Numbers 18:4

Numbers 18:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And 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.
• New International Version (NIV)They are to join you and be responsible for the care of the tent of meeting—all the work at the tent—and no one else may come near where you are.
• English Standard Version (ESV)They shall join you and keep guard over the tent of meeting for all the service of the tent, and no outsider shall come near you.
• New King James Version (NKJV)They shall be joined with you and attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, for all the work of the tabernacle; but an outsider shall not come near you.

Context of Numbers 18:4

2But bring with you also your brothers, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father (ancestor), so that they may join with you and serve you [as assistants], while you and your sons with you are before the Tent of the Testimony [the Holy Place where only priests may go, and the Most Holy Place which only the high priest may enter]. 3And the Levites shall attend to your duty [as assistants] and to the duties of all the tent (tabernacle); only they shall not approach the articles of the sanctuary and the altar, or both they and you will die. They shall join you and attend to the duties of the Tent of Meeting—all the service of the tent—and no stranger [no layman, anyone who is not a Levite] may approach you [and your sons]. 5So you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar [of burnt offering and the altar of incense], so that there will no longer be wrath on the Israelites [as with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram]. 6Behold, I Myself have taken your fellow Levites from among the sons of Israel; they are a gift to you, given (dedicated) to the Lord, to do the service for the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle).

Numbers 18:4 word by word

וְנִלְו֣וּ עָלֶ֔יךָ וְשָֽׁמְר֗וּ אֶת־מִשְׁמֶ֙רֶת֙ אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד לְכֹ֖ל עֲבֹדַ֣ת הָאֹ֑הֶל וְזָ֖ר לֹא־יִקְרַ֥ב אֲלֵיכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And they shall be joinedלָוָהlâvâh · to joinH3867
• unto thee, and keepשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: guardH8104
• the chargeמִשְׁמֶ֫רֶתmishmereth · chargeH4931
• of the tabernacleאֹ֫הֶל'ôhel · tentH168
• of the congregationמוֹעֵדmô‛êd mô‛êd mô‛âdâh · meetingH4150
• for all the serviceעֲבֹדָה‛ăbôdâh ‛ăbôdâh · service: ministryH5656
• and a strangerזוּרzûr · be a strangerH2114
• shall not come nighקָרַבqârab · to present: comeH7126

Cross-references for Numbers 18:4

• Numbers 1:51When the tabernacle is to go forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to [be set up for] camp, the Levites shall set it up. But the layman (non-Levite) who approaches the tabernacle shall be put to death.
• Numbers 3:10So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall observe and attend to their priesthood; but the layman (non-Levite) who approaches [the holy things] shall be put to death.”
• 1 Samuel 6:19The Lord struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck down 50,070 men among the people, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter.
• 2 Samuel 6:6When they came to Nacon’s threshing floor, Uzzah reached out [with his hand] to the ark of God and took hold of it, because the oxen [stumbled and] nearly overturned it.

Commentaries on Numbers 18:4

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4A stranger - i. e. every one not a Levite. So in Numbers 18:7, it denotes each one who was not a priest: compare Numbers 3:10; Numbers 16:40.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4all the duties: See 1:47–53; 3:5–38; 4:1–33. they must not come near: The Levites could approach only after they had covered the holy objects for transport.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-72-7. thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi--The departments of the sacred office, to be filled respectively by the priests and Levites, are here assigned to each. To the priests was committed the charge of the sanctuary and the altar, while the Levites were to take care of everything else about the tabernacle. The Levites were to attend the priests as servants--bestowed on them as "gifts" to aid in the service of the tabernacle--while the high and…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 18:4

• Levites
• Minister, Christian

In the dictionaries

• Exodus
• Levite
• Agrapha
• Atonement, Day of
• Chronicles, Books of
• Criticism
• Exodus, the Book of
• Ezekiel
• Genealogy
• Law in the Old Testament

Commentaries on Numbers 18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings