Numbers 1:47–49

³³But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel; as the Lord commanded Moses.

¹THESE also are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the Lord spake with Moses in mount Sinai.

²And these are the names of the sons of Aaron; Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

³These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests which were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest’s office.

⁴And Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord, when they offered strange fire before the Lord, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest’s office in the sight of Aaron their father.

⁵¶ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

⁶Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him.

⁷And 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.

⁸And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.

⁹And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel.

¹⁰And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest’s office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

¹¹And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

¹²And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine;

¹³Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the Lord.

¹⁴¶ And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,

¹⁵Number the children of Levi after the house of their fathers, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them.

¹⁶And Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded.

¹⁷And these were the sons of Levi by their names; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari.

¹⁸And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families; Libni, and Shimei.

¹⁹And the sons of Kohath by their families; Amram, and Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

²⁰And the sons of Merari by their families; Mahli, and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to the house of their fathers.

²¹Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these are the families of the Gershonites.

²²Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, even those that were numbered of them were seven thousand and five hundred.

²³The families of the Gershonites shall pitch behind the tabernacle westward.

²⁴And the chief of the house of the father of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael.

²⁵And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, the covering thereof, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,

²⁶And the hangings of the court, and the curtain for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and the cords of it for all the service thereof.

²⁷¶ And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izeharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites.

²⁸In the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary.

²⁹The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward.

³⁰And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.

³¹And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the hanging, and all the service thereof.

³²And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.

³³¶ Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari.

³⁴And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred.

³⁵And the chief of the house of the father of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: these shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward.

³⁶And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serveth thereto,

³⁷And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.

³⁸¶ But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

³⁹All that were numbered of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the Lord, throughout their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand.

⁴⁰¶ And the Lord said unto Moses, Number all the firstborn of the males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names.

⁴¹And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am the Lord) instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel.

⁴²And Moses numbered, as the Lord commanded him, all the firstborn among the children of Israel.

⁴³And all the firstborn males by the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those that were numbered of them, were twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen.

⁴⁴¶ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

⁴⁵Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord.

⁴⁶And for those that are to be redeemed of the two hundred and threescore and thirteen of the firstborn of the children of Israel, which are more than the Levites;

⁴⁷Thou shalt even take five shekels apiece by the poll, after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them: (the shekel is twenty gerahs:)

⁴⁸And thou shalt give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed, unto Aaron and to his sons.

⁴⁹And Moses took the redemption money of them that were over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites:

⁶But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them: for the king’s word was abominable to Joab.

¹THE sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

²And the sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel.

³And the children of Amram; Aaron, and Moses, and Miriam. The sons also of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

⁴¶ Eleazar begat Phinehas, Phinehas begat Abishua,

⁵And Abishua begat Bukki, and Bukki begat Uzzi,

⁶And Uzzi begat Zerahiah, and Zerahiah begat Meraioth,

⁷Meraioth begat Amariah, and Amariah begat Ahitub,

⁸And Ahitub begat Zadok, and Zadok begat Ahimaaz,

⁹And Ahimaaz begat Azariah, and Azariah begat Johanan,

¹⁰And Johanan begat Azariah, (he it is that executed the priest’s office in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem:)

¹¹And Azariah begat Amariah, and Amariah begat Ahitub,

¹²And Ahitub begat Zadok, and Zadok begat Shallum,

¹³And Shallum begat Hilkiah, and Hilkiah begat Azariah,

¹⁴And Azariah begat Seraiah, and Seraiah begat Jehozadak,

¹⁵And Jehozadak went into captivity, when the Lord carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

¹⁶¶ The sons of Levi; Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.

¹⁷And these be the names of the sons of Gershom; Libni, and Shimei.

¹⁸And the sons of Kohath were, Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel.

¹⁹The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. And these are the families of the Levites according to their fathers.

²⁰Of Gershom; Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son,

²¹Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeaterai his son.

²²The sons of Kohath; Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son,

²³Elkanah his son, and Ebiasaph his son, and Assir his son,

²⁴Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son.

²⁵And the sons of Elkanah; Amasai, and Ahimoth.

²⁶As for Elkanah: the sons of Elkanah; Zophai his son, and Nahath his son,

²⁷Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son.

²⁸And the sons of Samuel; the firstborn Vashni, and Abiah.

²⁹The sons of Merari; Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzza his son,

³⁰Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, Asaiah his son.

³¹And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the Lord, after that the ark had rest.

³²And they ministered before the dwelling place of the tabernacle of the congregation with singing, until Solomon had built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem: and then they waited on their office according to their order.

³³And these are they that waited with their children. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman a singer, the son of Joel, the son of Shemuel,

³⁴The son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah,

³⁵The son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai,

³⁶The son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah,

³⁷The son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah,

³⁸The son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel.

³⁹And his brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, even Asaph the son of Berachiah, the son of Shimea,

⁴⁰The son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the son of Malchiah,

⁴¹The son of Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah,

⁴²The son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei,

⁴³The son of Jahath, the son of Gershom, the son of Levi.

⁴⁴And their brethren the sons of Merari stood on the left hand: Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch,

⁴⁵The son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah,

⁴⁶The son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shamer,

⁴⁷The son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi.

⁴⁸Their brethren also the Levites were appointed unto all manner of service of the tabernacle of the house of God.

⁴⁹¶ But Aaron and his sons offered upon the altar of the burnt offering, and on the altar of incense, and were appointed for all the work of the place most holy, and to make an atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.

⁵⁰And these are the sons of Aaron; Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son,

⁵¹Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son,

⁵²Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son,

⁵³Zadok his son, Ahimaaz his son.

⁵⁴¶ Now these are their dwelling places throughout their castles in their coasts, of the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites: for theirs was the lot.

⁵⁵And they gave them Hebron in the land of Judah, and the suburbs thereof round about it.

⁵⁶But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

⁵⁷And to the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of Judah, namely, Hebron, the city of refuge, and Libnah with her suburbs, and Jattir, and Eshtemoa, with their suburbs,

⁵⁸And Hilen with her suburbs, Debir with her suburbs,

⁵⁹And Ashan with her suburbs, and Beth-shemesh with her suburbs:

⁶⁰And out of the tribe of Benjamin; Geba with her suburbs, and Alemeth with her suburbs, and Anathoth with her suburbs. All their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities.

⁶¹And unto the sons of Kohath, which were left of the family of that tribe, were cities given out of the half tribe, namely, out of the half tribe of Manasseh, by lot, ten cities.

⁶²And to the sons of Gershom throughout their families out of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.

⁶³Unto the sons of Merari were given by lot, throughout their families, out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.

⁶⁴And the children of Israel gave to the Levites these cities with their suburbs.

⁶⁵And they gave by lot out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, these cities, which are called by their names.

⁶⁶And the residue of the families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their coasts out of the tribe of Ephraim.

⁶⁷And they gave unto them, of the cities of refuge, Shechem in mount Ephraim with her suburbs; they gave also Gezer with her suburbs,

⁶⁸And Jokmeam with her suburbs, and Beth-horon with her suburbs,

⁶⁹And Aijalon with her suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with her suburbs:

⁷⁰And out of the half tribe of Manasseh; Aner with her suburbs, and Bileam with her suburbs, for the family of the remnant of the sons of Kohath.

⁷¹Unto the sons of Gershom were given out of the family of the half tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, and Ashtaroth with her suburbs:

⁷²And out of the tribe of Issachar; Kedesh with her suburbs, Daberath with her suburbs,

⁷³And Ramoth with her suburbs, and Anem with her suburbs:

⁷⁴And out of the tribe of Asher; Mashal with her suburbs, and Abdon with her suburbs,

⁷⁵And Hukok with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs:

⁷⁶And out of the tribe of Naphtali; Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, and Hammon with her suburbs, and Kirjathaim with her suburbs.

⁷⁷Unto the rest of the children of Merari were given out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmon with her suburbs, Tabor with her suburbs:

⁷⁸And on the other side Jordan by Jericho, on the east side of Jordan, were given them out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness with her suburbs, and Jahzah with her suburbs,

⁷⁹Kedemoth also with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs:

⁸⁰And out of the tribe of Gad; Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, and Mahanaim with her suburbs,

⁸¹And Heshbon with her suburbs, and Jazer with her suburbs.

⁵⁷¶ And these are they that were numbered of the Levites after their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites: of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites: of Merari, the family of the Merarites.

⁵⁸These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korathites. And Kohath begat Amram.

⁵⁹And the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom her mother bare to Levi in Egypt: and she bare unto Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister.

⁶⁰And unto Aaron was born Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

⁶¹And Nadab and Abihu died, when they offered strange fire before the Lord.

⁶²And those that were numbered of them were twenty and three thousand, all males from a month old and upward: for they were not numbered among the children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given them among the children of Israel.

³From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies.

⁵⁰But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof; and they shall minister unto it, and shall encamp round about the tabernacle.

¹AND the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

²Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick.

³And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the Lord commanded Moses.

⁴And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work: according unto the pattern which the Lord had shewed Moses, so he made the candlestick.

⁵¶ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

⁶Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.

⁷And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.

⁸Then let them take a young bullock with his meat offering, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin offering.

⁹And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together:

¹⁰And thou shalt bring the Levites before the Lord: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites:

¹¹And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the Lord.

¹²And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, unto the Lord, to make an atonement for the Levites.

¹³And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the Lord.

¹⁴Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.

¹⁵And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering.

¹⁶For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me.

¹⁷For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.

¹⁸And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel.

¹⁹And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary.

²⁰And Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites according unto all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the children of Israel unto them.

²¹And the Levites were purified, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as an offering before the Lord; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them.

²²And after that went the Levites in to do their service in the tabernacle of the congregation before Aaron, and before his sons: as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they unto them.

²³¶ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

²⁴This is it that belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation:

²⁵And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, and shall serve no more:

²⁶But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge.

⁶²And those that were numbered of them were twenty and three thousand, all males from a month old and upward: for they were not numbered among the children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given them among the children of Israel.

³³But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel; as the Lord commanded Moses.