Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 26:57
And these [are] they that were numbered of the Levites after their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites: of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites: of Merari, the family of the Merarites.
57 62. The census of the Levites. They were numbered separately from the secular tribes, because they were not, as a tribe, to possess any land.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Ver. 57-62. And these are they that were numbered of the Levites, after their families,…. And they were numbered not with the rest of the tribes of Israel, but by themselves, as they were at the first numbering of the tribes; the three principal families of which were, the Gershonite, the Kohathite, and Merarite, so called from the three sons of Levi; but all their sons are not mentioned, of the sons of Gershon only Libni, from whom was the family of the Libnites; not Shimei, because, as Aben Ezra conjectures, either he had no sons, or, if he had, they died without any, and so there was no family from them; and of the sons of Kohath no mention is made of Uzziel, nor of Izhar, but in the Korhites, only of the Hebronite family from Hebron; and of Amram, whose wife Jochebed is spoken of as a daughter of Levi, whom Levi’s wife, as Jarchi rightly supplies it, bore to him in Egypt, and which Jochebed was the mother of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam; and it is observed that Aaron had four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, the two first of which died for offering strange fire to the Lord, and the two last were now living: from Merari, another son of Levi, sprang two families, the Mahlite, and the Mushite; and the whole number of the Levites at this time taken was 23,000 males of a month old and upward; so that here was an increase of 1,000 males since the former numbering of them: the reason why they were not numbered with the other tribes was, because they had no part of the land of Israel divided to them, and had no inheritance in it.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Mustering of the Levites. – The enumeration of the different Levitical families into which the three leading families of Levi, that were founded by his three sons Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, were divided, is not complete, but is broken off in Num 26:58 after the notice of five different families, for the purpose of tracing once more the descent of Moses and Aaron, the heads not of this tribe only, but of the whole nation, and also of giving the names of the sons of the latter (Num 26:59-61). And after this the whole is concluded with a notice of the total number of those who were mustered of the tribe of Levi (Num 26:62). – Of the different families mentioned, Libni belonged to Gershon (cf. Num 3:21), Hebroni to Kohath (Num 3:27), Machli and Mushi to Merari (Num 3:33), and Korchi, i.e., the family of Korah (according to ch. Num 16:1; cf. Exo 6:21 and Exo 6:24), to Kohath. Moses and Aaron were descendants of Kohath (see at Exo 6:20 and Exo 2:1). Some difficulty is caused by the relative clause, “ whom (one) had born to Levi in Egypt ” (Num 26:59), on account of the subject being left indefinite. It cannot be Levi’s wife, as Jarchi, Abenezra, and others suppose; for Jochebed, the mother of Moses, was not a daughter of Levi in the strict sense of the word, but only a Levitess or descendant of Levi, who lived about 300 years after Levi; just as her husband Amram was not actually the son of Amram, who bore that name (Exo 6:18), but a later descendant of this older Amram. The missing subject must be derived from the verb itself, viz., either or (her mother), as in 1Ki 1:6, another passage in which “his mother” is to be supplied (cf. Ewald, 294, b.).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
57 And these are they that were numbered of the Levites after their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites: of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites: of Merari, the family of the Merarites. 58 These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korathites. And Kohath begat Amram. 59 And the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom her mother bare to Levi in Egypt: and she bare unto Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister. 60 And unto Aaron was born Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 61 And Nadab and Abihu died, when they offered strange fire before the LORD. 62 And those that were numbered of them were twenty and three thousand, all males from a month old and upward: for they were not numbered among the children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given them among the children of Israel.
Levi was God’s tribe, a tribe that was to have no inheritance with the rest in the land of Canaan, and therefore was not numbered with the rest, but by itself; so it had been numbered in the beginning of this book at Mount Sinai, and therefore came not under the sentence passed upon all that were then numbered, that none of them should enter Canaan but Caleb and Joshua; for of the Levites that were not numbered with them, nor were to go forth to war, Eleazar and Ithamar, and perhaps others who were above twenty years old then (as appears, Num 4:16; Num 4:28), entered Canaan; and yet this tribe, now at its second numbering, had increased but 1000, and was still one of the smallest tribes. Mention is made here of the death of Nadab and Abihu for offering strange fire, as before of the sin and punishment of Korah, because these things happened to them for ensamples.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Verses 57-62:
The census of Levi differed from that of the twelve tribes in this respect: the count of the Levite males was of those one month old and upward, while that of the other tribes was of those twenty years old and upward, men of military age.
The census of the Levites numbered 23,000, an increase of only 727 over the 22,273 listed in the first census, Nu 3:43. The present text does not list the number by families as was the case in the first census, Nu 3:14-43.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
57. And these are they that were numbered of the Levites. He treats separately of the tribe of Levi, which God had dissevered from the rest of the people; and of the sons of Levi, the last mentioned is Kohath, the founder of the sacerdotal family. Hence we may probably conjecture that the law of primogeniture was not regarded when God deigned to take the priests from thence. But why Moses should expressly state the name of his mother, contrary to the usual custom of Scripture, does not dearly appear; for it is not likely that he did this as a distinction to his own family, because he at the same time shews how he himself, as well as his children, was deprived of the honor (of the priesthood,) (196) in which certainly there is no appearance of ambition. It is more probable, if the word daughter is literally taken, that he did not conceal a disgraceful circumstance, in order to extol more highly the indulgence of God; for, in this case, Moses and Aaron sprang of an incestuous marriage, since Amram, their father, must have married his aunt, which natural modesty forbade. It will, then, be rather an ingenuous confession of family dishonor, than an ambitious boast. If we inquire how this could have been tolerated, the answer will readily suggest itself, that this license had so largely prevailed among the oriental nations, that no one deemed that to be illicit which was in such universal use. And this we shall presently see (197) to be expressly referred to, when God, by forbidding incestuous marriages, distinguishes His people from other nations. It will be no matter of surprise, then, that those who were not yet prohibited from doing so by the law of God, had followed the general custom.
(196) Added from Fr.
(197) The Fr. more correctly says, “Ce que nous avons veu ci dessus;” this we have seen above; — the table of prohibited degrees having been considered ante, vol. 3, p. 96, et seq.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
F. CENSUS OF THE LEVITES vv. 5765
TEXT
Num. 26:57. And these are they that were numbered of the Levites after their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites: of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites: of Merari, the family of the Merarites. 58. These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korathites. And Kohath begat Amram. 59. And the name of Amrams wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom her mother bare to Levi in Egypt: and she bare unto Amram, Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister. 60. And unto Aaron was born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 61. And Nadab and Abihu died, when they offered strange fire before the Lord. 62. And those that were numbered of them were twenty and three thousand, all males from a month old and upward: for they were not numbered among the children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given them among the children of Israel.
63. These are they that were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho. 64. But among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. 65. For the Lord had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
PARAPHRASE
Num. 26:57. And these are those who were numbered of the Levites according to their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; of Merari, the family of the Merarites. 58. These are the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites. the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korahites. And Kohath became the father of Amram. 59. And the name of Amrams wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and she bore to Amram: Aaron, and Moses, and their sister, Miriam. 60. And to Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 61. But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire before the Lord. 62. And those who were counted of them were 23,000 every male from one month of age and up, for they were not counted among the sons of Israel, since no inheritance was given them among the sons of Israel.
63. These are those who were counted by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who counted the sons of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. 64. But among those there was not a man of those who were counted by Moses and Aaron the priest who counted the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai, 65. for the Lord had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And not a man was left of them, excepting Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.
COMMENTARY
We have here an incomplete listing of the Levitical families. The purpose of the abbreviated passage seems to be concentrated on establishing the descent of Moses, Aaron and Miriam rather than all the families of Gershon, Kohath and Merari. The counting was complete, of course, when originally done, and shows that the Levites had increased by one thousand. Once more, their numbering began with sons at one month of age.
No general land allotment was awarded later to the Levites. Instead, they received forty-eight cities distributed throughout the land (see Num. 35:1-8 and Joshua 21), in order that they might serve all of the people.
The genealogical chart here is much abbreviated, since Jochebed could not have been the daughter of Levi himself. The word daughter is properly understood to mean she was a direct female descendant; the number of generations intervening would be irrelevant. Jochebed here becomes one of a select few women who figure prominently in any Biblical genealogy. No doubt the most prominent names to be found in such lists would be those of Rahab and Ruth, listed in Matthews chart of Jesus Christs ancestors (Num. 1:5). Matthew also gives Tamar, who bore Phares and Zara to Judah (Num. 1:3); he alludes to her that had been the wife of Urias (Bathsheba, Num. 1:6) as well. But the appearance of any feminine name in genealogical listings among the Jews was rare enough to be notable, and places Jochebed in perspective as the great woman she must have been.
Our attention is called appropriately to the fact that among all those counted in the second census, there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest numbered, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua, since all those above twenty years of age at the time of the first census were now dead, (cf. Num. 14:23; Num. 14:28-30).
QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH ITEMS
491.
Are there good reasons for omitting many names of the sons of Levi and their descendants?
492.
What difference was there in the total number of Levites since the first census?
493.
Why is it impossible that Jochebed might have been the daughter of Levi?
494.
How are we to understand the use of the word daughter here?
495.
Why are there so few names of women given in the genealogical lists of the Israelites? Find as many examples as you can.
496.
How many Israelites were counted in the second census who had been tallied in the first? Who were they?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
CENSUS OF THE LEVITES, Num 26:57-62.
As in the Sinaitic enumeration, the census of the Levites was taken separately, thereby showing their non-military, non-secular, and semi-priestly character; The enumeration of the three families of the Levites proceeds regularly till Num 26:58, where the writer turns aside to trace the descent of Moses and Aaron, and to name the sons of the latter and the judicial death of two of them. Instead of the completion of the census of the Levite families their sum total is given.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
57. The Levites For their character, see Num 1:49, note. For their service, see Num 3:14-39; Num 7:3-9, notes.
The Gershonites Num 4:21-28, note.
The Kohathites Num 4:4-20, notes.
The Merarites Num 3:35-37; Num 4:29-33, notes.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Numbering Of The Levites For Their Service ( Num 26:57-62 ).
Once again it is significant that the Levites are numbered in ‘round thousands’. They operated through their three sub-tribes, and their clans, and were not split into ‘hundreds’ (smaller units). They would not be going into battle.
Num 26:57-59 a
‘And these are they that were numbered of the Levites after their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; of Merari, the family of the Merarites. These are the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korahites.
The sub-tribes of Levi were the Gershonites, the Kohathites and the Merarites. Further clans split of comprising the Libnites, the Hebronites, the Mahlites, the Mushites and the Korahites. We can see now why it was emphasised that the sons of Korah still lived.
Num 26:59 b
‘And Kohath begat Amram. And the name of Amram’s wife was Yochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt: and she bore to Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister.
The birth of Aaron and Moses, together with Miriam their sister, was now categorised. They were descended from Kohath, through Amram, whose wife was Yo-chebed (a rare use of Yah in an early name). If Yo-chebed was strictly the daughter of Levi then she and Amram were ancestors of Aaron and Moses. An ancestress could be spoken of as ‘bearing’ her descendants for many generations. However, the alternative is that ‘the daughter of’ simply means that she was descended from him, she was a Levite. That usage too was common practise. What mattered was the bloodline.
Num 26:60-61
‘And to Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And Nadab and Abihu died, when they offered strange fire before Yahweh.’
Again attention is drawn to those who failed in Israel. Nadab and Abihu rebelled against Yahweh’s will and died. But also included are those who succeeded, and lived. Their future would speak for itself.
It is interesting to note that in the listing of the tribes there have been two references to circumstances where people had died (Num 26:10; Num 26:19), compared with one here, making three such circumstances in all, a symbol of completeness. They summed up all who died in rebellion against Yahweh. And there have been two references to women in the listing of the tribes (Num 26:33; Num 26:46), and one in Num 20:59. Again the same symbolism applies. They represented all the women of the tribes.
Num 26:62
‘And they that were numbered of them were twenty and three thousand, every male from a month old and upward; for they were not numbered among the children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given them among the children of Israel.’
And the number of Levites was twenty three larger units. An additional family grouping had been added during the wilderness period.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Num 26:57. These are they that were numbered of the Levites For the same reasons for which the other tribes were registered, it was fit that this of Levi should be registered in like manner, under the three chief branches of that sacred order, distinguished chap. Num 3:17-18. But, as they were not to inherit with other tribes, they are numbered by themselves. It appears from chap. Num 3:39 that they were considerably increased.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
The Reader should take notice in this place that the tribe of Levi is not numbered with the general return of the other tribes of Israel, because these Levites peculiarly belonged to the LORD. See Num 3:11-13 . And let the Reader again take notice how the sin of Nadab, and Abihu is recorded. Lev 10:2 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
these are: Num 35:2, Num 35:3, Gen 46:11, Exo 6:16-19, 1Ch 6:1, 1Ch 6:16-30
of Gershon: Num 3:1 – Num 4:49
Reciprocal: Gen 35:22 – Now the sons Exo 6:18 – sons Num 1:47 – General Num 3:17 – General 1Ch 6:19 – Mahli 1Ch 9:14 – of the sons 1Ch 23:6 – Gershon
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Here Moses recorded the census of the Levites. Moses and Aaron were Kohathites (Exo 6:18-20). Their parents’ names were Amram and Jochebed (Num 26:59).