Aaron’s Family, the Priests

3 This is the family history of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord talked to Moses on Mount Sinai. ²Aaron had four sons. Nadab was the firstborn* son. Then there were Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³These sons were the chosen* priests. These sons were given the special work of serving the Lord as priests. ⁴But Nadab and Abihu died {because they sinned} while serving the Lord. They used fire that the Lord did not allow when they made an offering to the Lord. So Nadab and Abihu died there, in the Sinai desert. They had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar took their place and served the Lord as priests. This happened while their father Aaron was still alive.

Levites—the Priests’ Helpers

⁵The Lord said to Moses, ⁶“Bring all the men from Levi’s family group. Bring them to Aaron the priest. Those men will be Aaron’s helpers. ⁷The Levites will help Aaron when he serves at the Meeting Tent.* And the Levites will help all the people {of Israel} when they come to worship at the Holy Tent.* ⁸The people of Israel should protect all the things in the Meeting Tent; it is their duty. But the Levites will serve the people of Israel by caring for these things. This will be their way of worshiping at the Holy Tent. ⁹“Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. The Levites were chosen from all the people of Israel to help Aaron and his sons. ¹⁰“Appoint Aaron and his sons to be priests. They must do their duty and serve as priests. Any other person who tries to come near the holy things* must be killed.” ¹¹The Lord also said to Moses, ¹²“{I told you that every family of Israel must give their firstborn* son to me}—but now I am choosing the Levites to serve me. They will be mine. So all the other people of Israel will not have to give their firstborn sons to me. ¹³“When you were in Egypt, I killed all the firstborn* children of the Egyptians. At that time, I took all of the firstborn children of Israel to be mine. All of the firstborn children and all the firstborn animals are mine. {But now I am giving your firstborn children back to you, and I am making the Levites mine.} I am the Lord.” ¹⁴The Lord again talked to Moses in the Sinai desert. The Lord said, ¹⁵“Count all the families and family groups in Levi’s family group. Count every man or boy that is a month old or older.” ¹⁶So Moses obeyed the Lord. He counted them all. ¹⁷Levi had three sons. Their names were: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁸Each son was the leader of several family groups. The Gershon family groups were: Libni and Shimei. ¹⁹The Kohath family groups were: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ²⁰The Merari family groups were: Mahli and Mushi. Those are the families that belonged to Levi’s family group. ²¹The families of Libni and Shimei belonged to the family of Gershon. They were the Gershonite family groups. ²²There were 7,500 men and boys over one month old in these two family groups. ²³The Gershonite family groups were told to camp in the west. They made their camp behind the Holy Tent.* ²⁴The leader of the family groups of the Gershonite people was Eliasaph son of Lael. ²⁵In the Meeting Tent,* the Gershonite people had the job of taking care of the Holy Tent, the outer tent, and the covering. They also took care of the curtain at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. ²⁶They cared for the curtain in the courtyard. And they cared for the curtain at the entrance of the courtyard. This courtyard was around the Holy Tent and the altar.* And they cared for the ropes and for everything that was used with the curtains. ²⁷The families of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, belonged to the family of Kohath. They were the Kohathite family groups. ²⁸In this family group there were 8,300* men and boys a month old or over. The Kohathite people were given the job of taking care of {the things in} the holy place. ²⁹The Kohathite family groups were given the area to the south of the Holy Tent.* This was the area where they camped. ³⁰The leader of the Kohathite family groups was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. ³¹Their job was to take care of the Holy Box,* the table, the lampstand, the altars, and the dishes of the Holy Place.* They also cared for the curtain and all the things that were used with the curtain. ³²The leader over the leaders of the Levite people was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest. Eleazar was in charge of all the people that took care of the holy things. ^33–34The family groups of Mahli and Mushi belonged to the Merari family. There were 6,200 men and boys that were one month old or older in the Mahli family group. ³⁵The leader of the Merari family group was Zuriel son of Abihail. This family group was given the area to the north of the Holy Tent.* This is the area where they camped. ³⁶The people from the Merari family were given the job of caring for the frames of the Holy Tent. They cared for all the braces, posts, bases, and everything that was used with the frames of the Holy Tent. ³⁷They also cared for all the posts in the courtyard around the Holy Tent. This included all the bases, tent pegs, and ropes. ³⁸Moses, Aaron, and his sons camped east of the Holy Tent,* in front of the Meeting Tent. They were given the work of caring for the Holy Place. They did this for all the people of Israel. Any other person who came near the Holy Place was to be killed. ³⁹The Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to count all the men and boys one month old or older in Levi’s family group. The total number was 22,000.

Levites Take the Place of the Firstborn

⁴⁰The Lord said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn* men and boys in Israel who are at least one month old. Write their names on a list. ⁴¹{In the past I said that} I would take all the firstborn* men and boys of Israel. But now I, the Lord, will take the Levites. I will also take the firstborn animals from the Levites instead of taking all the firstborn animals from the other people in Israel.” ⁴²So Moses did what the Lord commanded. Moses counted all the firstborn* children of the people of Israel. ⁴³Moses listed all the firstborn men and boys that were one month old or older. There were 22,273 names on that list. ⁴⁴The Lord also said to Moses, ⁴⁵“I, the Lord, give this command: ‘Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn* men from the other families of Israel. And I will take the animals of the Levites instead of the animals of the other people. The Levites are mine. ⁴⁶There are 22,000 Levites, but there are 22,273 firstborn sons from the other families. This leaves 273 more firstborn sons than Levites. ⁴⁷Using the official measure,* collect five shekels* of silver for each of the 273 people. (The shekel by the official measure weighs 20 gerahs.*) Collect that silver from the people of Israel. ⁴⁸Give that silver to Aaron and his sons. It is the payment for the 273 people of Israel.’” ⁴⁹There were not enough Levites to take the place of 273 men from the other family groups. So Moses gathered the money for those 273 men. ⁵⁰Moses collected the silver from the firstborn* men of the people of Israel. He collected 1,365 shekels* of silver, using the official measure.* ⁵¹Moses obeyed the Lord. Moses gave the silver to Aaron and his sons just like the Lord commanded.

firstborn The first child born into a family. The firstborn son was very important in ancient times. chosen Or, “anointed.” A special oil was poured on their heads to show they were chosen by God. Meeting Tent The Holy Tent (tabernacle) where the people of Israel went to meet with God. tries … holy things Or, “tries to serve as a priest.” altar A table or raised area used for offering sacrifices. 8,300 Some copies of the ancient Greek version have “8,300.” The Hebrew copies have “8,600.” See Num. 3:22, 28, 34, 39. Holy Tent Or, “tabernacle,” the tent where God came to live among his people. Holy Box Or, “ark of the Covenant,” the box containing the flat stones with the Ten Commandments written on them and other things that proved God was with the people of Israel during their time in the Sinai desert. Holy Place One of the rooms in the Holy Tent. firstborn The first child born into a family. The firstborn son was very important in ancient times. official measure Literally, “holy shekel,” the standard of measure used in the tabernacle and the temple. five shekels Or, “2 ounces.” gerah(s) A gerah is 1/50 of an ounce.

The Jobs of the Kohath Family

4 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²“Count the men in the families of the Kohath family group. (The Kohath family group is a part of Levi’s family group.) ³Count all the men from 30 to 50 years old that served in the army. These men will work in the Meeting Tent.* ⁴Their job is to take care of the most holy things in the Meeting Tent. ⁵“When the people of Israel travel to a new place, then Aaron and his sons must go into the Meeting Tent* and take down the curtain and cover the Holy Box of the Agreement* with it. ⁶Then they must cover all of this with covering made from fine leather.* Then they must spread the solid blue cloth over the leather and put the poles {in the rings on the Holy Box}. ⁷“Then they must spread a blue cloth over the holy table. Then they must put the plates, spoons, bowls, and the jars for drink offerings on the table. Also, put the special bread on the table. ⁸Then you must put a red cloth over all of these things. Then cover everything with fine leather.* Then put the poles {in the rings of the table}. ⁹“Then they must cover the lampstand and its lamps with a blue cloth. They must also cover all the things used to keep the lamps burning and all the jars of oil that are used in the lamps. ¹⁰Then wrap everything in fine leather.* Then they must put all these things on poles used for carrying them. ¹¹“They must spread a blue cloth over the golden altar. They must cover that with fine leather.* Then they must put the poles for carrying it {in the rings on the altar}. ¹²“Then they must gather together all the special things that are used for worship in the Holy Place.* They must gather them together and wrap them in a blue cloth. Then they must cover that with fine leather.* They must put these things on a frame for carrying them. ¹³“They must clean the ashes out of the {bronze} altar and spread a purple cloth over it. ¹⁴Then they must gather together all the things that are used for worship at the altar. These are the fire pans, forks, shovels, and the bowls. They must put these things on the {bronze} altar. Then they must spread a covering of fine leather* over the altar. They must put the poles for carrying it in {the rings on the altar}. ¹⁵“Aaron and his sons must finish covering all the holy things in the Holy Place.* Then the men from the Kohath family can go in and begin carrying those things. In this way, they will not touch the Holy Place and die. ¹⁶“Eleazar son of Aaron the priest will be responsible for the Holy Tent.* He will be responsible for the Holy Place* and for everything in it. He will be responsible for the oil for the lamp, the sweet-smelling incense,* the daily offering,* and the anointing oil.*” ¹⁷The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ¹⁸“Be careful! Don’t let these Kohathite men be destroyed. ¹⁹You must do these things so that the Kohathite men can go near the Most Holy Place* and not die. Aaron and his sons must go in and show each Kohathite man what to do. They must give each man the things he needs to carry. ²⁰If you do not do this, then the Kohathite men might go in and look at the holy things. If they look at those things, even for a moment, then they must die.”

The Jobs of the Gershon Family

²¹The Lord said to Moses, ²²“Count all the people of the Gershon family. List them by family and family group. ²³Count all the men who are from 30 to 50 years old that served in the army. These men will have the job of caring for the Meeting Tent.* ²⁴“This is what the Gershonite family must do and the things they must carry: ²⁵They must carry the curtains of the Holy Tent,* the Meeting Tent, its covering, and the covering made from fine leather.* They must also carry the curtain at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. ²⁶They must carry the curtains of the courtyard that are around the Holy Tent and the altar. And they must carry the curtain for the entrance of the courtyard. They must also carry all of the ropes and all the things that are used with the curtains. The Gershonite men will be responsible for anything that needs to be done with these things. ²⁷Aaron and his sons will watch all the work that is done. Everything the Gershonite people carry and the other work they do will be watched by Aaron and his sons. You must tell them all the things that they are responsible for carrying. ²⁸This is the work that the men of the Gershonite family group must do for the Meeting Tent. Ithamar son of Aaron the priest will be responsible for their work.”

The Jobs of the Merari Family

²⁹“Count all of the men in the families and family groups in the Merari family group. ³⁰Count all the men who are from 30 to 50 years old and served in the army. These men will do a special work for the Meeting Tent.* ³¹When you travel, it is their job to carry the frames of the Meeting Tent. They must carry the braces, the posts, and the bases. They must also carry the posts that are around the courtyard. They must carry the bases, the tent pegs, the ropes, and everything that is used for the poles around the courtyard. List the names and tell each man exactly what he must carry. ³³These are the things that the people from the Merari family will do to serve in the work for the Meeting Tent. Ithamar son of Aaron the priest will be responsible for their work.”

The Levite Families

³⁴Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the people of Israel counted the Kohathite people. They counted them by families and family groups. ³⁵They counted all the men from 30 to 50 years old that served in the army. These men were given special work to do for the Meeting Tent.* ³⁶There were 2,750 men in the Kohath family group that were qualified to do this work. ³⁷So these men from the Kohath family group were given their special work to do for the Meeting Tent.* Moses and Aaron did this the way the Lord had told Moses to do. ³⁸Also, the Gershonite family group was counted. ³⁹All the men from 30 to 50 years old that served in the army were counted. These men were given their special work to do for the Meeting Tent.* ⁴⁰There were 2,630 men in the families of the Gershon family group that were qualified. ⁴¹So these men from the Gershon family group were given their special work to do for the Meeting Tent. Moses and Aaron did this the way the Lord had told Moses to do. ⁴²Also, the men in the families and family groups of the Merari family were counted. ⁴³All the men from 30 to 50 years old that had served in the army were counted. These men were given their special work to do for the Meeting Tent.* ⁴⁴There were 3,200 men in the families of the Merari family group that were qualified. ⁴⁵So these men from the Merari family group were given their special work. Moses and Aaron did this the way the Lord told Moses to do. ⁴⁶So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the people of Israel counted all the people in Levi’s family group. They had counted each family and each family group. ⁴⁷All the men between the ages of 30 and 50 that served in the army were counted. These men were given a special work to do for the Meeting Tent.* They did the work of carrying the Meeting Tent when they traveled. ⁴⁸The total number was 8,580. ⁴⁹So, each man was counted like the Lord commanded Moses. Each man was given his own work and told what he must carry. This was done just like the Lord commanded.

firstborn The first child born into a family. The firstborn son was very important in ancient times. 1,365 shekels Or, “35 pounds.” official measure Literally, “temple shekel.” Meeting Tent The Holy Tent (tabernacle) where the people of Israel went to meet with God. Holy Box of the Agreement Also called “ark of the Covenant,” the box containing the flat stones with the Ten Commandments written on them. These were proof of the Agreement between God and the people of Israel. fine leather A special kind of leather made from the skin of an animal like the seal or sea cow. Holy Place One of the rooms in the Holy Tent. Holy Tent Or, “tabernacle,” the tent where God came to live among his people. incense Special dried tree sap. Burned to make a sweet-smelling smoke, it was offered as a gift to God. daily offering Offerings that were placed twice each day in the Holy Place as a gift to God. anointing oil Olive oil that was poured on people or things to show they were chosen for a special work or purpose. Most Holy Place The room inside the Holy Tent where the Holy Box was kept. Meeting Tent The Holy Tent (tabernacle) where the people of Israel went to meet with God.