God’s Word Translation
Numbers 3:16
16So Moses did what the Lord said and registered them as he had been commanded.
Numbers 3:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded.
- New International Version (NIV)So Moses counted them, as he was commanded by the word of the Lord.
- English Standard Version (ESV)So Moses listed them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded.
- New King James Version (NKJV)So Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded.
Context of Numbers 3:16
14The Lord said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai, 15“Count the Levites by households and families. Count every male who is at least one month old.” So Moses did what the Lord said and registered them as he had been commanded. 17Gershon, Kohath, and Merari were the sons of Levi. 18Libni and Shimei were the sons of Gershon. Their families were named after them.
Read all of Numbers 3Numbers 3:16 word by word
וַיִּפְקֹ֥ד אֹתָ֛ם מֹשֶׁ֖ה עַל־פִּ֣י יְהוָ֑ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר צֻוָּֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Commentaries on Numbers 3:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Moses numbered them - Though Moses and Aaron conjointly numbered the twelve tribes, yet Moses alone numbered the Levites; "for as the money with which the first-born of Israel, who exceeded the number of Levites, were redeemed, was to be paid to Aaron and his sons, Numbers 3:48, it was decent that he, whose advantage it was that the number of the first-born of Israel should exceed, should not be authorized to take that number himself." - Dodd, from Bishop…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-39Verses 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 level with other Levites; thus it was plain, that Moses did not seek the advancement of his own family, or to secure any honours to it. The tribe of Levi was by much the least of all the tribes. God's chosen are but a little…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14-39This first phase of a two-part registration of the tribe of Levi summarized each family's special duties. 4:1–33 describes this in more detail (see 4:34–49 for the second phase). This count did not relate to military duties, so it included male Levites from the age of one month (3:40–41). Three family groups descend from the three sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. These clans, often called the Gershonites, Kohathites, and Merarites, later…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 14-3114-31. Number the children of Levi--They were numbered as well as the other tribes; but the enumeration was made on a different principle--for while in the other tribes the number of males was calculated from twenty years and upward [Nu 1:3], in that of Levi they were counted "from a month old and upward." The reason for the distinction is obvious. In the other tribes the survey was made for purposes of war [Nu 1:3], from which the Levites were totally…Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 3:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 3
- 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
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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