Numbers 18

The LORD said to Aaron, "You, your sons, and your father's family with you will be held responsible for any wrong done against the holy place. You and your sons alone will be held responsible for any wrong done in the work of the priests.

1And the LORD said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.

Note"Bear the iniquity" is a legal expression: to carry the liability for an offense, including its punishment. Aaron's family is being made answerable for anything done wrong at the sanctuary or in the priests' work, whoever does it. "Your father's house" means Aaron's wider family line within the tribe of Levi, as distinct from "you and your sons," who are the priests proper. The instructions follow the rebellion of Korah in chapters 16-17, where unauthorised men approached the sanctuary and died.

2Bring your relatives from the tribe of Levi, your father's tribe, to join you and help you. But you and your sons are the ones who serve in front of the tent called the Tent of the Testimony, the tent that holds the covenant terms God gave.

2And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness.

NoteThe Levites were the descendants of Levi, one of the twelve tribes of Israel, set apart to work at the sanctuary rather than farm land of their own. Within that tribe, only the descendants of Aaron were priests; the rest were assistants. The Tent of the Testimony (also called the Tent of Meeting, or tabernacle) was the portable tent-sanctuary the Israelites carried through the wilderness. The "testimony" was the pair of stone tablets inscribed with the covenant terms, kept in a chest inside it.

3The Levites are to take care of your duties and all the duties of the tent. But they must not go near the holy objects or the altar, or both they and you will die.

3And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.

NoteThe "vessels of the sanctuary" are the sacred furnishings and equipment of the tent, the lampstand, the table, the incense altar, and the utensils used with them. The altar was the raised structure in the courtyard where animals and grain were burned as offerings.

4They are to join you and take care of the Tent of Meeting, doing all the work there. No one outside your group may come near you.

4And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you.

NoteThe King James "stranger" translates a Hebrew word meaning an unauthorised person, any Israelite who was not a priest or a Levite on duty. It does not mean a foreigner.

5You are to take care of the holy place and the altar, so that anger does not fall on the people of Israel again.

5And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel.

Note"That there be no wrath any more" refers back to the plague that struck the people after Korah's rebellion (chapter 16), and to their panic in 17:12-13 that anyone who came near the sanctuary would die. These rules are the answer to that fear.

6I myself have taken your relatives the Levites from among the Israelites. They are given to you as a gift, set apart for the LORD, to do the work of the Tent of Meeting.

6And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you they are given as a gift for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.

7So you and your sons alone are to carry out the work of the priests, in everything that concerns the altar and everything inside the curtain. That is what you are to do. I give you the priesthood as a gift. Anyone else who comes near must be put to death."

7Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest’s office for everything of the altar, and within the vail; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest’s office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

Note"Within the vail" means behind the curtain, in the innermost room of the tent where the chest holding the covenant tablets stood. Only the high priest entered it, and only on prescribed occasions.

8Then the LORD said to Aaron, "I have put you in charge of the gifts presented to me. All the holy offerings the Israelites bring, I have given to you because you have been anointed, and to your sons, as a lasting law.

8And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of mine heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel; unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for ever.

Note"Heave offering" translates a Hebrew word for a portion lifted off a larger amount and set aside for the sanctuary; in 1611 "heave" simply meant to raise or lift. To be anointed was to be installed in office by having perfumed olive oil poured over the head, the ceremony that made Aaron and his sons priests.

9Out of the most holy offerings, this part is yours, the part not burned in the fire. Every gift they bring me (every grain offering, every sin offering, and every guilt offering) is most holy and belongs to you and your sons.

9This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every oblation of theirs, every meat offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons.

NoteThe categories named here are distinct types of sacrifice: the grain offering (King James "meat offering", in 1611 "meat" meant food of any kind, not flesh), a gift of flour, oil and incense; the sin or purification offering, which cleansed the sanctuary of defilement; and the trespass or guilt offering, which made reparation for a wrong. "Reserved from the fire" means the portion not burned on the altar; that remainder fed the priests.

10You are to eat it as something most holy. Every male may eat it. Treat it as holy.

10In the most holy place shalt thou eat it; every male shall eat it: it shall be holy unto thee.

NoteThe Hebrew can mean either "in the most holy place" or, more likely, "in a most holy place": that is, within the sacred precinct of the sanctuary rather than at home. No one ate inside the innermost room. Only males of the priestly family could eat this class of offering.

11This is yours as well: the gifts the Israelites present, along with all their wave offerings. I give them to you, your sons, and your daughters, as a lasting law. Anyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat them.

11And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.

NoteA "wave offering" translates a Hebrew term for a portion formally presented, traditionally understood as lifted or moved before the altar, and then assigned to the priests. "Ceremonially clean" describes a ritual status, not physical cleanliness: contact with a corpse, certain illnesses, childbirth and other conditions made a person temporarily unfit to handle holy things until the prescribed waiting and washing were complete.

12I give you the finest olive oil, the finest new wine, and the finest grain, the first and best of the harvest that the people offer to the LORD.

12All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the LORD, them have I given thee.

NoteFirstfruits were the first and best part of each harvest, handed over before the household used any of the crop itself.

13The first ripe crops of everything in their land, which they bring to the LORD, will be yours. Anyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat them.

13And whatsoever is first ripe in the land, which they shall bring unto the LORD, shall be thine; every one that is clean in thine house shall eat of it.

14Everything in Israel that is permanently set apart for the LORD belongs to you.

14Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine.

NoteA "devoted thing" translates the Hebrew *herem*: something irrevocably handed over to God. Unlike other gifts it could never be bought back, sold, or returned to ordinary use.

15The first male born from every womb, human or animal, that they bring to the LORD belongs to you. But you must buy back every firstborn son, and you must buy back the firstborn male of any unclean animal.

15Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the LORD, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.

Note"Openeth the matrix" means opens the womb, the first male offspring of a mother. By the rule given in Exodus 13, every firstborn male, human and animal, belonged to God, in memory of the night the Israelites left Egypt. To "redeem" is to buy back: a payment released the child or animal from that claim. "Unclean" animals were species not permitted for sacrifice or food, such as donkeys and camels; since they could not be offered, they had to be bought back instead.

16When they are a month old, you are to buy them back at the set price: five shekels of silver, measured by the sanctuary weight, which is twenty gerahs to the shekel.

16And those that are to be redeemed from a month old shalt thou redeem, according to thine estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.

NoteA shekel was a weight of silver, roughly 11.5 grams, so five shekels came to about two ounces. Coined money did not yet exist; silver was weighed out. The "shekel of the sanctuary" was the official standard weight, guarding against short measure. A gerah was one twentieth of a shekel, a little over half a gram.

17But you must not buy back the firstborn of a cow, a sheep, or a goat. They are holy. Sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as an offering made by fire, a pleasing smell to the LORD.

17But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they are holy: thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savour unto the LORD.

Note"A sweet savour unto the LORD" is a fixed idiom in these texts, meaning a pleasing smell, the standard way of saying an offering was accepted.

18Their meat is yours, just as the breast that is presented and the right thigh are yours.

18And the flesh of them shall be thine, as the wave breast and as the right shoulder are thine.

NoteThe breast and the right thigh were the fixed portions the priests received from the shared offerings that worshipers ate with their families (Leviticus 7:31-34). The point is that this meat comes to the priest by the same standing right.

19All the holy gifts that the Israelites present to the LORD I give to you, your sons, and your daughters, as a lasting law. It is a lasting covenant of salt before the LORD, for you and your descendants with you."

19All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the LORD, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the LORD unto thee and to thy seed with thee.

Note"A covenant of salt" draws on salt's ability to preserve food and its resistance to spoiling. Salt accompanied offerings, and sharing salt sealed an agreement, so the phrase marks an arrangement meant to be permanent and unbreakable.

20Then the LORD said to Aaron, "You will have no land of your own in their country, and no share among them. I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.

20And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.

NoteWhen the land of Canaan was divided, each tribe received a defined block of territory to hold and pass on to its heirs: that is what "inheritance" means throughout this chapter. The priests and Levites received no such territory. They were given towns to live in (chapter 35) and lived on the offerings and tithes instead.

21I have given the Levites every tenth part collected in Israel as their inheritance, in return for the work they do, the service of the Tent of Meeting.

21And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.

NoteThe tithe was a tenth of the year's produce (grain, wine, oil, and the increase of the flocks) handed over as a standing due.

22From now on the Israelites must not come near the Tent of Meeting, or they will be guilty of sin and die.

22Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die.

Note"Come nigh" means encroach on the restricted area around the tent. The Levites camped between the ordinary Israelites and the sanctuary, acting as a buffer so that no one strayed in by accident.

23The Levites are to do the work of the Tent of Meeting, and they will bear the responsibility for their own wrongdoing. This is a lasting law for all your generations. They will receive no land among the Israelites.

23But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.

NoteThe Levites now carry the liability: if an outsider encroaches, or a duty is neglected, the penalty falls on them rather than on the people at large.

24For I have given the Levites, as their inheritance, the tenth that the Israelites present to the LORD as an offering. That is why I told them they will receive no land among the Israelites."

24But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

25The LORD said to Moses,

25And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

26"Speak to the Levites and tell them: when you receive from the Israelites the tenth that I have given you as your inheritance, you must present part of it as an offering to the LORD, a tenth of that tenth.

26Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe.

NoteThe Levites received a tenth of the nation's produce, and then paid a tenth of that to the priests, so the priests' income came out of the Levites' income, not from a separate collection.

27Your offering will count for you just as if it were grain from the threshing floor, where grain is separated from the stalks, or juice from the winepress.

27And this your heave offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshingfloor, and as the fulness of the winepress.

NoteThe comparison matters because the Levites owned no fields. Their tenth of the harvest is to be treated, for legal purposes, exactly as if it were grain and wine they had grown themselves, so the same rules about setting aside a portion apply to them as to everyone else.

28In this way you too are to present an offering to the LORD from all the tenths you receive from the Israelites, and from these you are to give the LORD's offering to Aaron the priest.

28Thus ye also shall offer an heave offering unto the LORD of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the LORD’s heave offering to Aaron the priest.

29From all the gifts you receive, you must present the offering due the LORD, taking it from the very best part, the part set apart as holy.

29Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of the LORD, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it.

30So tell the Levites: when you have presented the best part, the rest will count for you as if it were produce from your own threshing floor or winepress.

30Therefore thou shalt say unto them, When ye have heaved the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the increase of the threshingfloor, and as the increase of the winepress.

31You and your households may eat it anywhere, because it is your pay for your work at the Tent of Meeting.

31And ye shall eat it in every place, ye and your households: for it is your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation.

Note"In every place" means anywhere at all, not only within the sanctuary precinct. Once the priests' share had been separated out, the remainder counted as ordinary food and could be eaten at home by the whole household.

32Once you have presented the best part of it, you will not be guilty of sin because of it. But you must not treat the holy gifts of the Israelites as ordinary, or you will die."

32And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have heaved from it the best of it: neither shall ye pollute the holy things of the children of Israel, lest ye die.