10<\/strong>. shall lay their hands<\/em> ] Through their representatives (Num 1:4-16<\/span>), to indicate that the whole community offered the Levites as their gift. Cf. the same action in the case of the burnt-offering (Lev 1:4<\/span>).<\/p>\n Verse 10<\/span>. Shall put their hands upon the Levites<\/B><\/I>] It has been argued from this that the congregation had a part in the appointment of their own ministers, and that this was done by the imposition of hands<\/I>. However that may be, it appears that what was done on this occasion<\/I> meant no more than that the people gave up this whole tribe to God in place of their firstborn<\/I>; and that by this act they bound themselves to provide for them<\/I> who, because of their sacred service, could follow no secular<\/I> work. And surely it was right, that they who served the altar should live by the altar. The ministers of God perform offices for the people which the people cannot perform for themselves; and nothing can be more reasonable than that the people should give them the necessaries and comforts of life while they are thus employed in their behalf.<\/P><\/p>\n The children of Israel; <\/B>not all of them, which was impossible, but some in the name and stead, and by the appointment of all, to wit, either the first-born, or rather the princes or chiefs of each tribe, who used to transact things in the name of their tribes. <\/P> Put their hands upon the Levites; <\/B>whereby they signified their transferring of that right of ministering to God from the first-born, in whose hands it formerly was, unto the Levites, and their renouncing of their interest in the Levites, from whom they might otherwise have expected help by their persons or purses, as they did from other tribes, in their common concernments, and their entire resignation and dedication of them to Gods service; as the person offering, by laying his hand upon the head of his sacrifice, Lev 1:4<\/span>, signified his translation of his guilt upon the beast, and his dedication of it unto God. <\/P> <\/p>\n And thou shalt bring the Levites before the Lord<\/strong>,…. From the door of the tabernacle, to the altar of burnt offering, where the Lord was in some sense present to accept the sacrifices offered to him:<\/p>\n and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites<\/strong>; as were used to be put upon sacrifices, for the Levites were themselves offered for an offering of the children of Israel, as is expressed in Nu 8:11<\/span>; by which rite they signified that they voluntarily parted with them, and gave them up to the Lord, and transferred their service to them, in which they were to serve in their room and stead; these, according to some Jewish writers, were the firstborn of Israel that laid their hands on the Levites, a type of the general assembly and church of the firstborn; or rather the princes and heads of the tribes, who represented the whole body. Some think by this rite is signified the consent of the people in the designation and appointment of the ministers of the word to their work and office; but what in the New Testament seems to answer to this is, the laying of the hands of the presbytery on ministers of the word, 1Ti 4:14<\/span>.<\/p>\n After this the Levites were to come before Jehovah, i.e., in front of the altar; and the children of Israel, i.e., the tribe-princes in the name of the Israelites, were to lay their hands upon them, not merely “as a sign that they released them from the possession of the nation, and assigned them and handed them over to Jehovah” ( Knobel<\/em>), but in order that by this symbolical act they might transfer to the Levites the obligation resting upon the whole nation to serve the Lord in the persons of its first-born sons, and might present them to the Lord as representatives of the first-born of Israel, to serve Him as living sacrifices.<\/p>\n Verses 10-14:<\/strong><\/p>\n The Lord commanded Moses to present the Levites before Him, likely at the entrance to the Tabernacle. There the “children of Israel” were to lay their hands upon them. This was probably done by the four princes of Israel’s tribes <\/strong>laying their hands upon the Levite leaders, possibly Kohath, Gershon, Merari, and Aaron.<\/strong><\/p>\n The laying on of hands symbolized the transferring of the obligation of religious service, from the entire congregation to the Levites.<\/p>\n Aaron then presented the Levites as (literally) a “wave offering” unto Jehovah, see Ex 29:24. This was done symbolically, since it would be a literal impossibility to “wave” the Levites before the Lord.<\/p>\n The Levites then participated in the sacrifices of cleansing (verses 5-9), by placing their hands upon the heads of the sacrificial animals symbolizing their identification with the sacrifice.<\/p>\n Jehovah commanded that Moses then set the Levites before Aaron and his sons, in the same manner that the Levites were set before all Israel.<\/p>\n This entire ritual testified that all the Levites were set aside for specific service to Jehovah, on behalf of all Israel.<\/p>\n (10) Shall put their hands upon the Levites.<\/strong>The same phrase is here used as in Num. 8:12<\/span>, and elsewhere, of the offerer who was required to lay his hand upon the victim which he offered in sacrifice. By this symbolical act the obligation which rested upon the whole nation in regard to the dedication of the firstborn was transferred to the Levites, who were thenceforth to be dedicated to the service of the Lord, and given over to the priests as the representatives of the Lord.<\/p>\n The Threefold Offering of the Levites As A Wave-offering to Yahweh ( Num 8:10-15<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ).<\/strong> <\/p>\n Num 8:10-11<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/strong> And you shall present the Levites before Yahweh. And the children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites, and Aaron shall offer the Levites before Yahweh for a waveoffering, on the behalf of the children of Israel, that it may be theirs to do the service of Yahweh.” <\/p>\n It is repeated that the Levites were to be presented, but this time more directly as ‘before Yahweh’ (being ‘presented before the Tent of meeting’ usually means precisely this). Then representatives of the people would come forward, probably the princes, and on behalf of all the people lay their hands on the Levites, identifying the people with them. The Levites were being offered to perform service on their behalf. The Levites were then officially ‘waved’ (specially presented) before Yahweh by Aaron, clothed in all his High Priestly regalia, acting again on behalf of the people. The wave offering is offered or described three times, once by Aaron (verse 11), and twice by Moses (Num 8:13<\/span> & Num 8:15<\/span>), emphasising its completeness. The purpose was that from then on they would ‘do the service of Yahweh’. While journeying it would be an arduous service with the constant dismantling and erecting of the Dwellingplace, packing it on the carts and taking it off, and the bearing of the furniture through the wilderness, to say nothing of the constant guard duty when the camp was at rest, together with other duties. <\/p>\n Num 8:12<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/strong> And the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bullocks, and you must offer the one for a purification for sin offering, and the other for a whole burnt offering, to Yahweh, to make atonement for the Levites.” <\/p>\n The Levites would then identify themselves with the offerings by laying their hands on them. These offerings would result in their dedication and purification, but most of all they would make them at one with God, ‘covered’ before God. They would be atoned for. <\/p>\n Num 8:13<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/strong> And you shall set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for a waveoffering to Yahweh.” <\/p>\n Either this is a different waveoffering, an offering repeated threefold (ceremonies can be very repetitive in order to bring out different points) or verse 11 had simply mentioned this in a preparatory fashion, and this was now its fulfilment. But it may well be that there were three such presentations (Num 8:11<\/span>; Num 8:13<\/span>; Num 8:15<\/span>). Such threefold presentations often occur in ceremonies. Then the purpose of this one would have been to present them on behalf of Aaron and his sons. Thus first they had been offered as an offering of the children of Israel (Num 8:11<\/span>), here they are offered on behalf of Aaron and his sons, and in Num 8:15<\/span> they are offered wholly to Yahweh in order to replace the firstborn. <\/p>\n Num 8:14<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/strong> Thus shall you separate the Levites from among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine.” <\/p>\n And this was how the Levites would be separated off from the children of Israel and become Yahweh’s. From then on they would belong to Yahweh. They would be wholly set apart to His service. <\/p>\n Num 8:15<\/strong><\/span> a <\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n “And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tent of meeting.” <\/p>\n Once that had occurred they could perform their service for the Tent of meeting. From this point on it would be their responsibility to generally maintain and care for the accoutrements for the worship of the Sanctuary as far as it was allowed. <\/p>\n The Levites Wholly Given to Yahweh Instead of the Firstborn of Israel ( Num 8:16<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ).<\/strong> <\/p>\n Num 8:15-16<\/strong><\/span> (15b-16)<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n “And you shall cleanse them, and offer them for a waveoffering, for they are wholly given to me from among the children of Israel; instead of all that opens the womb, even the first-born of all the children of Israel, have I taken them to me.” <\/p>\n This now gives another reason why they needed to be cleansed, and offered as a waveoffering. It was because they were being offered as substitutes for the male firstborn of the children of Israel. They were being taken instead of them (compare 3:45-51). This is a further explanation of why Moses had to offer them, and may indicate a third step in the ceremony. <\/p>\n Num 8:10<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>The children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites<\/em><\/strong><\/strong> That is, the children of Israel, by their rulers, who were their representatives. By this sign the children of Israel signified their separating the Levites to the service of the sanctuary, instead of their first-born; and transferring upon them that charge which would otherwise have belonged to the first-born. <\/p>\n Num 8:10 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites:<\/p>\n Ver. 10. Shall put their hands.<\/strong> ] Imposition of hands is an ancient rite at the ordination of ministers.<\/p>\n Num 3:45, Lev 1:4, Act 6:6, Act 13:2, Act 13:3, 1Ti 4:14, 1Ti 5:22 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Gen 48:14 – and laid Num 8:16 – wholly given Act 8:17 – laid<\/p>\n Num 8:10. The children of Israel Not all of them, which was impossible, but some in the name of all the princes or chiefs of each tribe, who used to transact things in the name of their tribes. Put their hands Whereby they signified their transferring that right of ministering to God from the firstborn, in whose hands it formerly was, to the Levites, and their entire resignation and dedication of them to Gods service.<\/p>\n 8:10 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD: and the {e} children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites:<\/p>\n (e) Meaning, certain of them in the name of the whole.<\/p>\n And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites: 10. shall lay their hands ] Through their representatives (Num 1:4-16), to indicate that the whole community offered the Levites as their gift. Cf. the same action in the case of the burnt-offering (Lev … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 8:10”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3958\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"