Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 3:9
And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they [are] wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel.
9. wholly given unto him ] i.e. to Aaron. In Num 8:16-19, it is explained that they are first given to Jehovah, and by Him given to the priests; cf. Num 18:6. In the present passage LXX. and Sam. read unto me, which is possibly correct. The Heb. rendered ‘wholly given’ is nethnm nethnm. i.e. ‘given, given.’ In the time of Ezra there was a class of temple slaves inferior to the Levites, and mostly foreigners, who were known as the Nethnm, meaning ‘the given.’ It seems probable that at a later time these slaves rose in status and importance, and became identified with the Levites. And the passages which speak of the Levites as ‘given’ are an attempt to supply an origin for the name. See art. ‘Nethinim’ in Hastings’ DB. iii. 519. Ryle, Common Ezra and Neh., p. 28.
on the behalf of ] Lit. as marg. ‘from.’ The Israelites handed over to the priests a whole tribe from among their number.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Given unto him, to attend upon him and observe his orders, and ease him of part of his burden in things hereafter mentioned.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. they are wholly given unto himout of the children of Israel, &c.The priests hold theplace of God, and the Levites are the servants of God in theobedience they render to the priests.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons,…. To be their ministers and servants:
they [are] wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel: even all of them entirely, none excepted; the whole tribe which were not in the priestly office; those were separated from the rest of the tribes of Israel, and appointed for the service of the priests: or they were “given, given” q; which is repeated not only to show that they were wholly given, as we render it, but to denote the certainty of it, that they were really given; and especially to declare the freeness of the gift; the priests had them as free gifts, nor did they pay them any thing for, their service; they were maintained another way, namely, by the tithes of the people; and indeed the priests received a tithe out of the tithe of the Levites; so far were they from contributing any thing to their support, or in consideration of the service they did them.
q “dati, dati”, Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(9) They are wholly given unto him.Hebrew, Given, given are they to him. This repetition of the word nethunim (given) is emphatic. The same repetition occurs in Num. 8:16, where the Levites are represented as wholly given to the Lord instead of the firstborn; and in Num. 3:19 of that chapter, as in Num. 3:12 of this chapter, they are represented as being given by Him to Aaron and his sons. The word nethunim must not be confounded with Nethinim, the name given at a later date (1Ch. 9:2; Ezr. 2:43; Neh. 3:26; Neh. 3:31) to the Gibeonites, who were made hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord (Jos. 9:27). The tribe of Levi had proved themselves the most zealous for the honour of the Lord at the time of the worship of the golden calf (Exo. 32:26-29), and it was then that Moses gave them the charge to consecrate themselves (literally, to fill their hands, comp. Num. 3:3 of this chapter) to the Lord. There was, therefore, a special reason for the selection of this tribe, independently of the fact that Moses and Aaron (and consequently the priests, as the descendants of Aaron) belonged to it.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. 10. Wholly given The Hebrew repeats nethunim, given, to emphasize it. They are to be like good soldiers, not entangling themselves in secular affairs for personal aggrandizement or pleasure. As ample provision will be made for their support out of the offerings and tithes, so they are to render an undivided service to Jehovah, to Aaron, and to the congregation. The Levites, the nethunim, must be carefully distinguished from the nethinim, the condemned Gibeonites. Jos 9:27.
The stranger Non-Levite. See Num 1:51, note.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Num 3:9 And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they [are] wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel.
Ver. 9. They are wholly given unto him. ] Heb. They are given, they are given. So the ministers of the gospel are called “gifts”; Eph 4:8 ; Eph 4:11 honoraries; such as Christ bestowed upon his Church at the day of his coronation, and solemn inauguration into his throne, at his wonderful ascension.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
wholly given. Hebrew “given, given”. Figure of speech Epizeuxis (App-6), for emphasis. Hence called nethunim = given ones.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Num 8:19, Num 18:6, Num 18:7, Eph 4:8, Eph 4:11
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
3:9 And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his {f} sons: they [are] wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel.
(f) Aaron’s sons the priests served in the sanctuary in praying for the people and offering sacrifice: the Levites served for the inferior uses of the same.