Numbers 18

Numbers 18:1

The Old Testament Book of Numbers In the Desert An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on the Book of Numbers www.easyenglish.info Marion Adams This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

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Chapter 18 The duties of the priests and the men from Levi’s *tribe – Numbers 18:1-7 v1 The *LORD spoke to Aaron. He said, ‘You and your sons alone are responsible for the *sins that affect the priests. You, your sons and your *clan are responsible if anyone *sins against *God’s Tent. v2 Levi’s *tribe are your relatives. When you and your sons serve me in *God’s Tent, bring in Levi’s *tribe. They must help you. v3 They must work for you and they must do all their duties in *God’s Tent. But they must not go near to any of the *sacred objects or to the *altar. If they do this, all of you will die. v4 They must help you and they must do all their own work in *God’s Tent. But I will not allow anyone else to come near to *God’s Tent.

v5 Only you and your sons must look after the *Holy Place and the *altar. Obey these instructions! Then I will never become angry and punish the *Israelites again. v6 It was I, the *LORD, who chose Levi’s *tribe from all the other *tribes. They belong to me. I have given them to you. They are your helpers in *God’s Tent. v7 But only you and your sons can serve me as priests at the *altar and in the *Most Holy Place. I have given to you these duties as a gift. Anyone else who comes near to the *sacred objects must die.’

Verses 1-7 God had already provided protection for the people. They could not go near to *God’s Tent by accident. Levi’s *tribe guarded *God’s Tent so that this should not happen (Numbers 8:19).

God spoke to Aaron about this. It was unusual for God to speak to Aaron alone. Usually, Moses gave Aaron instructions from God. But Aaron had special responsibilities as the *High Priest. God reminded Aaron about the duties of the priests and also the duties of Levi’s *tribe.

God did not allow Levi’s *tribe to do any of the priests’ duties. If anyone from Levi’s *tribe came too near to the *sacred objects, God would punish both the priests and the people from Levi’s *tribe. It was the priests’ fault if this happened. They had to check that Levi’s *tribe did only their own jobs. The priests’ share of the *sacrifices – Numbers 18:8-20 v8-9 The *LORD said to Aaron, ‘I have given you responsibility for the *offerings that people give to me. The priests will receive all the most holy things from the *Israelites’ *offerings. I give them to you, your sons and your *descendants. You will receive part of the *sin offerings. You will receive also part of the *grain offerings and the *guilt offerings. These are the most holy *offerings. Your share of these *sacrifices will be the parts that you do not burn on the *altar. v10 You must eat them near to *God’s Tent, because they are holy. Only men may eat them.

v11 Also, you will receive part of the other special gifts and *offerings that the *Israelites bring to me. Any person in your family who is *clean may eat these things.

v12 You may have the first *olive oil that the *Israelites make after the harvest. Also, you may have the first wine and grain that they offer to me after the harvest. v13 The first and the best part of the crops and the *grapes that they produce belong to you, too. Any person in your family who is *clean may eat these things. v14 Everything that the *Israelites have given to me completely belongs to you (see note below).

v15 All the *Israelites’ *first-born sons and their *first-born male animals belong to me. But you must accept a payment to buy back from me every *first-born son and every *first-born *unclean animal. v16 Each *first-born son over one month old costs 5 pieces of silver. Each piece must be the official weight (see Numbers 3:47). v17 But all the *first-born *bulls, sheep and goats belong to me. They are holy. You must not accept a payment to buy them back from me. Throw their blood against the *altar. Burn their fat so that the smell of it pleases me.

v18 The meat of these animals belongs to you. It is like the breast and the right back leg of the special gifts that you lift up to me (see Numbers 6:20).

v19 From this time, the holy things that the *Israelites offer to me will belong to you and your *descendants. This rule will never change.

v20 You will not receive any property or land in *Israel as your own. I am the *LORD. I will give to you everything that you need.’

Verses 8-20 God did not allow the priests to own any property or land. Instead, he promised to provide what they needed by means of the people’s gifts to him (verse 20).

This passage describes which parts of the *sacrifices and *offerings belonged to the priests.

There were two types of *offerings:

1. The ‘most holy things’ (verses 8-9). These were the *sin offering, the *guilt offering and the *grain offering. God allowed only the priests to eat parts of these *offerings.

2. The ‘holy things’ (verses 11-18). The priests could share parts of these *offerings with their families. But anyone who ate them had to be *clean (verses 11 and 13). This was because people had offered the food to God first.

‘Everything that the *Israelites have completely given to me’ (verse 14). Usually, this phrase meant the things that the *Israelites had taken during a war (compare with Leviticus 27:28-29; Joshua 6:18-19; 1 Samuel 15:21).

Also, the priests received money. This money was the payments for the *first-born sons and also the *first-born male animals that were *unclean (see Numbers 3:41).

The people did not give their *first-born sons to the priests. Instead, they paid 5 pieces of silver. This was the same amount of money as a person would earn in six months. The priests could not *sacrifice *unclean animals. So they received a payment for every *first-born animal that was *unclean, too.

By this means, God promised to provide everything that the priests and their families needed. What Levi’s *tribe receive – Numbers 18:21-24 v21 ‘One-tenth of the *Israelites’ crops and one out of every ten of their animals belong to me. But I give all this to Levi’s *tribe. This is their pay for the work that they do at *God’s Tent. v22-23 They are the only people whom I will allow to work at *God’s Tent. They must not allow any of the other *Israelites to come near to it. If any other *Israelite comes near to it, that person must die. Levi’s *tribe have the responsibility for this matter, so they will suffer punishment too. This law will never change.

Levi’s *tribe will not receive any land in *Israel as their own. v24 Instead, I will give to them the crops and animals that the *Israelites offer to me. That is why I said, “Levi’s *tribe will not receive any land in *Israel as their own.” ’

Verses 21-24 Levi’s *tribe did an important job. Their job was dangerous sometimes. They looked after the *sacred objects. They carried the parts of *God’s Tent when the *Israelites travelled. Also, Levi’s *tribe had to guard *God’s Tent so that the other *Israelites did not come too near. If this happened, it was the fault of Levi’s *tribe. So Levi’s *tribe received a punishment, too.

But, like the priests, God did not allow Levi’s *tribe to own land or property. Instead, he gave to them a part of the things that belonged to him.

In ancient *Israel, people gave one-tenth of their crops and animals to God. Both Abraham and Jacob had done this (Genesis 14:20; 28:22). But it was a new rule that Levi’s *tribe must receive it. What Levi’s *tribe must give – Numbers 18:25-32 v25 Then, the *LORD said to Moses, v26 ‘Speak to Levi’s *tribe. Tell them, “You will receive one-tenth of the *Israelites’ crops and one out of ten of their animals. You must give to me one-tenth of these as a special gift. v27 The *Israelites give to me a part of their grain and their wine. You must give to me a part of the things that you receive, too. v28 So you will give your gift to me. It will come from all the gifts that you receive from the *Israelites. You must give this special gift to Aaron the priest. v29 So the best part of the things that you receive belongs to me.

v30 The other *Israelites offer their grain and their wine to me. But you, Levi’s *tribe, will give the best part to me instead. v31 And then you can eat what remains. You, Levi’s *tribe, and your families may eat your share anywhere. It is your pay for your work in *God’s Tent. v32 If you have offered the best parts to me already, I will not punish you. But remember this! The gifts and the *sacrifices that the people bring to me are holy. If you do not offer to me the best part, you must die.” ’

Verses 25-32 Levi’s *tribe helped the priests. They were not farmers, like the other *Israelites. They did not receive wages for their work. But they did have an income. Their income was one-tenth of the other *Israelites’ food and drink. The other *Israelites had to give to Levi’s *tribe the best part of their food and drink.

Then Levi’s *tribe had to give one-tenth to God of what they received. They had to give to God the best part. The rest belonged to them.

© 2009, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

February 2009

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var w0 = new Array;w0[0]=’<b%3ELORD</b%3E ~ a special name for God that his people use. In Hebrew, it is Yahweh. This name means something like ‘I am’ or ‘always alive’.