Numbers 18:2

Numbers 18:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness.
• New International Version (NIV)Bring your fellow Levites from your ancestral tribe to join you and assist you when you and your sons minister before the tent of the covenant law.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And with you bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and minister to you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Also bring with you your brethren of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be joined with you and serve you while you and your sons are with you before the tabernacle of witness.

Context of Numbers 18:2

1The Lord said to Aaron, ‘You and your sons and your family will be guilty for any wrong thing that happens in my Holy Tent. You and your sons will be guilty for any wrong thing that a priest does. Bring the people of your tribe, the Levites, to the Tent of Meeting. 3They must take care of the Tent of Meeting on your behalf. You must tell them what they should do. They must not go near anything that is inside God's Holy Place or the altar. If they do, they will die, and you will die too. 4The Levites must work with you as they take care of the Tent of Meeting. No other people have authority to come near you as you work there.

Numbers 18:2 word by word

וְגַ֣ם אֶת־אַחֶיךָ֩ מַטֵּ֨ה לֵוִ֜י שֵׁ֤בֶט אָבִ֙יךָ֙ הַקְרֵ֣ב אִתָּ֔ךְ וְיִלָּו֥וּ עָלֶ֖יךָ וִֽישָׁרְת֑וּךָ וְאַתָּה֙ וּבָנֶ֣יךָ אִתָּ֔ךְ לִפְנֵ֖י אֹ֥הֶל הָעֵדֻֽת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And thy brethrenאָח'âch · brother: male-relativeH251
• also of the tribeמַטֶּהmaţţeh maţţâh · tribeH4294
• of Leviלֵוִיlêvîy · LeviH3878
• the tribeשֵׁ֫בֶטshêbeţ · tribeH7626
• of thy fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
• bringקָרַבqârab · to present: bringH7126
• thou with thee, that they may be joinedלָוָהlâvâh · to joinH3867
• unto thee, and ministerשָׁרַתshârath · to ministerH8334
• unto thee: but thou and thy sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• the tabernacleאֹ֫הֶל'ôhel · tentH168
• of witnessעֵדוּת‛êdûth · testimonyH5715

Cross-references for Numbers 18:2

• Numbers 18:4The Levites must work with you as they take care of the Tent of Meeting. No other people have authority to come near you as you work there.
• Genesis 29:34Leah became pregnant again. Later, she gave birth to another son. She said, ‘Now I have given my husband three sons, so he will want to stay with me.’ She called this son Levi.
• Numbers 3:6‘Bring the tribe of Levi to Aaron the priest. They must help him.
• Numbers 8:19And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the Israelites. They will work at the Tent of Meeting on behalf of the Israelites. And they will make peace with me on behalf of the Israelites. So there will not be a bad disease among the Israelites when they go near to God's Holy Tent.’
• Numbers 3:10But you must make a list of Aaron and his descendants. They will be the priests. If any other person comes near to the special Tent, they must die.’
• Numbers 4:15When the camp is ready to move, the men from Kohath's clan must be ready to carry all those things. But they must wait until Aaron and his sons have covered God's Holy Tent and all its holy things. The men from Kohath's clan must not touch the holy things. They will die if they touch the holy things. These are the jobs of Kohath's clan. They must carry the things from the Tent of Meeting when the Israelites travel.
• Numbers 16:40Then the Israelites would remember not to do what Korah and his group did. Only people from the family of Aaron could burn incense on the Lord's altar. God would punish anyone else, like he punished Korah and his men. The Lord had given this command through Moses.
• Numbers 17:7Moses put the sticks in front of the Covenant Box of the Lord in the Tent of Meeting.
• 1 Chronicles 16:39Zadok and the other priests served the Lord at the tabernacle in Gibeon. That was still the place where the Israelites worshipped God.
• 2 Chronicles 30:16They stood in their proper places. God's servant Moses had written in God's law where they should stand. The Levites gave the blood from the sacrifices to the priests. The priests then splashed the blood on the altar.
• Ezekiel 44:15Only the priests who are descendants of Zadok, the Levite, may come near to me and serve me. When Israel's people turned away from me, only the priests of Zadok's family faithfully served me in my temple. So now Zadok's descendants may offer to me the fat and the blood of sacrifices. That is what the Almighty Lord says.

Commentaries on Numbers 18:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi - may be joined unto thee - There is a fine paronomasia, or play upon words, in the original. לוי Levi comes from the root לוה lavah, to join to, couple, associate: hence Moses says, the Levites, ילוו yillavu, shall be joined, or associated with the priests; they shall conjointly perform the whole of the sacred office, but the priests shall be principal, the Levites only their associates or assistants.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-4The Lord gave special authority to Aaron, his sons (the priests), and his relatives (the Levites). They were responsible to God for offenses against the holy place. Yet, only the priests were responsible to God for their own violations of God's instructions for their service.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 18:2

• Minister, Christian
• Priest

In the dictionaries

• Levi
• Levi, Levite
• Matthew, Levi
• Exodus
• Levite
• Agrapha
• Atonement, Day of
• Chronicles, Books of
• Criticism
• Exodus, the Book of

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