Numbers 18:2

And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
brethren	אַחֶיךָ֩ 'a.chei.Kha	H251	a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
tribe	מַטֵּ֨ה ma.Teh	H4294	a branch (as extending) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Levi	לֵוִ֜י le.Vi	H3878	Levi · proper noun, a man's name
tribe	שֵׁ֤בֶט She.vet	H7626	a scion · noun, common masculine singular construct
father	אָבִ֙יךָ֙ 'a.Vi.kha	H1	father · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
bring	הַקְרֵ֣ב hak.Rev	H7126	to approach (causatively · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
joined	וְיִלָּו֥וּ ve.yi.la.Vu	H3867	properly · conjunction + verb, niphal, 3rd person masculine plural
minister	וִֽישָׁרְת֑וּךָ vi.sha.re.Tu.kha	H8334	to attend as a menial or worshipper · conjunction + verb, piel, 3rd person masculine plural + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
sons	וּבָנֶ֣יךָ u.va.Nei.kha	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
before	לִפְנֵ֖י lif.Nei	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
tabernacle	אֹ֥הֶל 'O.hel	H168	a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance) · noun, common masculine singular construct
witness	הָעֵדֻֽת ha.'e.Dut	H5715	testimony · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Genesis 29:34 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: ther…
Numbers 3:6-13 Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him.
Numbers 4:15 And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward;…
Numbers 8:19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Isra…
Numbers 8:22 And after that went the Levites in to do their service in the tabernacle of the congregation before Aaron, and before his sons: as the LORD…
Numbers 16:40 To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LOR…
Numbers 17:7 And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness.
Numbers 18:4 And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: and a…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 18:1-7

The coherence of this chapter with that foregoing is very observable. I. The people, in the close of that chapter, had complained of the difficulty and peril that there were in drawing near to God, which put them under some dreadful apprehensions that the tabernacle in the midst of them, which they hoped would have been their joy and glory, would rather be their terror and ruin. Now, in answer to this complaint, God here gives them to understand by Aaron that the priests should come near for them as their representatives; so that, though the people were obliged to keep their distance, yet that should not at all redound to their disgrace or prejudice, but their comfortable communion with God…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 18:2

thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi--The departments of the sacred office, to be filled respectively by the priests and Levites, are here assigned to each. To the priests was committed the charge of the sanctuary and the altar, while the Levites were to take care of everything else about the tabernacle. The Levites were to attend the priests as servants--bestowed on them as "gifts" to aid in the service of the tabernacle--while the high and dignified office of the priesthood was a "service of gift." "A stranger," that is, one, neither a priest nor a Levite, who should intrude into any departments of the sacred office, should incur the penalty of death.

John Gill on Numbers 18:2

And to thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father,.... For his father Amram was of that tribe, and so the Levites were his brethren, as he is directed to consider them; which might serve to conciliate their minds, and make them easy with respect to his enjoyment of the priesthood: bring them with thee; into the court of the tabernacle, for further they might not go: that they maybe joined unto thee: as their name of Levites signifies, persons joined and united to others, as they were to the priests: see reason of their patriarch's name Levi in Genesis 29:34, and minister unto thee: be assisting to the priests in killing the sacrifices, receiving the blood, and flaying…

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Dictionary and topics

Levite — A descendant of the tribe of Levi (Ex. 6:25; Lev. 25:32; Num. 35:2; Josh. 21:3, 41). This name is, however, generally used as the title of that portion of the tribe which was set apart for the…
Levites, The · Services of: Ministering to priests — Services of: Ministering to priests
Tabernacle · The priests: Performed all services in — The priests: Performed all services in

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Numbers 18:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 18:1-7

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 18:2

John Gill on Numbers 18:2

Dictionary and topics

Numbers 18:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 18:1-7

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 18:2

John Gill on Numbers 18:2

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Numbers 18:1-7

Keil & Delitzsch on Numbers 18:1-7

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Numbers 18:1-32

Rashi on Numbers 18:2