A Prophecy of Esau and Jacob

“And now, behold, I go unto my people. Come therefore, and I will warn thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days,” Numbers 24:14;

— these Words, prophecised by Balaam, especially in regards to the house of Jacob, “in the latter days,” are prophecies for our times!

Numbers 3

¹ These also are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. — all the other tribes being mustered and registered, and the genealogy of each stated, next follows all account of the priests and Levites;

— first of their descent from the two principal heads of their families; namely, Aaron and Moses; and then of the particular services allotted to each family;

² And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. — on Nadab and Abihu, Leviticus 10:1-2; they had neither of them any children when they were put to death, Eleazar and Ithamar were the only priests “in the sight of Aaron their father;”

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

⁴ And 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. — and they had no children; to die childless was regarded not only as a reproach, but also as a judgment;

⁵ And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

⁶ “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him. — and present the Levites before Aaron the priest; that he may receive them as a gift unto him, as servants to wait upon him; that he may appoint and declare unto them their work, that they may minister unto him;

⁷ And 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. — and they shall keep his charge; the word rendered charge may mean the directions which the Levites should receive from Aaron;

⁸ And 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.

⁹ And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel. — the Levites are represented as “wholly given” to the Lord instead of the firstborn; here, they are represented as being given by Him to Aaron and his sons;

¹⁰ And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest’s office; and the stranger who cometh nigh shall be put to death.” — the stranger; that is, every one who is of another family than Aaron’s; yea, even though he maybe a Levite; shall be put to death;

¹¹ And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying:

¹² “And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn who openeth the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine, — and I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel; separated them from others, and set them apart for the service of the sanctuary;

¹³ because 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.” — the concluding words are better expressed thus: “Mine shall they be, Mine, the Lord’s;”

— or; I am the Lord; that is, I decree it to be so; and being possessed of sovereign authority, I expect full obedience.

¹⁴ And the Lord spoke unto Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying:

¹⁵ “Number the children of Levi according to the house of their fathers, by their families. Every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them.”

— from a month old; because at that time the firstborn, in whose stead the Levites came, were offered to God. And from that time the Levites were consecrated to God, and were, as soon as capable, instructed in their work;

— elsewhere they are numbered from twenty-five years old, when they were entered as novices into part of their work, (Numbers 8:24,) and from thirty years old, when they were admitted to their whole office.

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

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

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

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

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

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

²² Those who were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, even those who were numbered of them were seven thousand and five hundred. — 7,500

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

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

²⁵ And 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,

²⁶ and 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 Izharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; these are the families of the Kohathites.

²⁸ In the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary. — 8,600

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

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

³¹ And 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.

³² And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites, and have the oversight of those who 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.

³⁴ And those who were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred. — 6,200

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

³⁶ And 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,

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

³⁸ But those who 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 who cometh nigh shall be put to death.

— and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death; that is, whoever came nigh to enter into the holy place, and did, who was no priest, though an Israelite, and even a Levite, or into the most holy place, excepting the high priest, it was death unto him;

³⁹ All who were numbered of the Levites, whom 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. — 22,000

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. — number all the firstborn of the children of Israel, from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names; that they might be compared with the number of the Levites;

⁴¹ And 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.”

— and thou shall take the Levites for me; for his service, to minister to his priests, and serve in his tabernacle;

— I am the Lord; who has a right to all, and can claim who he pleases for himself in a special manner, and therefore could and did take the Levites to himself;

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

⁴³ And all the firstborn males by the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those who were numbered of them were twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen. — 22,273

⁴⁴ And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

⁴⁵ “Take 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.

— and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; not to be given to Aaron and his sons, or to the priests for their use, but to remain with the Levites for their use, who were now separated from the other tribes, and taken into the service of God;

⁴⁶ And for those who are to be redeemed of the two hundred and threescore and thirteen of the firstborn of the children of Israel, who are more than the Levites, — excess of 273; for the sum total of the Levites, given as 22,000; from the sum total of the firstborn of Israel, 22,273;

⁴⁷ thou shalt even take five shekels apiece by head count; according to the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them (the shekel is twenty gerahs). — five shekels apiece was the price to be paid for the redemption of a first-born; but this money, though paid for these 273 persons, was probably paid out of the common stock of all;

⁴⁸ And thou shalt give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed, unto Aaron and to his sons.” — unto Aaron, and to his sons; since the Levites were taken in lieu of the firstborn, whose redemption money belonged to the priests;

⁴⁹ And Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those who were redeemed by the Levites. — of them that were over and above redeemed by the Levites; there remained two hundred seventy three firstborn to be redeemed by money, and it was the redemption money of these Moses took.

⁵⁰ Of the firstborn of the children of Israel took he the money, a thousand three hundred and threescore and five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. — 275 X 5 shekels each = 1375 shekels for Moses;

⁵¹ And Moses gave the money of those who were redeemed unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses. — as the Lord commanded Moses; so did he; he did not convert it to his own use, or to any other use than to what God had appointed it.

Numbers 4

¹ And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

² “Take a count of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, according to their families, by the house of their fathers, — Kohath appears to have been the second son of Levi (Numbers 3:17), but the Kohathites here stand first because Moses and Aaron belonged to them, and it was their office to bear the Ark;

³ from thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all who enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation. — the previous census of the Levites was from a month old; the present census was with a view to the discharge of duties requiring a considerable amount of physical strength, and hence the prescribed age for entering upon these duties was fixed at this time at thirty, and limited to fifty.

⁴ This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation concerned with the most holy things. — about the most holy things; of the ark, which was indeed a most holy thing, and stood in the most holy place;

— but there were other holy things; as the shewbread table, the candlestick, and the altars of incense and burnt offering, and the veil, and the ministering: vessels, which Jarchi reckons with it, as more holy than all other things.

⁵ And when the camp moves forward, Aaron shall come and his sons, and they shall take down the covering veil and cover the ark of Testimony with it, — and cover the ark of testimony with it; together with the mercy seat and cherubim on it, that they might not be seen nor touched by the Levites when they carried them;

⁶ and shall put thereon the covering of badgers’ skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof. — and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue; this was the distinctive outer, and therefore visible, covering of the most sacred thing, the ark; not be seen nor touched by the Levites;

⁷ And upon the table of showbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes and the spoons and the bowls, and covers for covering; and the continual bread shall be thereon.

⁸ And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put in the staves thereof. — a cloth of scarlet; upon the dishes and other vessels belonging to the shewbread table, and on the shewbread itself;

⁹ And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the candlestick of the light, and his lamps and his tongs and his snuff dishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it. — wholly of blue; the third and external covering of the ark only was to be of this color;

¹⁰ And they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put it upon a carrying pole. — of badgers’ skins; which was the outermost covering; the ark and the shewbread table had three coverings;

¹¹ And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put in the staves thereof. —and upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue; the altar of incense, which was overlaid with gold, and therefore called a golden one;

¹² And they shall take all the instruments of ministry wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put them on a carrying pole. — wherewith they minister in the sanctuary; the garments in which the priests, ministered in the sanctuary, which were laid up in proper places, and which they only wore when in service;

¹³ And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon; — having cleared the holy of holies, and the holy place, they were to come forth from thence into the court of the tabernacle, where stood the altar of burnt offering, which is here meant, and on which sacrifices being daily burnt, there were always ashes to be removed;

¹⁴ and they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof wherewith they minister about it — even the censers, the fleshhooks, and the shovels, and the basins, all the vessels of the altar — and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers’ skins and put in the staves of it. — and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers’ skins: to prevent the rains falling upon them, which being all of brass, would be apt to tarnish;

¹⁵ And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to move forward, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.

— after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it; to bear or carry the whole vessels of ministry which had been previously enumerated. The distinction between the service of the priests and that of the Levites in regard to the removal of the Tabernacle and its furniture is here clearly marked.

¹⁶ “And to the office of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle and of all that therein is in the sanctuary and in the vessels thereof.” — Eleazar; he himself is to carry these things, and not to commit them to the sons of Kohath;

¹⁷ And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying:

¹⁸ “Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites, — in order to prevent as far as possible any calamity from befalling the Levites while carrying the most holy things, the priests are again urged by the command of God to do what has already been described in detail in Numbers 4:5-15;

— lest through any carelessness on their part they should cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites, that is, should cause their destruction;

¹⁹ but thus do unto them, that they may live and not die when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden; — and appoint them in everyone to his service, and to his burden; what everyone shall do, and how they shall take them up, and bear them;

²⁰ but they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die.” — but they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered; they were not to be present while they were packing up, test they should see any of them with their eyes; lest they die; by the hand of God.

²¹ And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

²² “Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, throughout the houses of their fathers, by their families. — the sons of Gershon; as well as of the sons of Kohath; for though Gershon was Levi’s eldest son, yet his posterity were not excused from the service of the tabernacle, and bearing things of it in journeying;

²³ From thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them, all who enter in to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.

²⁴ This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, to serve and to bear burdens.

²⁵ And they shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the congregation, his covering, and the covering of the badgers’ skins that is above upon it, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, — they shall bear the curtains; for these four coverings, of tapestry, of goats’ hair, of rams’ skins, and of sea-cow skin respectively;

²⁶ and the hangings of the court, and the hanging for the door of the gate of the court which is by the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and all that is made for them; so shall they serve.

²⁷ At the appointment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burdens and in all their service; and ye shall appoint unto them in charge all their burdens.

— shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites; everyone of them was to take their share, as Aaron and his sons should appoint them; in all their burdens, and in all their service; what each of them should carry, and in what they should perform duty;

²⁸ This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation; and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. — the Gershonites and Merarites are superintended by Ithamar, Aaron’s younger son, who had already had the oversight of the tabernacle in its construction;

²⁹ “As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them according to their families, by the house of their fathers; — as for the sons of Merari; the third and youngest son of Levi;

³⁰ from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one who entereth into the service to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation.

³¹ And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation: the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and sockets thereof,

³² and the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service; and by name ye shall reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden.

³³ This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tabernacle of the congregation, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”

³⁴ And Moses and Aaron and the chief of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites by their families and by the house of their fathers,

³⁵ from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one who entereth into the service for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation;

³⁶ and those who were numbered of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty. — 2750

³⁷ These were they that were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all who might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

³⁸ And those who were numbered of the sons of Gershon, throughout their families and by the house of their fathers,

³⁹ from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one who entereth into the service for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation”

⁴⁰ even those who were numbered of them throughout their families, by the house of their fathers, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty. — 2630; these in the three Levitical families: viz., 2750 Kohathites, 2630 Gershonites, and 3200 Merarites – in all, 8580

⁴¹ These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all who might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the Lord.

⁴² And those who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers,

⁴³ from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one who entereth into the service for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation”

⁴⁴ even those who were numbered of them by their families, were three thousand and two hundred. — 3200

⁴⁵ These are those who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

⁴⁶ All those who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chief of Israel numbered, according to their families and by the house of their fathers,

⁴⁷ from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one who came to do the service of the ministry and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation—

⁴⁸ even those who were numbered of them were eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore. — 858

⁴⁹ According to the commandment of the Lord they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one according to his service and according to his burden. Thus were they numbered by him, as the Lord commanded Moses.

~ by Joel on February 8, 2024.

Posted in Books of Moses