The Tribe of Levi
1 ① These are the descendants of Aaron and Moses, at the time when Yahweh spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai.
2These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the eldest, then Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
3These are the names of Aaron’s sons, priests anointed and invested with the powers of the priesthood. 4Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of Yahweh, in the desert of Sinai, when they offered fire that was unlawful. They left no children and so it fell to Eleazar and Ithamar to exercise the priesthood under their father Aaron.
5Yahweh spoke to Moses and said:
6“Call for the tribe of Levi and appoint them as servants to Aaron the priest. 7They are to perform the duties that are laid on him and on the entire community before the Tent of Meeting, in their service of the Holy Tent. 8They shall take care of the furnishings for the Tent of Meeting, and serve me in the Holy Tent as representatives of the sons of Israel. 9You are to give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given to him from the sons of Israel.
10You are to enroll also Aaron and his sons, and they are to carry out the priestly duty. But any layman who comes near is to be put to death.”
11Yahweh spoke to Moses and said:
12“I myself have chosen the Levites from among the sons of Israel, in place of the firstborn, those who open the mother’s womb among the sons of Israel; the Levites therefore belong to me, 13for every firstborn belongs to me. On the day I struck all the firstborn of the Egyptians, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn of Israel, of both man and beast. They are mine; I am Yahweh.”
14Yahweh spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai. He said: 15“You are to take a census of the sons of Levi by families and clans; all the males of the age of one month and over must be counted.” 16Moses took this census, as Yahweh had ordered. 17These are the names of the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
18These are the names of Gershon’s sons by their clans: Libni and Shimei; 19Kohath’s sons by their clans: Amran, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel; 20Merari’s sons by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of Levi, grouped according to their ancestral families.
21From Gershon are descended the Libnite and the Shimeite clans; these are the Gershonite clans. 22Their number, counting the males of one month and over, came to 7,500.
23The Gershonite clans camped behind the Holy Tent, on the west side. 24The leader of the clan of Gershon was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25In the Tent of Meeting the sons of Gershon had charge of the Holy Tent, its inner and outer covers, 26the screen for the entrance and curtains for the court which is around the Holy Tent and the altar, and the ropes needed for all this work.
27From Kohath are descended the Amramite, the Izharite, the Hebronite and the Uzzielite clans; these are the Kohathite clans. 28Their full number, counting the males of one month and over, came to 8,300. They were in charge of the sanctuary. 29The Kohathite clans camped on the south side of the Holy Tent. 30The leader of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. 31They were in charge of the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the sacred vessels used in the liturgy, and the screen.
32The chief of the Levite leaders was Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest. He was the head of all those who were in charge of the sanctuary.
33From Merari are descended the Mahlite and the Mushite clans; these are the Merarite clans. 34Their full number, counting the males of one month and over, came to 6,200. 35The leader of the Merarite clans was Zuriel, son of Abihail. They camped on the north side of the Holy Tent. 36The sons of Merari were in charge of the framework of the Holy Tent, with its crossbars, posts and bases, all its fittings, 37and also the posts around the court, with their bases, pegs and ropes.
38Finally, on the east side, facing the Holy Tent and the Tent of Meeting, toward the sunrise, was the camp of Moses and Aaron and his sons, who had charge of the sanctuary for the people of Israel. Anyone else coming near was to be put to death.
39Altogether, the total count of Levites of the age of one month and over, whom Moses numbered by clans as Yahweh had ordered, came to 22,000.
40Yahweh said to Moses:
“Take a census of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, all the males from the age of one month and over; take a census of them by name. 41Then you will take the Levites for me, Yahweh, instead of the firstborn of Israel; in the same way you will give me their cattle instead of the firstborn cattle of the sons of Israel.”
42As Yahweh commanded, Moses took a census of all the firstborn of the sons of Israel. 43The total count, by name, of the firstborn from the age of one month and over came to 22,273.
44Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and said,
45“Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn of Israel’s sons, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; the Levites shall be my own. 46But you have to buy back the 273 of the firstborn of the sons of Israel who outnumber the Levites. 47So for each one you are to pay five pieces of silver, according to the official standard, 48and you shall give this money to Aaron and his sons.”
49Moses received the 1,365 pieces of silver as ransom from those who were left when the rest had been redeemed by the Levites. 50From the firstborn of the Israelites he received one thousand three hundred and sixty-five pieces of silver according to the sanctuary standard. 51And he gave them to Aaron and his sons as Yahweh had ordered.
- Num 3,1 Chapters 3, 4 and 8 refer to the priests or Levites. At the time of Abraham, each family head was priest for his own group: he himself was responsible for the sacrifices (Gen 15:10) and sacred rituals (Gen 28:18); he also gave blessings on behalf of God (Gen 27:27). Possibly, Moses appointed men in charge of teaching Yahweh's laws to Israel. The group called the tribe of Levi, perhaps a tribe of warriors at first, became responsible for this mission. In the episode of the Golden Calf they supported Moses in restoring order. Still, heads of families as well as priests kept on celebrating without laws or control (Jdg 17). David and Solomon established the Jewish clergy: from then on, only men from the tribe of Levi could be priests. It was perhaps with Josiah's reform that a distinction was made among the Levites. Those of a higher rank were called priests and those of a lower rank were Levites (see 2 K 22:8). Those who returned to Jerusalem at Josiah's command and were forbidden to officiate in the Temple may have been the first Levites of a lower rank, while the Jerusalem clergy saw their privileges confirmed. They, the priests of the Temple, began to form a superior class and, to differentiate themselves within the tribe of Levi, they claimed to be descendants of Aaron, Moses' brother. The Book of Numbers attributes to Moses himself, in a fictitious way, all this organization. The Levites represent the firstborn of Israel, the ones whom Yahweh saved in the first Passover when the firstborn of Egypt died. Since they were saved by Yahweh, from that time on they belonged to God.
