Numbers 18:20 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Numbers 18:20
And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Aaron
אַהֲרֹ֗ן'a.ha.Ron
H175
Aharon · proper noun, a man's name
inheritance
תִנְחָ֔לtin.Chal
H5157
to inherit (as a (figurative) mode of descent) · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
land
בְּאַרְצָם֙be.'ar.Tzam
H776
the earth (at large · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
part
וְחֵ֕לֶקve.Che.lek
H2506
properly · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
among
בְּתוֹכָ֑םbe.to.Kham
H8432
a bisection · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
part
חֶלְקְךָ֙chel.ke.Cha
H2506
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
inheritance
וְנַחֲלָ֣תְךָ֔ve.na.cha.La.te.kha
H5159
properly · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
among
בְּת֖וֹךְbe.Tokh
H8432
a bisection · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
children
בְּנֵ֥יbe.Nei
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵֽלYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
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
Ezekiel 44:28 And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.
Deuteronomy 10:9 Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, according as the LORD thy God promised him.
Joshua 13:33 But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not any inheritance: the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, as he said unto them.
Deuteronomy 18:1-2 The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of the LORD…
Lamentations 3:24 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
Deuteronomy 12:12 And ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the L…
Deuteronomy 14:27 And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.
Joshua 14:3 For Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes and an half tribe on the other side Jordan: but unto the Levites he gave none inheritance…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Numbers 18:20–end
Here is a further account of the provision that was made both for the Levites and for the priests, out of the country.
I. They must have no inheritance in the land; only cities to dwell in were afterwards allowed them, but no ground to occupy: Thou shalt not have any part among them, Num 18:20. It is repeated again Num 18:23, and again Num 18:24, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance, either by purchase or descent. God would have them comfortably provided for, but would not have their families over-rich, lest they should think themselves above that work which their wages supposed and obliged them constantly to attend upon. As Israel was a peculiar people, and not to be…
it is a covenant of salt--that is, a perpetual ordinance. This figurative form of expression was evidently founded on the conservative property of salt, which keeps meat from corruption; and hence it became an emblem of inviolability and permanence. It is a common phrase among Oriental people, who consider the eating of salt a pledge of fidelity, binding them in a covenant of friendship. Hence the partaking of the altar meats, which were appropriated to the priests on condition of their services and of which salt formed a necessary accompaniment, was naturally called "a covenant of salt" (Lev 2:13).
John Gill on Numbers 18:20
And the Lord spake unto Aaron,.... What is said, being what concerned the tribe of Levi, at the head of which Aaron was, even concerning the maintenance of the Levites:
thou shalt have no inheritance in their land; in the land of Israel when they come to possess it, as the rest of the tribes had:
neither shalt thou have any part among them; any part of the land when it is divided by lot, as it was in the times of Joshua, when taken from the Canaanites; no tract of land was peculiarly assigned to them as were to the other tribes, as fields, nor vineyards; they had cities appointed them, and they had houses and fields devoted to the Lord which fell to them, and others they had by gift or leg…
For all this people had twelve tribes after the number of the twelve sons of Jacob. What we call tribes are as it were distinct houses and congregations of people. This people, I say, had twelve tribes, out of which twelve tribes one tribe was Judah, out of which came the kings. There was another tribe, Levi, out of which came the priests. To the priests serving the temple no land was allotted. So it was necessary that among twelve tribes all the land of promise should be shared. Having separated one tribe of higher dignity, the tribe of Levi, which was of the priests, there would have remained eleven, unless by the adoption of the two sons of Joseph the number twelve were completed.
Finally, do you wish to know what is the difference between the priests of God and the priests of Pharaoh? Pharaoh grants lands to his priests; but the Lord grants his priests no portion in the land, but says to them: "I am your portion." Observe therefore, you who read these things, all you priests of the Lord, and see what the difference of priests is, lest perchance those who have a portion in the land and are occupied with earthly cultivations and pursuits should seem to be priests not so much of the Lord as of Pharaoh. For it is he who wishes his priests to have possessions of lands and to exercise the cultivation of the field, not of the soul, to give their labor to the country and not to the law; but let us hear what Christ our Lord enjoins upon his priests. "He who does not," he says, "renounce all that he possesses cannot be my disciple."
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Law of Moses — Is the whole body of the Mosaic legislation (1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 23:25; Ezra 3:2). It is called by way of eminence simply “the Law” (Heb. Torah, Deut. 1:5; 4:8, 44; 17:18, 19; 27:3, 8). As a written…
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…
Tithe · Reasonableness of appointing, for the Levites — Reasonableness of appointing, for the Levites
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).
John Calvin on Numbers 18:20-24
Numbers 18:20, 21, 23, 24
20. And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.
20. Dixit autem Jehova ad Aharon, De terra eorum haereditatem non habebis, nec portio erit tibi in medio eorum: ego portio tua, et haereditas tua in medio filiorum Israel.
21. And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.
21. Filiis autem Levi ecce dedi omnes decimas in Israele in haereditatem pro ministerio eorum quia ipsi exequuntur min…
For this reason, Aaron was to received no inheritance in the land among the children of Israel. Aaron, as the head of the priests, represents the whole priesthood; and with regard to the possession, the whole tribe of Levi is placed, in Num 18:23, on an equality with the priests. The Levites were to receive no portion of the land as an inheritance in Canaan (cf. Num 26:62; Deu 12:12; Deu 14:27; Jos 14:3). Jehovah was the portion and inheritance, not only of Aaron and his sons, but of the whole tribe of Levi (cf. Deu 10:9; Deu 18:2; Jos 13:33); or, as it is expressed in Jos 18:7, "the priesthood of Jehovah was their inheritance," though not in the sense that Knobel supposes viz., "the priesth…
The priests and Levites did not have a tribal homeland but were scattered among Israel’s other tribes (cp. 35:1-8; Deut 12:12; Josh 21:1-42). • I am your share and your allotment: Instead of their own territory, Israel’s priests received the assurance that God himself would be their homeland, while the tribe of Levi received tithes in compensation for their sacred service.
Rashi on Numbers 18:20
וחלק לא יהיה לך בתוכם [THOU SHALT NOT INHERIT THEIR LAND,] NEITHER SHALT THOU HAVE ANY PORTION IN THE MIDST OF THEM even in the spoil (Sifrei Bamidbar 119:1).
