Numbers 18:2–7
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18:2“Bring with you your brothers, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, so that they may join4 with you and minister to you while5 you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. 18:3They must be responsible to care for you and to care for the entire tabernacle. However, they must not come near the furnishings of the sanctuary and the altar, or both they and you will die. 18:4They must join6 with you, and they will be responsible for the care of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent, but no unauthorized person7 may approach you. 18:5You will be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the care of the altar, so that there will be8 no more wrath on the Israelites. 18:6I myself have chosen9 your brothers the Levites from among the Israelites. They are given to you as a gift from the Lord, to perform the duties10 of the tent of meeting. 18:7But you and your sons with you are responsible for your priestly duties, for everything at the altar and within the curtain. And you must serve. I give you the priesthood as a gift for service; but the unauthorized person who approaches must be put to death.”
Footnotes
- 4 The verb forms a wordplay on the name Levi, and makes an allusion to the naming of the tribe Levi by Leah in the book of Genesis. There Leah hoped that with the birth of Levi her husband would be attached to her. Here, with the selection of the tribe to serve in the sanctuary, there is the wordplay again showing that the Levites will be attached to Aaron and the priests. The verb is יִלָּווּ (yillavu), which forms a nice wordplay with Levi (לֵוִי). The tribe will now be attached to the sanctuary. The verb is the imperfect with a vav (ו) that shows volitive sequence after the imperative, here indicating a purpose clause.
- 5 The clause is a circumstantial clause because the disjunctive vav (ו) is on a nonverb to start the clause.
- 6 Now the sentence uses the Niphal perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive from the same root לָוָה (lavah).
- 7 The word is “stranger, alien,” but it can also mean Israelites here.
- 8 The clause is a purpose clause, and the imperfect tense a final imperfect.
- 9 Heb “taken.”
- 10 The infinitive construct in this sentence is from עָבַד (’avad), and so is the noun that serves as its object: to serve the service.
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