Numbers 3:46

Numbers 3:46 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And for those that are to be redeemed of the two hundred and threescore and thirteen of the firstborn of the children of Israel, which are more than the Levites;
• New International Version (NIV)To redeem the 273 firstborn Israelites who exceed the number of the Levites,
• English Standard Version (ESV)And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites,
• New King James Version (NKJV)And for the redemption of the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel, who are more than the number of the Levites,

Context of Numbers 3:46

44Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45“Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites in place of their cattle. And the Levites shall be Mine; I am the Lord. And as a redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the sons of Israel who are in excess of the number of the Levites, 47you shall take five shekels apiece, per head; you shall take them in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), 48and you shall give the money, the redemption price of those who are in excess among them, to Aaron and to his sons.”

Numbers 3:46 word by word

וְאֵת֙ פְּדוּיֵ֣י הַשְּׁלֹשָׁ֔ה וְהַשִּׁבְעִ֖ים וְהַמָּאתָ֑יִם הָעֹֽדְפִים֙ עַל־הַלְוִיִּ֔ם מִבְּכ֖וֹר בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Read the interlinear

• for the 273שָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
• for the 273שִׁבְעִיםshib‛îym · seventyH7657
• for the 273מֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
• of the firstbornבְּכוֹרbekôr · firstbornH1060
• of the sonsבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• who are in excessעָדַף‛âdaph · to remainH5736
• the Levitesלֵוִיlêvîyîy lêvîy · LeviH3881

Cross-references for Numbers 3:46

• Numbers 18:15Every firstborn of the womb of all flesh, whether human or animal, which they offer to the Lord, shall be yours; however you must redeem the human firstborn, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.
• Exodus 13:13But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn among your sons you shall redeem.
• Numbers 3:47you shall take five shekels apiece, per head; you shall take them in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs),
• Numbers 1:18and they assembled all the congregation on the first day of the second month. Then they registered by ancestry in their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, head by head,
• Numbers 3:39All the numbered men of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the command of the Lord by their families, every male from a month old and upward, were twenty-two thousand.

Commentaries on Numbers 3:46

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 44-51Verses 44-51 This redemption money (see the marginal references) would perhaps be exacted from the parents of the “youngest” children of the 22,273 Numbers 3:43. The cattle of the Levites was doubtless taken in the gross as an equivalent for the first-born cattle of the other tribes, which of course, no less than the first-born of men, belonged to the Lord; and in future would have to be redeemed Numbers 18:15; Deuteronomy 15:19.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 40-51Verses 40-51 The number of the first-born, and that of the Levites, came near to each other. Known unto God are all his works beforehand; there is an exact proportion between them, and so it will appear, when they are compared together. The small number of first-born, over and above the number of the Levites, were to be redeemed, and the redemption-money given to Aaron. The church is called the church of the first-born, which is redeemed, not as they…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 40-51There were 273 more firstborn sons in Israel from the non-Levite tribes than there were Levite males (compare Leviticus 3:39). The Levites acted as substitutes for Israel's firstborn sons (3:41; see study note on 3:11–13). The law required a redemption price of five pieces of silver for each extra firstborn son (Numbers 3:46–48; compare Leviticus 27:6). It is unclear who paid this cost. This arrangement for special substitutes points to Christ’s role as a…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 40-5140-51. Number all the first-born of the males of the children of Israel, &c.--The principle on which the enumeration of the Levites had been made was now to be applied to the other tribes. The number of their male children, from a month old and upward, was to be reckoned, in order that a comparison might be instituted with that of the Levites, for the formal adoption of the latter as substitutes for the first-born. The Levites, amounting to twenty-two…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 3:46

• Firstborn
• Priest
• Redemption

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Children of Israel
• Chief
• Conclude
• Custody
• Encamp
• O
• Secure

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