Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 3:32
And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest [shall be] chief over the chief of the Levites, [and have] the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.
32. Eleazar was himself a Kohathite through his father Aaron and his grandfather Amram (Exo 6:18; Exo 6:20; Exo 6:23).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Eleazar shall be chief, next under the high priest; whence he is called the second priest, 2Ki 25:18; and in case of the high priests absence by sickness or other necessary occasions, he was to perform his work, 1Ki 4:4; and he had a superiority over all the rest of the priests and Levites.
Over the chief of the Levites, i.e. over those three persons, who were each the chief of their several families; of whom see here, Num 3:24,31,35.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
32. chiefrather, “chiefs”of the Levites. Three persons are mentioned as chiefs of theserespective divisions [Num 3:24;Num 3:30; Num 3:35].And Eleazar presided over them; whence he is called “the secondpriest” (2Ki 25:18); andin the case of the high priest’s absence from illness or othernecessary occasions, he performed the duties (1Ki4:4).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest,…. Who was of the first of these families, the Amramites:
[shall be] chief over the chief of the Levites; over the three chiefs of the three houses of the Levites, who were Eliasaph the son of Lael, the chief of the Gershonites; and Elizaphan the son of Uzziel, the chief of the Kohathites; and Zuriel the son of Abihail, the chief of the Merarites:
[and have] the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary; the Kohathites, who had the care of the things belonging to the holy and most holy places; and these were particularly under the inspection of Eleazar, because they were things the priests had a, special concern in; see Nu 4:32.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
As the priests also formed part of the Kohathites, their chief is mentioned as well, viz., Eleazar the eldest son of Aaron the high priest, who was placed over the chiefs of the three Levitical families, and called , oversight of the keepers of the charge of the sanctuary, ” i.e., authority, superior, of the servants of the sanctuary.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(32) And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest . . . In virtue, as it should seem, of the descent of Moses and Aaron from Kohath, the Kohathites had the most honourable portion of the service of the Tabernacle assigned to them; and hence, as the priests belonged to the Amramites, one of the four families of the Kohathites, Eleazar, the eldest surviving son of Aaron, was chosen to have the oversight over the whole body of the Levites.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Num 3:32. And Eleazar, the son of Aaron,shall be chief There was an officer in chief set over each of these families, Num 32:24; Num 32:30; Num 32:35 and over all these chiefs a supreme inspector was appointed. The excellent order and regularity observable through this whole disposition of the camp, the services of the Levites, &c. is striking.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
chief over the chief. Hebrew = “chief of the chief”. Figure of speech Polyptoton (App-6), being a kind of Enallage (App-6).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Num 4:16, Num 4:27, Num 20:25-28, 2Ki 25:18, 1Ch 9:14-20, 1Ch 26:20-24
Reciprocal: Num 3:7 – keep Num 4:40 – General Num 8:26 – to keep Jos 24:33 – Eleazar 1Ch 6:50 – Eleazar 1Ch 9:20 – Phinehas Ezr 7:5 – Eleazar Neh 11:11 – the ruler Eze 40:45 – the keepers
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Num 3:32. Chief Next under the high-priest; whence he is called the second priest, (2Ki 25:18,) and in case of the high-priests absence by sickness or other necessary occasions, he was to perform his work; and he had a superiority over all the rest of the priests and Levites. The chief of the Levites That is, over those three persons, who were each the chief of their several families, Num 3:24; Num 3:31; Num 3:34.