Numbers 1:51

Numbers 1:51 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when the tabernacle setteth forward, the Levites shall take it down: and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
• New International Version (NIV)Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall do it. Anyone else who approaches it is to be put to death.
• English Standard Version (ESV)When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And when the tabernacle is to go forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall set it up. The outsider who comes near shall be put to death.

Context of Numbers 1:51

49“Do not number the tribe of Levi in the census with the other Israelites. 50Instead, you are to appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the Testimony, all its furnishings, and everything in it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its articles, care for it, and camp around it. Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever it is to be pitched, the Levites are to set it up. Any outsider who goes near it must be put to death. 52The Israelites are to camp by their divisions, each man in his own camp and under his own standard. 53But the Levites are to camp around the tabernacle of the Testimony and watch over it, so that no wrath will fall on the congregation of Israel. So the Levites are responsible for the tabernacle of the Testimony.”

Numbers 1:51 word by word

וּבִנְסֹ֣עַ הַמִּשְׁכָּ֗ן יוֹרִ֤ידוּ אֹתוֹ֙ הַלְוִיִּ֔ם וּבַחֲנֹת֙ הַמִּשְׁכָּ֔ן יָקִ֥ימוּ אֹת֖וֹ הַלְוִיִּ֑ם וְהַזָּ֥ר הַקָּרֵ֖ב יוּמָֽת׃Read the interlinear

• Whenever the tabernacleמִשְׁכָּןmishkân · tabernacleH4908
• is to moveנָסַעnâsa‛ · to set outH5265
• the Levitesלֵוִיlêvîyîy lêvîy · LeviH3881
• are to take it downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
• ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• is to be pitchedחָנָהchânâh · to campH2583
• are to set it upקוּםqûm · to arise: establishH6965
• Any outsiderזוּרzûr · be a strangerH2114
• who goes near itקָרֵבqârêb · approachingH7131
• must be put to deathמוּתmûth · to dieH4191

Cross-references for Numbers 1:51

• Numbers 4:5Whenever the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the veil of the curtain, and cover the ark of the Testimony with it.
• Numbers 10:11On the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the cloud was lifted from above the tabernacle of the Testimony,
• Numbers 3:10So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood; but any outsider who approaches the tabernacle must be put to death.”
• Numbers 16:40just as the LORD commanded him through Moses. This was to be a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his followers.
• Numbers 18:22No longer may the Israelites come near to the Tent of Meeting, or they will incur guilt and die.
• Leviticus 22:10No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired hand eat it.
• 1 Samuel 6:19But God struck down some of the people of Beth-shemesh because they looked inside the ark of the LORD. He struck down seventy men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck them with a great slaughter.
• 2 Samuel 6:7And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down on the spot for his irreverence, and he died there beside the ark of God.

Commentaries on Numbers 1:51

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 47-54Verses 47-54 When a census of the tribe of Levi takes place. Numbers 3:15; Numbers 26:62, “all” the males are counted from a month old and upward, and not, as in the other tribes, those only who were of age for service in the field. Numbers 1:48 had spoken - Render spake. The formal appointment is only now made, in reward for their zeal Exodus 32:26-29, though reference to their future office appears previously in Leviticus 25:32 ff, and they had already…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 47-54Verses 47-54 Care is here taken to distinguish the tribe of Levi, which, in the matter of the golden calf, had distinguished itself. Singular services shall be recompensed by singular honours. It was to the honour of the Levites, that to them was committed the care of the tabernacle and its treasures, in their camps and in their marches. It was for the honour of the holy things that none should see them, or touch them, but those who were called of God to…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 50-53The Levites had the job of setting up, taking down, moving, and guarding the tabernacle. They kept unauthorized people from coming too close or making it unclean. This protected the Israelites from the Lord's judgment.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 47-5447-54. But the Levites ... were not numbered among them--They were obliged to keep a register of their own. They were consecrated to the priestly office, which in all countries has been exempted customarily, and in Israel by the express authority of God, from military service. The custody of the things devoted to the divine service was assigned to them so exclusively, that "no stranger"--that is, no person, not even an Israelite of any other tribe, was…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 1:51

• Levites
• Strangers
• Tabernacle

In the dictionaries

• Condition
• Double
• Encamp
• Express
• Levite
• Refuge, Cities of
• Sinai
• Sum
• Unity
• Whereas

Commentaries on Numbers 1

• 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