ASV)
wholly of blue - Compare Exodus 25:4 (see note). The third and external covering of the ark only was to be of this color. The table of showbread had an outer wrapping of scarlet (Numbers 4:8); the altar, one of purple (Numbers 4:13).
Put in the staves - Probably, “put the staves in order.” These were never taken out of the golden rings by which the ark was to be borne , but would need adjustment.
"but they shall not go in to see the sanctuary even for a moment, lest they die." — Numbers 4:20 (ASV)
to see when the holy things are covered - Translate as: to see the holy things for an instant. The expression literally means “as a gulp,” i.e., for the instant it takes to swallow.
"from thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that enter in to wait upon the service, to do the work in the tent of meeting." — Numbers 4:23 (ASV)
enter in to perform the service - literally, as in the margin, to war the warfare, or, as the same phrase in part is rendered, (Numbers 4:3), enter into the host to do the work. The language is military. The service of God is a sacred warfare (Numbers 8:24–25 marginal reading).
"This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting: and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them by their families, by their fathers` houses; from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth upon the service, to do the work of the tent of meeting. And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tent of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name ye shall appoint the instruments of the charge of their burden. This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tent of meeting, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest." — Numbers 4:28-33 (ASV)
The Gershonites and Merarites were superintended by Ithamar, Aaron’s younger son, who had already had the oversight of the tabernacle in its construction (Exodus 38:21). Thus, the permanent offices of the leaders of the Israelite community readily sprang from the duties that, under the emergencies of the first year of the Exodus, they had been led, from time to time, to undertake.
Regarding Numbers 4:32: By name you shall reckon the instruments—Or, assign them to their bearers individually, and “by name.” These “instruments” comprised the heavier parts of the tabernacle, and the order seems intended to prevent individual Merarites choosing their own burden and so throwing more than their proper share on others.
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