Keraia
Numbers 4

Numbers 4:2

The Duties of the Kohathites · Numbers 4:1–20
Read Numbers 4

Translations

Modern
“Take a census of the Kohathites among the Levites by their clans and families,
Traditional
Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers,
Literal
“Take a census of the sons of Kohath from the midst of the sons of Levi, by their clans, by the house of their fathers,
Latin
Tolle summam filiorum Caath de medio Levitarum per domos et familias suas,

Interlinear

Hebrew
English
“Take a census of the Kohathites among the Levites by their clans and families,

Notes

Numbers 4:1–49

  • This section continues the discussion from 3:21–37 about the duties of the three Levite clans. The Levites carried and cared for the Tent of Meeting while traveling and camping. Other tribes always surrounded them to protect them and their valuable cargo (2:17). They placed the holy items of God in the center of the tribes. The priests and their Levitical assistants kept these items holy by separating them.

  • God, in his holiness, deserves to have the details of his will given careful attention. The Tent of Meeting and its furnishings were holy. The tribe of Levi had to maintain the difference between holy and common, and between ceremonially clean and unclean. This is why there is so much information about the duties of the three Levite clans.

Numbers 3:1–4:49

Israel's priests and Levites had duties like moving, assembling, protecting, and maintaining the Tent of Meeting. The way God organized the tribes highlighted his concern for these priestly tasks.

Parallels

Numbers 3:27–32 1 Chronicles 23:12–20

People

Kohath: Son of Levi; Levite clan ancestor Levi: Son of Jacob; progenitor of the Levites

Glossary

Ark of the Covenant Biblical Concept of Law David Deuteronomy, Book of Kohath, Kohathites Numbers, Book of Priests and Levites

Topics

Levites: Enrollment of, at Mount Sinai Levites: Functions of had Charge of the Tabernacle in the Encampments and on the March Levites: The Remaining Families Appointed to Take Charge of the Ark of the Covenant