Numbers 3:1-51 - Aaron's Sons
1 Now these are the records of the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day when the Lord spoke [by special revelation] with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests who were anointed, whom Aaron
5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them before Aaron the priest, so that they may serve him. 7 They shall carry out the duties for him and for the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, doing the service of the tabernacle. 8 They shall also take care of all the furnishings and utensils of the Tent of Meeting, and [attend to] the duties of the Israelites, doing the service of the tabernacle. 9 You shall give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons [as servants and helpers]; they are to be given wholly to him from among the Israelites. 10 So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall observe and attend to their priesthood; but the layman (non-Levite) who approaches [the holy things] shall be put to death.”
11 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of and as a substitute for every firstborn, that is, the first that opens the womb among the Israelites. So the Levites shall be Mine, 13 for all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and animal. They shall be mine; I am the Lord.”
14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “Number the sons of Levi by their fathers’ households, by their families (clans). You shall number every male from a month old and upward.” 16 So Moses numbered them just as he was commanded by the word (mouth) of the Lord. 17 These are the [three] sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18 These are the names of the [two] sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei; 19 and the [four] sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel; 20 and the [two] sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their fathers’ households. 21 Of Gershon were the families of the Libnites and of the Shimeites. These are the families of the Gershonites. 22 The males who were numbered, every male from a month old and upward totaled 7,500. 23 The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael. 25 Now the responsibilities of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting involved the tabernacle and the tent, its covering, and the curtain for the doorway of the Tent of Meeting, 26 and the hangings of the courtyard, the curtain for the doorway of the courtyard which is around the tabernacle and the altar, its tent ropes, and all the service
39 All the men of the Levites whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the
40 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Number every firstborn male of the Israelites from a month old and upward, and
44 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites [for Me] instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. And the Levites shall be Mine. I am the Lord.
46 For the ransom (redemption price) of the 273 of the firstborn of the Israelites who outnumber the Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels apiece, per head, you shall take them in terms of the sanctuary shekel (the shekel is twenty gerahs), 48 and give the money, the ransom (redemption price) of those who outnumber the Levites to Aaron and to his sons.”
49 So Moses took the ransom (redemption) money from those who were in excess, beyond those ransomed by the Levites; 50 from the firstborn of the Israelites he took the money in terms of the sanctuary shekel, 1,365 shekels. 51 Then Moses gave the ransom money to Aaron and to his sons at the command of the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.