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

1And the LORD said to Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood. And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined to thee, and minister to thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness. 3And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come near the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die. 4And they shall be joined to thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come near to you.

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

• brethrenאָח'âch · brother: male-relativeH251
• tribeמַטֶּהmaţţeh maţţâh · tribeH4294
• Leviלֵוִיlêvîy · LeviH3878
• tribeשֵׁ֫בֶטshêbeţ · tribeH7626
• fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
• bringקָרַבqârab · to present: bringH7126
• joinedלָוָהlâvâh · to joinH3867
• ministerשָׁרַתshârath · to ministerH8334
• sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• tabernacleאֹ֫הֶל'ôhel · tentH168
• witnessעֵדוּת‛êdûth · testimonyH5715

Cross-references for Numbers 18:2

• Numbers 18:4And they shall be joined to thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come near to you.
• Genesis 29:34And she conceived again, and bore a son; and said, Now this time will my husband love me, because I have borne him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi.
• Numbers 3:6Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him.
• Numbers 8:19And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there may be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come near to the sanctuary.
• Numbers 3:10And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest’s office: and the stranger that cometh near shall be put to death.
• Numbers 4:15And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to move forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it : but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.
• Numbers 16:40To be a memorial to the children of Israel, that no stranger, who is not of the seed of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he may not be as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses.
• Numbers 17:7And Moses laid the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness.
• 1 Chronicles 16:39And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the LORD in the high place that was at Gibeon,
• 2 Chronicles 30:16And they stood in their place after their custom, according to the law of Moses the man of God: the priests sprinkled the blood, which they received from the hand of the Levites.
• Ezekiel 44:15But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister to me, and they shall stand before me to offer to me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD:

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