Numbers 3

Levite Day!

Sons of Aaron / Duties of the Levites / Census of the Levites / Redemption of the Firstborn

The Levites were sort of glossed over in the previous two chapters because they function separately from the twelve tribes. As we will see, the Levites serve a ritual function for the Israelites.

Sons of Aaron: Numbers 3.1-4

The chapter kicks off with a brief genealogy of Aaron and Moses "at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai" (Num 3.1). This specific detail helps to set the location - or at least remove the reader in time and space from the revelation on Mount Sinai.

Aaron's sons are Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Nadab and Abihu died for making an offering incorrectly back in Leviticus 10. They left no children. Eleazar and Ithamar, however, continued to serve as priests, assisting their father.

Duties of the Levites: Numbers 3.5-13

The Lord tells Moses to gather the Levites. A distinction is then made between the Levite Aaron and his descendants and the rest of the Levitical tribe. The tribe will perform duties for Aaron in front of the tent of meeting. They will perform ritual functions and be responsible for the upkeep of the tabernacle. However, the Levites will not be priests.

The Lord then tells Moses that he accepts the Levites as substitutes for the firstborns that are to be consecrated to God. This dedication of the firstborns (and substitution of the Levites) is explicitly linked to the killing of the firstborns in Egypt. God states:

The Levites shall be mine, for all the firstborn are mine; when I killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both human and animal; they shall be mine. I am the Lord.
(Num. 3.12-13)

Rather than requiring compulsory service of the firstborns that have been consecrated for the Lord, the Levites in effect redeem the firstborns, in some ways they are similar to the scapegoat, taking on some symbolic aspect of a feature of a group of people.

Census of the Levites: Numbers 3.14-39

The Levites were ignored in the census covered yesterday, but today their own census is taken.

The census is taken by ancestral houses (the sons of Levi), which are broken up into clans (the sons of the sons). The heads of the ancestral houses are Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

• Gershon's sons: Libni and Shimei. 
• Kohath's sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 
• Merari's sons: Mahli and Mushi.

The Levite census reports males one month old and upward. Contrast this to the census of the other twelve tribes, which counted males of fighting age, 20 and up. The Levites do not have to fight, and therefore all their males are counted. The census results also list the location where the ancestral house is to camp, as well as the responsibilities of the group, pertaining to specific parts of the sanctuary. Below are the results of the census:

Gershonites

Members: 7,500

Leader: Eliasaph son of Lael

Camp to the west of the tabernacle

Kohathites

Members: 8,600

Leader: Elizaphan son of Uzziel

Camp to the south of the tabernacle

Merari

Members: 6,200

Leader: Zuriel son of Abihail

Camp to the north of the tabernacle

Moses and Aaron and Aaron's sons are to camp to the east, in the most desirable position. Eleazar son of Aaron is to be chief over all the leaders and all those responsible for the sanctuary.

The text states the census comes to 22,000, but in fact the total should be 22,300. I'm not going to quibble over 300 people.

Redemption of the Firstborn: Numbers 3.40-51

The firstborns are all to be enrolled, even though the Levites serve as substitutes for them. And remember God's commandment that all firstborn humans and livestock are to be given to God? Well, the Levites' livestock is to serve as a substitute for those livestock that were to be sacrificed! That is pretty convenient. And it turns the Levites into a very symbolic people. They are people utterly devoted to God. Indeed, they represent all the firstborns. Their cattle exist simply so other cattle do not need to be sacrificed to God.

There just so happen to be 273 firstborns among the Israelites who have no Levites to substitute for them. That is, the firstborn Israelites outnumber the Levites. These firstborn Israelites are to be redeemed at five shekels apiece. The money is given to Aaron, presumably for the preservation of the sanctuary. The system is interesting. It is based on the arbitrary belief that each firstborn must be dedicated to the Lord, and that the Levites may redeem them. The rest of the money is a sort of a tax, therefore, for the number of firstborns being out of balance with those taking care of the sanctuary. This truly is government at work.