Bible Commentaries
Go deeper in Scripture
Browse trusted public-domain commentary alongside DiscipleDeck Bible study. References inside each commentary open Bible previews in place.
35,156 commentary entries
All active commentary sources
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 3:4
A MORTAL SIN "And Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord," &c. I. WHO THEY WERE THAT COMMITTED THIS SIN. Sons of Aaron; elder sons: in whom, therefore, a greater sense of thoughtfulness and responsibility might have been…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 3:4
STRANGE FIRE There are various kinds of fire used in the service of God which, if not as hateful in his sight as that offered by Nadab and Abihu, are "strange." There is a fire which is appropriate and acceptable, becau…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 3:6
Bring the tribe of Levi near. Not by any outward act of presentation, but by assigning to them solemnly the duties following. The expression is often used of servants coming to receive orders from their masters.
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 3:7
They shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation. Septuagint, "shall keep his watches, and the watches of the children of Israel." The Levites were to be the servants of Aaron on the one side, and of…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 3:8
Instruments. Vessels and furniture. Septuagint, σκεύη. Vulgate, vasa.
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 3:9
They are wholly given unto him. The word nethunim (wholly given) is emphatic here, and in Numbers 8:16. As the whole house of Israel at large, so especially (for a reason which will presently appear) the tribe of Levi b…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 3:10
The stranger that cometh nigh. This constantly recurring formula has not always quite the same meaning: in Numbers 1:51 it signified any one not of the tribe of Levi; here it includes even the Levite who was not also a…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 3:12
Instead of all the first-born. The Septuagint inserts here, "they shall be their ransom."
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 3:12
I have taken the Levites. The actual separation of Levi had been already anticipated (see Numbers 1:47, Numbers 1:53), but the meaning and purpose of that separation is now formally declared, into reason, however, is as…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 3:13
Mine shall they be: I am the Lord. Rather, "mine shall they be, mine, the Lord's."
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 3:13
Because all the first-born are mine (see Exodus 13:2, and below on verse 43). That the powers of heaven had a special claim upon the firstling of man or beast was probably one of the oldest religious ideas in the world,…
Matthew Henry on Numbers 3:14-39
The Levites were in three classes, according to the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; and these were subdivided into families. The posterity of Moses were not at all honoured or privileged, but stood upon the l…
Matthew Henry on Numbers 3:14-39
The Levites being granted to Aaron to minister to him, they are here delivered to him by tale, that he might know what he had, and employ them accordingly. Observe, I. By what rule they were numbered: Every male from a…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 3:15
From a month old. The first-born were to be redeemed "from a month old" (Numbers 18:16).
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 3:17
These were the sons of Levi. These genealogical notices are inserted here in order to give completeness to the account of the Levites in the day of their dedication.
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 3:23
Shall pitch. These directions as to the position and duties of the Levitical families retain the form in which they were originally given. The way in which they are mixed up with direct narrative affords a striking proo…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 3:25
The charge of the sons of Gershon. See Numbers 4:24-26.
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 3:28
Eight thousand and six hundred. The four families of the Kohathites, of which that of Amram was one, must have contained about 18,000 souls. Moses and Aaron were sons of Amram, and they seem to have had but two sons api…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 3:30
Elizaphan the son of Uzziel—of the youngest branch. This may have aroused the jealousy of Korah, who represented an elder branch.
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 3:32
Eleazar. The priests were themselves Kohathites, and therefore their chief is here mentioned as having the oversight over the other overseers—ipsos custodes custodiens.
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 3:38
Before the tabernacle toward the east,… Moses, and Aaron and his sons. The most central and honourable place in the camp, and the most convenient for constant and direct access to the sanctuary. Moses held a wholly pers…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 3:39
Twenty and two thousand. It is obvious that there is a discrepancy between this total and its three component numbers, which make 22,300. It is so obvious that it must have been innocent; no one deliberately falsifying…
Matthew Henry on Numbers 3:40-51
The number of the first-born, and that of the Levites, came near to each other. Known unto God are all his works beforehand; there is an exact proportion between them, and so it will appear, when they are compared toget…
Matthew Henry on Numbers 3:40-51
Here is the exchange made of the Levites for the first-born. 1. The first-born were numbered from a month old, Numbers 3:42-43. Those certainly were not reckoned who, though first-born, had become heads of families them…