Numbers 3:5

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
LORD	יְהוָ֖ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
spake	וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר vay.da.Ber	H1696	perhaps properly · conjunction + verb, piel sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Moses	מֹשֶׁ֥ה mo.Sheh	H4872	Mosheh · proper noun, a man's name
saying	לֵּאמֹֽר le.Mor	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct

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).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 3:1-13

Here, I. The family of Aaron is confirmed in the priests' office, Num 3:10. They had been called to it before, and consecrated; here they are appointed to wait on their priests' office: the apostle uses this phrase (Rom 12:7), Let us wait on our ministry. The office of the ministry requires a constant attendance and great diligence; so frequent are the returns of its work, and yet so transient its favourable opportunities, that it must be waited on. Here is repeated what was said before (Num 1:51): The stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death, which forbids the invading of the priest's office by any other person whatsoever; none must come nigh to minister but Aaron and his sons only,…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 3:5

Bring the tribe of Levi near--The Hebrew word "bring near" is a sacrificial term, denoting the presentation of an offering to God; and the use of the word, therefore, in connection with the Levites, signifies that they were devoted as an offering to the sanctuary, no longer to be employed in any common offices. They were subordinate to the priests, who alone enjoyed the privilege of entering the holy place; but they were employed in discharging many of the humbler duties which belonged to the sanctuary, as well as in various offices of great utility and importance to the religion and morals of the people.

John Gill on Numbers 3:5

And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... After he had given him the order for the numbering the children of Israel, and for the manner of their encampment and journeying: saying; as follows.

John Calvin on Numbers 3:5–end

Numbers 3:5-10 5. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 5. Loquutus est autem Jehova ad Mosen, dicendo: 6. Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him. 6. Appropinquare fac tribum Levi, et siste eam coram Aharone sacerdote, ut ministret ei. 7. And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle. 7. Et custodiant custodiam ejus, et custodiam universi coatus coram tabernaculo conventionis, ut exequantur cultum tabernaculi. 8. And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the ch…

The Church Fathers

And again, the priests are written down as more eminent than the Levites. For thus it is contained in the same Scripture: "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Take the sum of the Levites, and set them in the sight of Aaron the priest, and let them minister to him." You see in this too how it names the priests as superior to the Levites, and again sets the Levites as more eminent than the children of Israel?
— Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS, PROLOGUE

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

Gershon — =Ger’shom expulsion, the eldest of Levi’s three sons (Gen. 46:11; Ex. 6:16). In the wilderness the sons of Gershon had charge of the fabrics of the tabernacle when it was moved from place to place,…
Og — Gigantic, the king of Bashan, who was defeated by Moses in a pitched battle at Edrei, and was slain along with his sons (Deut. 1:4), and whose kingdom was given to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and…
Desert, Journey Of Israel Through The · Levites set apart — Levites set apart

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 3:5

Word by word — the Hebrew

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 3:1-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 3:5

John Gill on Numbers 3:5

John Calvin on Numbers 3:5–end

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Numbers 3:5

Word by word — the Hebrew

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 3:1-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 3:5

John Gill on Numbers 3:5

John Calvin on Numbers 3:5–end

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Numbers 3:5-10

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Numbers 3:5-13

Rashi on Numbers 3:4