Numbers 3:6-16

Bible Text

[6] "Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. [7] They shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle. [8] They shall keep all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting, and the obligations of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. [9] You shall give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons. They are wholly given to him on the behalf of the children of Israel. [10] You shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall keep their priesthood. The stranger who comes near shall be put to death." [11] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, [12] "Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn who open the womb among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine: [13] for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I made holy to me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and animal. They shall be mine. I am Yahweh." [14] Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, [15] "Number the children of Levi by their fathers' houses, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shall you number." [16] Moses numbered them according to the word of Yahweh, as he was commanded.

Egypt was the land from which the Lord redeemed Israel, making Israel’s firstborn his own and providing the background for the Levites’ substitutionary service. The Wilderness of Sinai, near Mount Sinai, was Israel’s encampment after the exodus, where God set apart Levi to assist Aaron and guard the tabernacle.

Places in this passage

Numbers 3:6-16 mentions Egypt and Wilderness of Sinai.

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