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Numbers 3:14–20 — The Numbering of the Levites. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

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 exempt. But the Levites were appointed to a work on which they entered as soon as they were capable of instruction.

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

The muster of the Levites included all the males from a month old and upwards, because they were to be sanctified to Jehovah in the place of the first-born; and it was at the age of a month that the latter were either to be given up or redeemed (comp. Numbers 3:40 and Numbers 3:43 with Numbers 18:16 ).

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

At the same time he gave the order, and made the declaration before mentioned, and in the place where now the children of Israel were, and from whence they shortly removed

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Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on the Whole Bible1706

The tribe of Levi was by much the least of all the tribes. God's chosen are but a little flock in comparison with the world.

Henry’s note covers the whole section (3:14-39); the concluding sentence is excerpted.

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Then the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

Yah·weh way·ḏab·bêr ’el- mō·šeh bə·miḏ·bar sî·nay lê·mōr

Word by word7 · parsed

יְהוָה֙Yah·wehThen the LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

YHWH, the covenant name (H3068), printed Lord. The numbering of Levi is not Moses’ census-policy but a divine word; the chapter is framed front and back by “the LORD spoke / according to the word of the LORD” (vv. 14, 16, 39).

וַיְדַבֵּ֤רway·ḏab·bêrspokeH1696

√ dâbar — perhaps properly, to arrangeConjunctive wawVerbPielConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

dâbar in the Piel — the verb of authoritative speech. Gill notes it was said “at the same time he gave the order… before mentioned,” tying this fresh oracle to the firstborn-claim of vv. 11–13.

אֶל־’el-toH413

√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition

מֹשֶׁ֔הmō·šehMosesH4872

√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular

Moses (H4872), the lawgiver, is here the recipient, not the author. As Henry observes, “the posterity of Moses were not at all honoured or privileged, but stood upon the level with other Levites” — the man who relays this census secures nothing for his own line.

בְּמִדְבַּ֥רbə·miḏ·barin the WildernessH4057

√ midbâr — a pasture (iPreposition-bNounmasculine singular construct

midbâr — pasture, open uninhabited land; the place of Israel’s forming. The whole book takes its setting from this word.

סִינַ֖יsî·nayof SinaiH5514

√ Çîynay — Sinai, mountain of ArabiaNounproperfeminine singular

Sinai (H5514), the mountain of the covenant. The Levitical order is legislated at the very place the law was given, before the march resumes.

לֵאמֹֽר׃lê·mōrsayingH559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct

lê·mōr, the speech-marker; the verse ends mid-breath, opening onto the command of v. 15.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“And-spoke YHWH to Moses in-the-wilderness of-Sinai, saying —”

Where the English smooths the original

וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר Hebrew is verb-first: way·ḏab·bêr, “and-he-spoke,” opens the clause with the action; the BSB’s subject-first “the LORD spoke” is smooth English, not the word order. The root is dâbar (Piel), a weightier “speak/command,” not the lighter ’âmar that follows.
לֵאמֹֽר lê·mōr is a Qal infinitive, literally “to-say” — the fixed Hebrew quotation-opener. The BSB’s “saying” keeps it, but the verse already had dâbar; Hebrew habitually pairs the two verbs of speech that English would collapse into one.
בְּמִדְבַּ֥ר bə·miḏ·bar, “in-the-wilderness-of,” is one prefixed construct word; the open-country sense of midbâr (pasture, uninhabited land) is flattened to the place-name “Wilderness of Sinai.”

The Voices✦ 5 public domain

Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

The males of the other tribes had been numbered “from twenty years old and upward” ( Numbers 1:3 ). The firstborn males, however, among all the children of Israel, in whose place the Levites were taken, wer-directed to be numbered “from a month old and upward” ( Numbers 3:40 ; Numbers 3:43 ); and this was the age afterwards fixed for their redemption ( Numbers 18:16 ).

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Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

From a month old — Because at that time the firstborn, in whose stead the Levites came, were offered to God. And from that time the Levites were consecrated to God, and were, as soon as capable, instructed in their work. Elsewhere they are numbered from twenty-five years old, when they were entered as novices into part of their work, ( Numbers 8:24 ,) and from thirty years old, when they were admitted to their whole office.

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

for as the Jewish writers often say, a mother's family is no family; wherefore, if a Levite woman married into any other tribe, as she might, her, descendants were not taken into this accounts only such whose fathers were Levites

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Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

From a month old, because at that time the first-born, in whose stead the Levites came, Numbers 8:16 , were offered to God, Luke 2:22 , and to be redeemed, Numbers 18:16 .

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

from, a month old ] to correspond with the firstborn ( see Numbers 3:40 ).

Cambridge’s terse cross-reference; the “from,” is an OCR artifact in the source, retained verbatim.

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“Number the Levites by their families and clans. You are to count every male a month old or more.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

pə·qōḏ ’eṯ- bə·nê lê·wî ’ă·ḇō·ṯām lə·ḇêṯ lə·miš·pə·ḥō·ṯām tip̄·qə·ḏêm kāl- zā·ḵār ḥō·ḏeš mib·ben- wā·ma‘·lāh

Word by word13 · parsed

פְּקֹד֙pə·qōḏNumberH6485

√ pâqad — to visit (with friendly or hostile intent)VerbQalImperativemasculine singular

pâqad (Qal imperative) — “muster, visit, attend to.” The defining verb of the book of Numbers (Hebrew Bəmidbar; the Greek title Arithmoi gave us “Numbers”). To be pâqad-ed by God is to be reckoned His.

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

בְּנֵ֣יbə·nêthe LevitesH1121

√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural construct

לֵוִ֔יlê·wî. . .H3878

√ Lêvîy — Levi, a son of JacobNounpropermasculine singular

אֲבֹתָ֖ם’ă·ḇō·ṯāmby their familiesH1

√ ʼâb — father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote applicationNounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine plural

’ă·ḇō·ṯām, “their fathers” (H1, ’âb). Gill notes the count runs by the father’s line only: “a mother's family is no family… only such whose fathers were Levites” were taken in.

לְבֵ֥יתlə·ḇêṯ. . .H1004

√ bayith — a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etcPreposition-lNounmasculine singular construct

לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑םlə·miš·pə·ḥō·ṯāmand clansH4940

√ mishpâchâh — a family, iPreposition-lNounfeminine plural constructthird person masculine plural

תִּפְקְדֵֽם׃tip̄·qə·ḏêmYou are to countH6485

√ pâqad — to visit (with friendly or hostile intent)VerbQalImperfectsecond person masculine singularthird person masculine plural

tip̄·qə·ḏêm — the same root pâqad as the opening imperative, now imperfect with object suffix; the inclusio (“number… you shall number them”) seals the command.

כָּל־kāl-everyH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct

זָכָ֛רzā·ḵārmaleH2145

√ zâkâr — properly, remembered, iNounmasculine singular

zā·ḵār (H2145), “male” — its root is “to remember”; the male child as the one through whom the name is carried and remembered. Only males are mustered, for the question is of the firstborn substitution.

חֹ֥דֶשׁḥō·ḏeša monthH2320

√ chôdesh — the new moonNounmasculine singular

ḥō·ḏeš, “month / new moon.” The one-month threshold is the pivot of the whole arrangement: Ellicott, Benson, Poole, and K&D all tie it to the firstborn’s redemption age of Numbers 18:16.

מִבֶּן־mib·ben-oldH1121

√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcPreposition-mNounmasculine singular construct

וָמַ֖עְלָהwā·ma‘·lāhor moreH4605

√ maʻal — properly, the upper part, used only adverbially with prefix upward, above, overhead, from the top, etcConjunctive wawAdverbthird person feminine singular

wā·ma‘·lāh (H4605, maʻal), “and-upward” — adverbial, “from the top, above.” The count has a floor (one month) but no ceiling: every living male of the tribe.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“Number the-sons-of Levi by-the-house-of their-fathers, by-their-clans; every male from-a-son-of a-month and-upward you-shall-number-them.”

Where the English smooths the original

פְּקֹד֙ pə·qōḏ (H6485, pâqad) is far richer than “number.” Its root sense is “to visit, attend to, muster” — to take account of with intent. The same verb closes the verse (tip̄·qə·ḏêm, “you shall muster them”), bracketing the command; “number… count” obscures that this is the LORD visiting His servant-tribe, not a bare tally.
מִבֶּן־ mib·ben- is literally “from-a-son-of,” i.e. “from the age of.” Hebrew reckons age idiomatically as ben-ḥōḏeš, “a son of a month”; the BSB’s “a month old” is correct but hides the bēn (“son”) that quietly recurs as this chapter’s keyword.
חֹ֥דֶשׁ ḥō·ḏeš (H2320) properly means “new moon” before it means “month.” The threshold is one lunar cycle of life — the exact age set for the firstborn’s redemption (Numbers 18:16), which is why the Levites, their substitutes, are counted from it.
לְבֵ֥ית lə·ḇêṯ, “by-house-of” (H1004, bayith), and ’ă·ḇō·ṯām, “their fathers,” give the full idiom “by their fathers’ houses.” The BSB renders the pair simply as “families and clans,” compressing two distinct social units (the bēṯ-’āḇ household and the mišpāḥâh clan).

The Voices✦ 3 public domain

John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

though Moses is only here mentioned, yet it seems from Numbers 3:39 ; that Aaron was concerned with him in it

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

he was obedient to the divine will in all things, and so in this, though it was his own tribe and his own posterity, which in all successive ages were to be no other than ministering servants to the priests, and to have no inheritance in the land of Israel.

Second excerpt from Gill on this verse, on the cost of Moses’ obedience.

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Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

Their duties were to assist in the conveyance of the tabernacle when the people were removing the various encampments, and to form its guard while stationary—the Gershonites being stationed on the west, the Kohathites on the south, and the families of Merari on the north.

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So Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he had been commanded.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

mō·šeh way·yip̄·qōḏ ’ō·ṯām ‘al- pî Yah·weh ka·’ă·šer ṣuw·wāh

Word by word8 · parsed

מֹשֶׁ֖הmō·šehSo MosesH4872

√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular

Moses named first in the Hebrew, fronted for emphasis: the lawgiver himself performs the muster. Gill notes that though “Moses is only here mentioned… it seems from Numbers 3:39 that Aaron was concerned with him in it.”

וַיִּפְקֹ֥דway·yip̄·qōḏnumberedH6485

√ pâqad — to visit (with friendly or hostile intent)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

way·yip̄·qōḏ (pâqad, consecutive imperfect) — the obedient counterpart to the imperative pə·qōḏ of v. 15. Command and compliance share one root.

אֹתָ֛ם’ō·ṯāmthemH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerthird person masculine plural

עַל־‘al-according toH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition

פִּ֣יpîthe wordH6310

√ peh — the mouth (as the means of blowing), whether literal or figurative (particularly speech)Nounmasculine singular construct

peh, “mouth” — the organ of speech standing for the spoken decree. The phrase ‘al-pî YHWH is the OT’s strong idiom for exact, mouth-to-deed obedience (cf. Numbers 9:18–23).

יְהוָ֑הYah·wehof the LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

כַּאֲשֶׁ֖רka·’ă·šerasH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPreposition-kPronounrelative

צֻוָּֽה׃ṣuw·wāhhe had been commandedH6680

√ tsâvâh — (intensively) to constitute, enjoinVerbPualPerfectthird person masculine singular

ṣuw·wāh, Pual “was commanded.” Gill: Moses “was obedient to the divine will in all things, and so in this, though it was his own tribe and his own posterity” — obedience that costs him nothing to gain and his kin nothing to inherit.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“And-numbered them Moses upon the-mouth-of YHWH, as he-was-commanded.”

Where the English smooths the original

פִּ֣י pî (H6310, peh) is literally “the mouth of” — “upon the mouth of the LORD.” The BSB’s “according to the word of the LORD” is the right sense, but the Hebrew idiom ‘al-pî YHWH (“at the mouth of YHWH”) is bodily and direct: Moses obeys God’s very mouth, not a paraphrase of it.
צֻוָּֽה ṣuw·wāh (H6680) is a Pual (passive) perfect: “he-was-commanded.” The BSB’s “as he had been commanded” is exact, but the passive deliberately leaves the Commander unnamed because He was just named — YHWH; the grammar bows to the mouth that spoke.
וַיִּפְקֹ֥ד way·yip̄·qōḏ — again the root pâqad (“mustered”), the third occurrence of the keyword in three verses (command, command, fulfillment). The narrative answers v. 15’s imperative with the matching deed: it was done exactly as said.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

These genealogical notices are inserted here in order to give completeness to the account of the Levites in the day of their dedication.

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

The immediate offspring and descendants of that patriarch: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari; these went down with him into Egypt, Genesis 46:11 .

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

To them were traced the three main divisions of the Levites in Jerusalem after the exile.

Cambridge’s critical note assigns the three-son list to the priestly source and Chronicles; presented as a scholarly view to be weighed, not endorsed.

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

In Numbers 3:17-20 the sons of Levi and their sons are enumerated, who were the founders of the mishpachoth among the Levites, as in Exodus 6:16-19 .

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These were the sons of Levi by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’êl·leh way·yih·yū- ḇə·nê- lê·wî biš·mō·ṯām gê·rə·šō·wn ū·qə·hāṯ ū·mə·rā·rî

Word by word8 · parsed

אֵ֥לֶּה’êl·lehTheseH428

√ ʼêl-leh — these or thosePronouncommon plural

’êl·leh, “these” — opens the formal list. The construction mirrors Exodus 6:16, the priestly genealogy this passage deliberately echoes (so K&D).

וַיִּֽהְיוּ־way·yih·yū-wereH1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural

בְנֵֽי־ḇə·nê-the sonsH1121

לֵוִ֖יlê·wîof LeviH3878

√ Lêvîy — Levi, a son of JacobNounpropermasculine singular

Levi (H3878), Jacob’s third son; his three sons head the tribe’s three great divisions. Gill: “these went down with him into Egypt, Genesis 46:11.”

בִּשְׁמֹתָ֑םbiš·mō·ṯāmby nameH8034

√ shêm — an appellation, as amark or memorial of individualityPreposition-bNounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine plural

גֵּרְשׁ֕וֹןgê·rə·šō·wnGershonH1648

√ Gêrᵉshôwn — Gereshon or Gereshom, an IsraeliteNounpropermasculine singular

Gershon (H1648), the eldest — assigned, per JFB, “the next honorable post” (west of the tabernacle), behind the Kohathites.

וּקְהָ֖תū·qə·hāṯKohathH6955

√ Qᵉhâth — Kehath, an IsraeliteConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular

Kohath (H6955), the second son, yet the most honored division: his line carried the ark and holy vessels, and from him came Amram, Aaron, and Moses (v. 19).

וּמְרָרִֽי׃ū·mə·rā·rîand MerariH4847

√ Mᵉrârîy — Merari, an IsraeliteConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular

Merari (H4847), the youngest; on his division, JFB notes, “the burden of the drudgery was thrown” — the boards, bars, and sockets of the tabernacle.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“And-were these the-sons-of Levi by-their-names: Gershon, and-Kohath, and-Merari.”

Where the English smooths the original

וַיִּֽהְיוּ־ way·yih·yū- (H1961, hâyâh) is a finite verb, “and-they-were/came-to-be,” not a copula English drops. The BSB’s “These were the sons” renders it as a simple equation; Hebrew narrates their existence as founders — these came to be the heads from whom the clans descend.
בִּשְׁמֹתָ֑ם biš·mō·ṯām, “by-their-names” (H8034, shêm) — the BSB’s “by name.” Shêm is “appellation as a mark or memorial of individuality”: the list is not a crowd but named persons, each remembered. The same word frames v. 18 (“the names of the sons of Gershon”).
אֵ֥לֶּה ’êl·leh (H428), “these,” is the demonstrative that opens and (in v. 20) closes the genealogy — a Hebrew framing device (“these… these were the clans”) marking the unit as a discrete register, like the tôlēḏôṯ formulae of Genesis.

These were the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·’êl·leh šə·mō·wṯ bə·nê- ḡê·rə·šō·wn lə·miš·pə·ḥō·ṯām liḇ·nî wə·šim·‘î

Word by word7 · parsed

וְאֵ֛לֶּהwə·’êl·lehTheseH428

√ ʼêl-leh — these or thoseConjunctive wawPronouncommon plural

שְׁמ֥וֹתšə·mō·wṯwere the namesH8034

√ shêm — an appellation, as amark or memorial of individualityNounmasculine plural construct

šə·mō·wṯ, “names” — the register’s governing noun, echoing the title of Exodus and its parallel genealogy (Exodus 6:17).

בְּֽנֵי־bə·nê-of the sonsH1121

גֵרְשׁ֖וֹןḡê·rə·šō·wnof GershonH1648

√ Gêrᵉshôwn — Gereshon or Gereshom, an IsraeliteNounpropermasculine singular

Gershon (H1648) again, now subdivided. Gill: “to Gershon belonged two families, called after the names of his sons.”

לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑םlə·miš·pə·ḥō·ṯāmby their clansH4940

√ mishpâchâh — a family, iPreposition-lNounfeminine plural constructthird person masculine plural

לִבְנִ֖יliḇ·nîLibniH3845

√ Libnîy — Libni, an IsraeliteNounpropermasculine singular

Libni (H3845) — a rare name (the Verifier finds it in only 5 verses); from him the Libnites (Numbers 3:21).

וְשִׁמְעִֽי׃wə·šim·‘îand ShimeiH8096

√ Shimʻîy — Shimi, the name of twenty IsraelitesConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular

Shimei (H8096, Shimʻîy) — from him the Shimites. Gill cross-references Exodus 6:17, the priestly parallel.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“And-these were the-names of-the-sons-of Gershon by-their-clans: Libni, and-Shimei.”

Where the English smooths the original

שְׁמ֥וֹת šə·mō·wṯ (H8034, shêm) — “the names,” plural construct. This is the very word that titles the book of Exodus (Shemot, “Names”), whose ch. 6 carries the parallel list; the genealogy is a register of names, each person remembered, not a head-count.
לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑ם lə·miš·pə·ḥō·ṯām (H4940, mishpâchâh), “by-their-clans” — the recurring structural word of the whole muster (vv. 15, 18, 19, 20). A mišpāḥâh is the clan between household and tribe; the BSB’s “clans” is right, but English loses how relentlessly the Hebrew repeats it to order the count.
וְאֵ֛לֶּה wə·’êl·leh, “and-these” — the same demonstrative as v. 17, now with conjunctive waw, threading each son’s sub-list to the last. The repeated “and these are the names of the sons of …” is the Hebrew genealogy’s drumbeat.

The Voices✦ 3 public domain

John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

Amram, and Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel; so in Exodus 6:18 ; and from whom were named the family of the Amramites, to which Moses and Aaron belonged; and the families of the Izeharites, Hebronites, and Uzzielites, as they are called, Numbers 3:27 .

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Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

The Kohathites had the principal place about the tabernacle, and charge of the most precious and sacred things—a distinction with which they were honored, probably, because the Aaronic family belonged to this division of the Levitical tribe.

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

the sons of Levi and their sons are enumerated, who were the founders of the mishpachoth among the Levites, as in Exodus 6:16-19 .

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The sons of Kohath by their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

ū·ḇə·nê qə·hāṯ lə·miš·pə·ḥō·ṯām ‘am·rām wə·yiṣ·hār ḥeḇ·rō·wn wə·‘uz·zî·’êl

Word by word7 · parsed

וּבְנֵ֥יū·ḇə·nêThe sonsH1121

√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcConjunctive wawNounmasculine plural construct

קְהָ֖תqə·hāṯof KohathH6955

√ Qᵉhâth — Kehath, an IsraeliteNounpropermasculine singular

Kohath (H6955) — the central, most honored division; from his four sons descend the clans charged with the holiest objects (Numbers 4:4–15).

לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑םlə·miš·pə·ḥō·ṯāmby their clansH4940

√ mishpâchâh — a family, iPreposition-lNounfeminine plural constructthird person masculine plural

עַמְרָ֣ם‘am·rāmwere AmramH6019

√ ʻAmrâm — Amram, the name of two IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular

Amram (H6019) — father of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam (Exodus 6:20; Numbers 26:59). Henry’s point lands here: Moses’ own line is entered with no privilege, level with the rest.

וְיִצְהָ֔רwə·yiṣ·hārIzharH3324

√ Yitshâr — Jitshar, an IsraeliteConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular

Izhar (H3324, Yitshâr) — a rare name (9 verses; the Verifier ties this list to Exodus 6:18 partly through it). His son Korah, a Kohathite already given the holiest charge, would later lead the great rebellion to seize the priesthood itself (Numbers 16:1–3). The clan stationed nearest the sanctuary is also the one that grasps for more — a warning latent in the very register.

חֶבְר֖וֹןḥeḇ·rō·wnHebronH2275

√ Chebrôwn — Chebron, a place in Palestine, also the name of two IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular

וְעֻזִּיאֵֽל׃wə·‘uz·zî·’êland UzzielH5816

√ ʻUzzîyʼêl — Uzziel, the name of six IsraelitesConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular

Uzziel (H5816, ʻUzzîyʼêl), “my strength is God” — youngest of Kohath’s sons; from him the Uzzielites (Numbers 3:27).

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“And-the-sons-of Kohath by-their-clans: Amram, and-Izhar, Hebron, and-Uzziel.”

Where the English smooths the original

וּבְנֵ֥י ū·ḇə·nê, “and-the-sons-of” (H1121, bēn) — the conjunctive waw keeps the list flowing from Gershon’s line; the same bēn that earlier counted age “from a son of a month” (v. 15) now names the literal sons. The keyword runs the whole chapter.
עַמְרָ֣ם ‘am·rām (H6019), Amram — listed first and flatly, with no hint that this is the father of Aaron and Moses (Exodus 6:20). The Hebrew honors the order of the register over the fame of the family; the lawgiver’s own father takes his plain place in the rank.
לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑ם lə·miš·pə·ḥō·ṯām, “by-their-clans” again (H4940) — the fourth of five occurrences in the unit. The Kohathite sub-list is ordered by the same formula as Gershon’s, underscoring an even, impartial structure across all three divisions.

And the sons of Merari by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of the Levites, according to their families.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

ū·ḇə·nê mə·rā·rî lə·miš·pə·ḥō·ṯām maḥ·lî ū·mū·šî ’êl·leh hêm miš·pə·ḥōṯ hal·lê·wî ’ă·ḇō·ṯām lə·ḇêṯ

Word by word11 · parsed

וּבְנֵ֧יū·ḇə·nêAnd the sonsH1121

מְרָרִ֛יmə·rā·rîof MerariH4847

√ Mᵉrârîy — Merari, an IsraeliteNounpropermasculine singular

Merari (H4847) — the youngest division; the Verifier links Mahli + Merari to 1 Chronicles 6:29 by these rare names. JFB: on Merari fell “the burden of the drudgery” of the tabernacle’s heavy frame.

לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖םlə·miš·pə·ḥō·ṯāmby their clansH4940

√ mishpâchâh — a family, iPreposition-lNounfeminine plural constructthird person masculine plural

מַחְלִ֣יmaḥ·lîwere MahliH4249

√ Machlîy — Machli, the name of two IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular

Mahli (H4249, Machlîy) — a rare name (11 verses); from him the Mahlites (Numbers 3:33).

וּמוּשִׁ֑יū·mū·šîand MushiH4187

√ Mûwshîy — Mushi, a LeviteConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular

Mushi (H4187, Mûwshîy) — rarer still (8 verses); from him the Mushites. Gill counts the whole tribe as “eight families.”

אֵ֥לֶּה’êl·lehTheseH428

√ ʼêl-leh — these or thosePronouncommon plural

’êl·leh hêm, “these were” — the closing bracket matching v. 17’s opening “these,” sealing the genealogy.

הֵ֛םhêmwereH1992

√ hêm — they (only used when emphatic)Pronounthird person masculine plural

מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥תmiš·pə·ḥōṯthe clansH4940

√ mishpâchâh — a family, iNounfeminine plural construct

הַלֵּוִ֖יhal·lê·wîof the LevitesH3881

√ Lêvîyîy — a Levite or descendant of LeviArticleNounpropermasculine singular

hal·lê·wî, the gentilic “Levite,” marking the move from man to ministry — the tribe set apart in place of the firstborn (vv. 11–13).

אֲבֹתָֽם׃’ă·ḇō·ṯāmaccording to their familiesH1

√ ʼâb — father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote applicationNounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine plural

’ă·ḇō·ṯām, “their fathers” (H1) — the count is closed as it was commanded (v. 15): by the fathers’ houses, the father’s line alone reckoned.

לְבֵ֥יתlə·ḇêṯ. . .H1004

√ bayith — a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etcPreposition-lNounmasculine singular construct

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“And-the-sons-of Merari by-their-clans: Mahli, and-Mushi. These they-were the-clans of-the-Levite by-the-house-of their-fathers.”

Where the English smooths the original

אֵ֥לֶּה ’êl·leh hêm, “these they-were,” closes the unit with the same demonstrative ’êl·leh that opened it in v. 17 — a deliberate Hebrew envelope. The added emphatic pronoun hêm (“they”) drives the summation home: these, and no others, are the Levite clans.
הַלֵּוִ֖י hal·lê·wî (H3881, Lêvîyî) is the gentilic “the Levite / Levitical,” distinct from the personal name Lêwî (H3878) in v. 17. The grammar marks the shift from the man Levi to the order named for him — the patriarch has become an institution.
מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת miš·pə·ḥōṯ (H4940), “clans” — the fifth and summarizing use of the unit’s keyword, now absolute rather than suffixed: not “their clans” but “the clans of the Levite,” gathering all eight families (per Gill) under one head.

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The word that orders the count — 14–16

The section opens not with a policy but with a voice: way·ḏab·bêr YHWH, “and YHWH spoke” (v. 14), and closes the unit of obedience with ‘al-pî YHWH, “upon the mouth of the LORD” (v. 16, where the Hebrew literally reads mouth, H6310 peh). Between command and compliance the keyword pâqad (H6485, “muster, visit, attend to”) sounds three times — imperative, repeated, fulfilled — so that the census is framed as the LORD visiting His tribe, not Moses tallying it. Keil & Delitzsch name the principle the whole chapter turns on: the Levites “were to be sanctified to Jehovah in the place of the first-born.” Jamieson, Fausset & Brown draw the contrast that the grammar implies — the other tribes were “calculated from twenty years and upward… for purposes of war,” but Levi “from a month old and upward,” for “a work on which they entered as soon as they were capable of instruction.” John Gill presses the cost of the obedient hand: Moses “was obedient to the divine will in all things, and so in this, though it was his own tribe and his own posterity,” who would inherit no land.

ii. From a son of a month — 15

The age-threshold is the theological hinge, and it is buried in a Hebrew idiom: mib·ben-ḥō·ḏeš, “from a son of a month” (vv. 15). One month — the age, Charles Ellicott notes, “afterwards fixed for their redemption (Numbers 18:16),” the same age at which the firstborn “in whose place the Levites were taken” were themselves numbered. Joseph Benson ties it tighter: “at that time the firstborn, in whose stead the Levites came, were offered to God.” Matthew Poole reaches across the canon to the temple courts — the firstborn were counted “to be redeemed, Numbers 18:16,” citing also “Luke 2:22.” The Levite infant is enrolled at one month not as a worker but as a substitute: a living, breathing ransom-token standing in for Israel’s firstborn sons. The word zā·ḵār (“male,” v. 15) carries the root “to remember” — these are the remembered ones, named into God’s account from their first month of life.

iii. A register of names — 17–20

The genealogy is bracketed by the demonstrative ’êl·leh, “these” — opening in v. 17, closing in v. 20 (’êl·leh hêm, “these were”) — and governed by two nouns: shêm, “name” (the title of Exodus, Shemot), and mishpâchâh, “clan,” which beats five times across the four verses. The Pulpit Commentary reads the placement rightly: “These genealogical notices are inserted here in order to give completeness to the account of the Levites in the day of their dedication.” Keil & Delitzsch note the list reproduces the founders of the Levitical clans “as in Exodus 6:16-19,” and the Verifier confirms a dense verbal overlap with that passage (rare shared names Gershon, Kohath, Merari, Amram, Izhar, Uzziel — low-frequency proper nouns in the same order, the signature of a copied register, not coincidental vocabulary). Jamieson, Fausset & Brown map the three divisions onto their stations and loads — Gershon the eldest with “the next honorable post,” Kohath with “the most precious and sacred things… because the Aaronic family belonged to this division,” and Merari bearing “the burden of the drudgery.” And in the Kohathite line (v. 19) stands ‘Amram, listed flat and unadorned — the father of Aaron and Moses, entered with no privilege, which is exactly Matthew Henry’s point that “the posterity of Moses were not at all honoured or privileged, but stood upon the level with other Levites.”

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

Read under Sola Scriptura — and this is the tool’s own fallible reading, to be tested against the text — the chapter does something the modern eye is tempted to skip past: it counts babies into the priesthood of substitution. The other tribes are mustered as fighters “from twenty years old”; Levi is mustered as ransom “from a son of a month.” The whole point of the one-month line is the firstborn: God had claimed every firstborn of Israel as His own on the night of the Passover (Exodus 13), and now He takes the tribe of Levi in their place (vv. 11–13). So the genealogy is not filler. Each name — Gershon, Kohath, Merari, down to Mahli and Mushi — is a name of a substitute, a man whose tribe lives instead of another man’s firstborn son. The register is the ledger of an exchange: the redeemed-for-the-redeemer arithmetic that runs straight through Scripture. That Amram, Moses’ own father, is filed without distinction is the quiet proof the whole thing is God’s ordering and not a man’s self-promotion. The tribe that owns no land and wins no battle is the tribe held nearest the tabernacle — counted not for what it can take, but for whom it stands in for.

Every name on this list is the name of a substitute — Levi mustered, infant by infant, in the place of Israel’s firstborn. (A reading to be tested, not a verse.)

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The clan-founders ↔ Exodus 6:16–19 verbal / quotation — confirmed

The Levite genealogy of vv. 17–20 reproduces the priestly founder-list of Exodus 6 almost name for name — Gershon, Kohath, Merari and their sons — which is why Keil & Delitzsch flag the parallel explicitly. The Verifier records a dense overlap of rare shared lexemes, putting this beyond mere shared subject-matter into verbal repetition.

Exodus 6:16 · Exodus 6:17 · Exodus 6:18 · Exodus 6:19

basis: Hebrew↔Hebrew. Verifier: rare shared lexemes H1648 Gêrᵉshôwn (18 vv), H6955 Qᵉhâth (29 vv), H4847 Mᵉrârîy (36 vv), plus — between Num 3:19 and Ex 6:18 — H3324 Yitshâr (9 vv), H6019 ʻAmrâm (12 vv), and H5816 ʻUzzîyʼêl (16 vv): a cluster of low-frequency proper names in matching order, not generic vocabulary. This is genealogical repetition of a fixed register, not topical overlap.

The Levite register ↔ the Chronicler’s genealogies verbal / quotation — confirmed

The same three-fold division and its sub-clans are re-tabulated for the post-exilic temple in 1 Chronicles 6 and 23. The link to 1 Chronicles 6:29 rests on the rare names Mahli and Merari shared with Num 3:20; the Kohathite line aligns with 1 Chronicles 6:2 / 23:12 (Kohath, Izhar, Uzziel). Cambridge notes that to these heads “were traced the three main divisions of the Levites in Jerusalem after the exile” — the wilderness register became the charter of the Second-Temple orders.

1 Chronicles 6:2 · 1 Chronicles 6:29 · 1 Chronicles 23:12 · Genesis 46:11

basis: Hebrew↔Hebrew. Verifier: rare shared lexemes — Num 3:20↔1 Chr 6:29 via H4249 Machlîy (11 vv) + H4847 Mᵉrârîy (36 vv); Kohathite line via H6955 Qᵉhâth (29 vv), H5816 ʻUzzîyʼêl (16 vv), H3324 Yitshâr (9 vv). Genesis 46:11 shares H1648/H6955/H4847/H3878 with Num 3:17.

Counted “from a month old” ↔ the firstborn’s redemption structural / thematic — confirmed

The one-month threshold (v. 15) is set, the commentators agree as one, to match the firstborn whom the Levites replace: Num 3:40 numbers the firstborn “from a month old,” and Num 18:16 fixes one month as the age of redemption. The verbal tie to Num 3:40 is strong (shared pâqad, zâkâr, maʻal, chôdesh); the tie to Num 18:16 rests chiefly on the shared chôdesh (“month”), so it is the weaker of the two and is recorded as thematic.

Numbers 3:40 · Numbers 18:16

basis: Hebrew↔Hebrew. Verifier: Num 3:15↔3:40 share H6485 pâqad (269 vv), H2145 zâkâr (80 vv), H4605 maʻal (134 vv), H2320 chôdesh (224 vv) — a shared muster-pattern, not a quotation. Num 3:15↔18:16 share only H2320 chôdesh; the month-age link is conceptual, argued by the commentators (Ellicott, Benson, Poole), not a verbal citation.

“By their clans” — the muster pattern across Numbers structural / thematic — confirmed

The governing formula lə·mišpəḥōṯām (“by their clans,” H4940) and the verb pâqad (“muster”) recur when the tribe is recounted before entering the land in Numbers 26:57. The same clan-grid orders both censuses, a generation apart, framing the book of Numbers as two musters of the wilderness people.

Numbers 26:57

basis: Hebrew↔Hebrew. Verifier: shared H4940 mishpâchâh (224 vv) and H6485 pâqad (269 vv) — common but structurally load-bearing vocabulary; a shared organizing pattern (clan-muster), not a rare-word quotation. Recorded as thematic, under-claiming.

“Mine shall they be” → the Levites in place of the firstborn (Heb. 7 priesthood horizon) flagged — verify source

Albert Barnes, appearing on every verse of this section, anchors it to the LORD’s claim of vv. 11–13: “Mine shall they be, Mine, the Lord’s.” That substitution — a tribe taken in place of the firstborn, set apart to serve the sanctuary — is the seed the New Testament reads forward into the question of priesthood and a better mediation (Hebrews 7). Because this is a cross-Testament, conceptual reading (Greek↔Hebrew, no shared Strong’s lexeme), it cannot be called verbal and is flagged for the reader to test.

Numbers 3:12 · Numbers 3:13 · Hebrews 7:5

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek NT ↔ Hebrew OT): no shared original-language lexeme is possible, so the link is conceptual (Levitical substitution → NT priesthood) and must be argued, not asserted. Barnes’ ‘Mine, the Lord’s’ refers to Num 3:12–13, the immediate context, not these census verses; presented as an interpretive horizon to weigh.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The tribe of substitutes and the one Substitute widely-held

The engine of this chapter is exchange: the Levites are taken in the place of the firstborn (Num 3:12–13, 41), a whole tribe given as a living ransom so that Israel’s firstborn sons might be released. Scripture itself reads this substitution-logic forward to the Firstborn “among many brothers” (Romans 8:29) and “the firstborn of all creation” (Colossians 1:15), who is given not in place of one son but for the many — the true and final Substitute the Levite census could only foreshadow. The reading of the principle (substitution / redemption-price) is ancient and widely held; the specific verse-tie is figural.

Numbers 3:12 · Numbers 3:13 · Colossians 1:15 · Romans 8:29

Numbered at a month old, presented in the temple novel

Matthew Poole, on v. 15, links the firstborn’s one-month enrolment directly to the Gospel: redeemed “to be redeemed, Numbers 18:16,” and offered “to God, Luke 2:22.” At that very ordinance — the presentation of the firstborn — the infant Jesus is brought to the temple (Luke 2:22–23, quoting Exodus 13: “every firstborn male shall be called holy to the Lord”). The Levitical machinery of firstborn-redemption that begins with this census culminates in the Firstborn who is not redeemed by a price but is Himself the price. This is a novel-leaning typological reach beyond what the Hebrew states; offered to be tested.

Numbers 3:13 · Numbers 18:16 · Luke 2:22

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
Keil & Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1860s)
Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

This unit is genealogy and census — the deliberately repetitive heart of the priestly material. Several public-domain commentators (Matthew Henry, Albert Barnes, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Keil & Delitzsch) supply a single block note that spans the whole section (3:14–39 or 3:14–31) and is repeated verbatim on each verse in the source; where I quote them, I have pointed the excerpt to the clause that bears on the verse at hand, and Henry/Barnes are flagged accordingly. The Geneva Study Bible and parts of Cambridge entries here are merely the verse text plus the boilerplate “EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)” header, with no substantive comment, so they are not quoted. Cross-references to Exodus 6, 1 Chronicles 6 / 23, and Genesis 46 are Hebrew↔Hebrew and rest on the Verifier’s rare shared proper-names, so they are tiered verbal. The firstborn-redemption and Christ-ward links to Numbers 18:16, Luke 2:22, Hebrews 7, and Colossians 1 are conceptual or cross-Testament (no shared Strong’s lexeme is even possible across languages) and are therefore down-tiered to thematic, typological, or flagged — never verbal. The Barnes ‘Mine, the Lord’s’ quotation in fact comments on Num 3:12–13, the immediate context of this section, not on the census verses themselves; that is noted on its thread.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)