|  Home  |  Old Testament Studies  |  Numbers Table of Contents  |  Previous Section   |  Next Section  |

NUMBERS 8

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 8:1-4
  ¹Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²"Speak to Aaron and say to him, 'When you mount the lamps, the seven lamps will give light in the front of the lampstand.'" ³Aaron therefore did so; he mounted its lamps at the front of the lampstand, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁴Now this was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold; from its base to its flowers it was hammered work; according to the pattern which the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

8:2-4 "When you mount the lamps" It is surprising that this detail about the lighting of the lampstand is placed just before the dedication of the Levites. They later became the teachers of the Law. This lampstand is described in detail in Exod. 35:31-40. It was made of solid gold, not wood overlaid with gold, like the other pieces of furniture. It was a seven-pronged lampstand which was meant to shed light on the Table of Showbread. See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE LAMPSTAND (Menorah).

8:4 "according to the pattern which the Lord had shown Moses" There seems to be a heavenly pattern of which the earthly Tabernacle is a mere representation (cf. Exod. 25:40 and Heb. 8:5).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 8:5-13
  ⁵Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶"Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and cleanse them. ⁷Thus you shall do to them, for their cleansing: sprinkle purifying water on them, and let them use a razor over their whole body and wash their clothes, and they will be clean. ⁸Then let them take a bull with its grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and a second bull you shall take for a sin offering. ⁹So you shall present the Levites before the tent of meeting. You shall also assemble the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, ¹⁰and present the Levites before the Lord; and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites. ¹¹Aaron then shall present the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the sons of Israel, that they may qualify to perform the service of the Lord. ¹²Now the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls; then offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites. ¹³You shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and before his sons so as to present them as a wave offering to the Lord."

8:6 "Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and cleanse them" There is a series of dedicatory sacrifices for the Levites, similar but not as intense, as those for the priests (cf. Leviticus 8). The Levites would help minister in the Tabernacle. See Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, pp. 358-371 and NIDOTTE, vol. 2, pp. 772-777.

▣ "cleanse them"

1. Wash them in special purified water, probably from the Laver of water with the ashes of the red heifer in Numbers 19. It is called "the water of expiation."
2. Shave the entire body (see note at Num. 8:7). This would symbolize a new beginning, here, their beginning purification to serve in the Tabernacle.
3. Wash their clothes (cf. Num. 8:21). Remember, the priests were given new clothes but the Levites just washed their clothes.

The summary of this dedicatory cleansing is Num. 8:21, but notice that the sacrifices (i.e., burnt and sin) are combined with #1 and 2.

There are several words used in this chapter to describe this cleansing and dedication of the Levites.

1. cleanse ‒ BDB 372, KB 369, Num. 8:6,7 (twice), 15,21
2. wash ‒ BDB 460, KB 459, Num. 8:21
3. purify ‒ BDB 306, KB 305, Num. 8:21

8:7 "use a razor over their whole body" This is another instance which reflects the Egyptian culture. Egyptian priests were completely shaven (i.e., Herodotus, 2.37), but here only as an initiatory rite.

8:8 The dedication of the Levites for service in the Tabernacle required

1. a burnt offering ‒ a bull (Levites laid their hands on its head, Num. 8:12)
2. a sin offering ‒ a bull (Levites laid their hands on its head, Num. 8:12)

to make atonement (BDB 497, KB 493, cf. Num. 8:12,21). See SPECIAL TOPIC: ATONEMENT.

8:9 All Israel was involved in the dedication of the Levites.

1. general assembly at the Tabernacle, Num. 8:9v
2. laying hands on their heads (probably by means of their leaders, this symbolized the Levites taking the place of Israel's firstborn children), Num. 8:10, see SPECIAL TOPIC: LAYING ON OF HANDS IN THE BIBLE
3. Aaron offers the Levites as a wave offering from the assembly to YHWH, Num. 8:11, 13, 15

8:11 "shall present the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering" In Num. 5:25; 6:20 a grain offering is "waved" before the Lord (see notes there), but here

1. it is metaphorical (BDB 632 I, Hiphil #4)
2. it is a different root, possibly Akkadian, "to offer" (see NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 64, #2)

It was surely a sign that the Levites belonged to YHWH and were a "gift" to Aaron and the priests (Num. 8:19); Num. 3:9.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 8:14-19
  ¹⁴"Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine. ¹⁵Then after that the Levites may go in to serve the tent of meeting. But you shall cleanse them and present them as a wave offering; ¹⁶for they are wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself instead of every first issue of the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel. ¹⁷For every firstborn among the sons of Israel is Mine, among the men and among the animals; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself. ¹⁸But I have taken the Levites instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel. ¹⁹I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the sons of Israel, to perform the service of the sons of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on behalf of the sons of Israel, so that there will be no plague among the sons of Israel by their coming near to the sanctuary."

8:14-19 The Levites took the place of the firstborn of Israel (cf. Exodus 12-13). See full note at Num. 3:12. The Levites did the hard work of the Tabernacle (i.e., transportation, supplying, and cleaning).

▣ "that there will be no plague among the sons of Israel by their coming near to the sanctuary" Plagues were often involved in breaking of the holiness of the Tabernacle (cf. Num. 1:53). The Levites were to guard the sanctity of the Tabernacle area.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 8:20-22
  ²⁰Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the sons of Israel to the Levites; according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the sons of Israel did to them. ²¹The Levites, too, purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes; and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the Lord. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them. ²²Then after that the Levites went in to perform their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and before his sons; just as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

8:20 Israel's obedience to YHWH's commands is emphasized again and again (note Num. 1:54; 2:34; 3:16, 51; 4:49; 5:4; 8:20; 9:5, 23; 10:13).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 8:23-26
  ²³Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴"This is what applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall enter to perform service in the work of the tent of meeting. ²⁵But at the age of fifty years they shall retire from service in the work and not work any more. ²⁶They may, however, assist their brothers in the tent of meeting, to keep an obligation, but they themselves shall do no work. Thus you shall deal with the Levites concerning their obligations."

8:24-25 "from twenty-five years old and upward" The Levites were to serve from the age of twenty-five to fifty. However, when one compares this with chapter 4, we see the age of thirty to fifty mentioned there. The only way to reconcile the difference in these ages is to accept the opinion of the rabbis that the Levites served a five-year apprenticeship before actually performing their tasks alone.

8:25 "at the age of fifty years they shall retire from service in the work and not work any more" They could help at certain times (i.e., annual festivals, special events, Num. 8:26), but they could not help with the hard labor which was required.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. How is the dedication of the Levites in this chapter different from the dedication of Aaron and the priests in Leviticus 8-9?
2. Why does a paragraph about the lampstand begin this context?
3. How could Num. 8:10 have happened with so many people involved?
4. What was a "wave" offering?
5. How does this chapter relate to Exodus 12-13?
6. Why do the ages of Levites differ between Num. 8:24-25 and Num. 4:3?

|  Home  |  Old Testament Studies  |  Numbers Table of Contents  |  Previous Section   |  Next Section  |