Thematic Bible: Benefits of


Thematic Bible



Seraiah son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, the chief official of God’s temple,

"Command the Israelites to give cities out of their hereditary property for the Levites to live in and pastureland around the cities. The cities will be for them to live in, and their pasturelands will be for their herds, flocks, and all their [other] animals. The pasturelands of the cities you are to give the Levites [will extend] from the city wall 500 yards on every side. read more.
Measure 1,000 yards outside the city for the east side, 1,000 yards for the south side, 1,000 yards for the west side, and 1,000 yards for the north side, with the city in the center. This will belong to them as pasturelands for the cities. "The cities you give the Levites will include six cities of refuge, which you must provide so that the one who kills someone may flee there; in addition to these, give 42 [other] cities. The total number of cities you give the Levites will be 48, along with their pasturelands. Of the cities that you give from the Israelites' territory, you should take more from a larger [tribe] and less from a smaller one. Each [tribe] is to give some of its cities to the Levites in proportion to the inheritance it receives."

"Concerning the Levitical cities, the Levites always have the right to redeem houses in the cities they possess. Whatever [property] one of the Levites can redeem-a house sold in a city they possess-must be released at the Jubilee, because the houses in the Levitical cities are their possession among the Israelites. The open pastureland around their cities may not be sold, for it is their permanent possession.

The heads of the Levite families approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the Israelite tribes. They told them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan: "The Lord commanded through Moses that we be given cities to live in, with their pasturelands for our livestock." So the Israelites, by the Lord's command, gave the Levites these cities with their pasturelands from their inheritance. read more.
The lot came out for the Kohathite clans: The Levites who were the descendants of Aaron the priest received 13 cities by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.

They gave to the descendants of Aaron the priest: Hebron, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands, Libnah with its pasturelands, Jattir with its pasturelands, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands, Holon with its pasturelands, Debir with its pasturelands, read more.
Ain with its pasturelands, Juttah with its pasturelands, and Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands-nine cities from these two tribes. From the tribe of Benjamin [they gave]: Gibeon with its pasturelands, Geba with its pasturelands, Anathoth with its pasturelands, and Almon with its pasturelands-four cities. All 13 cities with their pasturelands were for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

Within the Israelite possession there were 48 cities in all with their pasturelands for the Levites. Each of these cities had its own surrounding pasturelands; this was true for all the cities.

Aaron's sons were given: Hebron (a city of refuge), Libnah and its pasturelands, Jattir, Eshtemoa and its pasturelands, Hilen and its pasturelands, Debir and its pasturelands, Ashan and its pasturelands, and Beth-shemesh and its pasturelands. read more.
From the tribe of Benjamin [they were given] Geba and its pasturelands, Alemeth and its pasturelands, and Anathoth and its pasturelands. They had 13 towns in all among their families.

The rest of Israel, the priests, and the Levites were in all the villages of Judah, each on his own inherited property.

"When you divide the land by lot as an inheritance, you must set aside a donation to the Lord, a holy portion of the land, eight and one-third [miles] long and six and two-thirds [miles] wide. This entire tract of land will be holy. In this area there will be a square [section] for the sanctuary, 875 by 875 [feet], with 87 and a half feet of open space all around it. From this holy portion, you will measure off an area eight and one-third [miles] long and three and one-third [miles] wide, in which the sanctuary, the most holy place, will stand. read more.
It will be a holy area of the land to be used by the priests who minister in the sanctuary, who draw near to serve the Lord. It will be a place for their houses, as well as a holy area for the sanctuary. There will be [another area] eight and one-third [miles] long and three and one-third [miles] wide for the Levites who minister in the temple; it will be their possession for towns to live in. "As the property of the city, you must set aside an area one and two-thirds [of a mile] wide and eight and one-third [miles] long, adjacent to the holy donation [of land]. It will be for the whole house of Israel.

"Next to the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, will be the portion you donate [to the Lord], eight and one-third [miles] wide, and as long as one of the [tribal] portions from the east side to the west. The sanctuary will be in the middle of it. "The [special] portion you donate to the Lord will be eight and one-third [miles] long and three and one-third [miles] wide. This holy donation will be set apart for the priests [alone]. It will be eight and one-third [miles long] on the northern side, three and one-third [miles] wide on the western side, three and one-third [miles] wide on the eastern side, and eight and one-third [miles] long on the southern side. The Lord's sanctuary will be in the middle of it. read more.
It is for the consecrated priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept My charge and did not go astray as the Levites did when the Israelites went astray. It will be a special donation for them out of the [holy] donation of the land, a most holy place adjacent to the territory of the Levites. "Next to the territory of the priests, the Levites [will have an area] eight and one-third [miles] long and three and one-third [miles] wide. The total length will be eight and one-third [miles] and the width three and one-third [miles]. They must not sell or exchange any of it, and they must not transfer this choice [part] of the land, for it is holy to the Lord. "The remaining [area], one and two-thirds [of a mile] wide and eight and one-third [miles long], will be for common use by the city, for [both] residential and open space. The city will be in the middle of it. These are the city's measurements: one and a half [miles] on the north side; one and a half [miles] on the south side; one and a half [miles] on the east side; and one and a half [miles] on the west side. The city's open space will extend: 425 [feet] to the north, 425 [feet] to the south, 425 [feet] to the east, and 425 [feet] to the west. "The remainder of the length alongside the holy donation will be three and one-third [miles] to the east and three and one-third [miles] to the west. It will run alongside the holy donation. Its produce will be food for the workers of the city. The city's workers from all the tribes of Israel will cultivate it. The entire donation will be eight and one-third [miles] by eight and one-third [miles]; you are to set apart the holy donation along with the city property as a square [area].


For this reason, Levi does not have a portion or inheritance like his brothers; the Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord your God told him.

He did not give any inheritance to the tribe of Levi. This was its inheritance, just as He had promised: the offerings made by fire to the Lord, the God of Israel.

because Moses had given the inheritance to the two and a half tribes beyond the Jordan. But he gave no inheritance among them to the Levites.

But the Levites among you do not get a portion, because their inheritance is the priesthood of the Lord. Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have taken their inheritance beyond the Jordan to the east, which Moses the Lord’s servant gave them.”

But Moses did not give a portion to the tribe of Levi. The Lord, the God of Israel, was their inheritance, just as He had promised them.

"The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, will have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They will eat the Lord's fire offerings; that is their inheritance. Although Levi has no inheritance among his brothers, the Lord is his inheritance, as He promised him.

The Lord told Aaron, “You will not have an inheritance in their land; there will be no portion among them for you. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.

Do not neglect the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.

“This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance. You are to give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.


Put the bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times.

the bread displayed before the Lord, the daily grain offering, the regular burnt offering, the Sabbath and New Moon offerings, the appointed festivals, the holy things, the sin offerings to atone for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.

how he entered the house of God, and they ate the sacred bread, which is not lawful for him or for those with him to eat, but only for the priests?

For a tabernacle was set up, and in the first room, which is called the holy place, were the lampstand, the table, and the presentation loaves.

Now I am building a temple for the name of Yahweh my God in order to dedicate it to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for displaying the rows of the bread of the Presence continuously, and for sacrificing burnt offerings for the morning and the evening, the Sabbaths and the New Moons, and the appointed festivals of the Lord our God. This is ordained for Israel forever.

They offer a burnt offering and fragrant incense to the Lord every morning and every evening, and they set the rows of the bread of the Presence on the ceremonially clean table. They light the lamps of the gold lampstand every evening. We are carrying out the requirements of Yahweh our God, while you have abandoned Him.

"Take fine flour and bake it into 12 loaves; each loaf is to be made with four quarts. Arrange them in two rows, six to a row, on the pure [gold] table before the Lord. Place pure frankincense near each row, so that it may serve as a memorial portion for the bread and a fire offering to the Lord. read more.
The bread is to be set out before the Lord every Sabbath day as a perpetual covenant obligation on the part of the Israelites. It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place, for it is the holiest portion for him from the fire offerings to the Lord; this is a permanent rule."


The priest will wave the lambs with the bread of firstfruits as a presentation offering before the Lord; the bread and the two lambs will be holy to the Lord for the priest.

I am giving you all the best of the fresh olive oil, new wine, and grain, which the Israelites give to the Lord as their firstfruits. The firstfruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the Lord, belong to you. Every clean person in your house may eat them.

This is the priests' share from the people who offer a sacrifice, whether it is an ox, a sheep, or a goat; the priests are to be given the shoulder, jaws, and stomach. You are to give him the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the first sheared [wool] of your flock. For the Lord your God has chosen him and his sons from all your tribes to stand and minister in the Lord's name from now on.

We will also bring the firstborn of our sons and our livestock, as prescribed by the law, and will bring the firstborn of our herds and flocks to the house of our God, to the priests who serve in our God’s house.

It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place, for it is the holiest portion for him from the fire offerings to the Lord; this is a permanent rule.”

"However, you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep, or a goat; they are holy. You are to sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as a fire offering for a pleasing aroma to the Lord. But their meat belongs to you. It belongs to you like the breast of the presentation offering and the right thigh.


“If someone offends by sinning unintentionally in regard to any of the Lord’s holy things, he must bring his restitution offering to the Lord: an unblemished ram from the flock (based on your assessment of its value in silver shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel) as a restitution offering.

The money from the restitution offering and the sin offering was not brought to the Lord’s temple since it belonged to the priests.

A portion of the holiest offerings kept from the fire will be yours; every one of their offerings that they give Me, whether the grain offering, sin offering, or restitution offering will be most holy for you and your sons.

He must bring an unblemished ram from the flock according to your assessment of its value as a restitution offering to the priest. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the error he has committed unintentionally, and he will be forgiven.


"Speak to the Levites and tell them: When you receive from the Israelites the tenth that I have given you as your inheritance, you must present part of it as an offering to the Lord-a tenth of the tenth. Your offering will be credited to you as if [it were your] grain from the threshing floor or the full harvest from the winepress. You are to present an offering to the Lord from every tenth you receive from the Israelites. Give some of it to Aaron the priest as an offering to the Lord. read more.
You must present the entire offering due the Lord from all your gifts. The best part of the tenth is to be consecrated. "Tell them further: Once you have presented the best part of the tenth, and it is credited to you Levites as the produce of the threshing floor or the winepress, then you and your household may eat it anywhere. It is your wage in return for your work at the tent of meeting. You will not incur guilt because of it once you have presented the best part of it, but you must not defile the Israelites' holy offerings, so that you will not die."

Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, "Look, I have put you in charge of the contributions brought to Me. As for all the holy offerings of the Israelites, I have given them to you and your sons as a portion and a perpetual statute. A portion of the holiest offerings [kept] from the fire will be yours; every one of their offerings that they give Me, whether the grain offering, sin offering, or restitution offering will be most holy for you and your sons. You are to eat it as a most holy offering. Every male may eat it; it is to be holy to you. read more.
"The contribution of their gifts also belongs to you. I have given all the Israelites' presentation offerings to you and to your sons and daughters as a perpetual statute. Every ceremonially clean person in your house may eat it. I am giving you all the best of the fresh olive oil, new wine, and grain, which the Israelites give to the Lord as their firstfruits. The firstfruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the Lord, belong to you. Every clean person in your house may eat them. "Everything in Israel that is permanently dedicated [to the Lord] belongs to you. The firstborn of every living thing, man or animal, presented to the Lord belongs to you. But you must certainly redeem the firstborn of man, and redeem the firstborn of an unclean animal. You will pay the redemption price for a month-old male according to your valuation: five shekels of silver by the standard sanctuary shekel, which is 20 gerahs. "However, you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep, or a goat; they are holy. You are to sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as a fire offering for a pleasing aroma to the Lord. But their meat belongs to you. It belongs to you like the breast of the presentation offering and the right thigh.

A priest of Aaronic descent must accompany the Levites when they collect the tenth, and the Levites must take a tenth of this offering to the storerooms of the treasury in the house of our God.


“Everything in Israel that is permanently dedicated to the Lord belongs to you.

When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will be holy to the Lord like a field permanently set apart; it becomes the priest’s property.

Every holy contribution the Israelites present to the priest will be his. Each one's holy contribution is his [to give]; what each one gives to the priest will be his."


“I give to you and to your sons and daughters all the holy contributions that the Israelites present to the Lord as a permanent statute. It is a permanent covenant of salt before the Lord for you as well as your offspring.”

“The contribution of their gifts also belongs to you. I have given all the Israelites’ presentation offerings to you and to your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. Every ceremonially clean person in your house may eat it.

But if a priest purchases someone with his money, that person may eat it, and those born in his house may eat his food. If the priest's daughter is married to a man outside a priest's family, she is not to eat from the holy contributions. But if the priest's daughter becomes widowed or divorced, has no children, and returns to her father's house as in her youth, she may share her father's food. But no outsider may share it.


But if that individual has no relative to receive compensation, the compensation goes to the Lord for the priest, along with the atonement ram by which the priest will make atonement for the guilty person.

He must make restitution for his sin regarding any holy thing, adding a fifth of its value to it, and give it to the priest. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf with the ram of the restitution offering, and he will be forgiven.

If anyone eats a holy offering in error, he must add a fifth to its value and give the holy offering to the priest.


As the redemption price for the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites, collect five shekels for each person, according to the standard sanctuary shekel-20 gerahs to the shekel. Give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are in excess among the Israelites." read more.
So Moses collected the redemption money from those in excess of the ones redeemed by the Levites. He collected the money from the firstborn Israelites: 1,365 [shekels measured] by the standard sanctuary shekel. He gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the Lord, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

The firstborn of every living thing, man or animal, presented to the Lord belongs to you. But you must certainly redeem the firstborn of man, and redeem the firstborn of an unclean animal. You will pay the redemption price for a month-old male according to your valuation: five shekels of silver by the standard sanctuary shekel, which is 20 gerahs.


"Next to the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, will be the portion you donate [to the Lord], eight and one-third [miles] wide, and as long as one of the [tribal] portions from the east side to the west. The sanctuary will be in the middle of it. "The [special] portion you donate to the Lord will be eight and one-third [miles] long and three and one-third [miles] wide. This holy donation will be set apart for the priests [alone]. It will be eight and one-third [miles long] on the northern side, three and one-third [miles] wide on the western side, three and one-third [miles] wide on the eastern side, and eight and one-third [miles] long on the southern side. The Lord's sanctuary will be in the middle of it. read more.
It is for the consecrated priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept My charge and did not go astray as the Levites did when the Israelites went astray. It will be a special donation for them out of the [holy] donation of the land, a most holy place adjacent to the territory of the Levites. "Next to the territory of the priests, the Levites [will have an area] eight and one-third [miles] long and three and one-third [miles] wide. The total length will be eight and one-third [miles] and the width three and one-third [miles]. They must not sell or exchange any of it, and they must not transfer this choice [part] of the land, for it is holy to the Lord.


He told the people who lived in Jerusalem to give a contribution for the priests and Levites so that they could devote their energy to the law of the Lord. When the word spread, the Israelites gave liberally of the best of the grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field, and they brought an abundant tenth of everything. As for the Israelites and Judahites who lived in the cities of Judah, they also [brought] a tenth of the cattle and sheep, and a tenth of the dedicated things that were consecrated to the Lord their God. They gathered [them] into large piles. read more.
In the third month they began building up the piles, and they finished in the seventh month. When Hezekiah and his officials came and viewed the piles, they praised the Lord and His people Israel. Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the piles. Azariah, the chief priest of the household of Zadok, answered him, "Since they began bringing the offering to the Lord's temple, we eat and are satisfied and there is plenty left over because the Lord has blessed His people; this abundance is what is left over." Hezekiah told them to prepare chambers in the Lord's temple, and they prepared [them]. The offering, the tenth, and the dedicated things were brought faithfully. Conaniah the Levite was the officer in charge of them, and his brother Shimei was second. Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were deputies under the authority of Conaniah and his brother Shimei by appointment of King Hezekiah and of Azariah the ruler of God's temple. Kore son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the East Gate, was over the freewill offerings to God to distribute the contribution to the Lord and the consecrated things. Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah in the cities of the priests were to faithfully distribute [it] under his authority to their brothers by divisions, whether large or small. In addition, [they distributed it] to males registered by genealogy three years old and above; to all who would enter the Lord's temple for their daily duty, for their service in their responsibilities according to their divisions. [They distributed also] to those recorded by genealogy of the priests by their ancestral families and the Levites 20 years old and above, by their responsibilities in their divisions; to those registered by genealogy-with all their infants, wives, sons, and daughters-of the whole assembly (for they had faithfully consecrated themselves as holy); and to the descendants of Aaron, the priests, in the common fields of their cities, in each and every city. [There were] men who were registered by name to distribute a portion to every male among the priests and to every Levite recorded by genealogy.


The Lord told Moses, "You, Eleazar the priest, and the family leaders of the community are to take a count of what was captured, human and animal. Then divide the captives between the troops who went out to war and the entire community. read more.
Set aside a tribute for the Lord from what belongs to the fighting men who went out to war: one out of [every] 500 humans, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats. Take [the tribute] from their half and give [it] to Eleazar the priest as a contribution to the Lord.


When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will be holy to the Lord like a field permanently set apart; it becomes the priest’s property.


then the priest will calculate for him the amount of the assessment up to the Year of Jubilee, and the person will pay the assessed value on that day as a holy offering to the Lord.


A man from Baal-shalishah came to the man of God with his sack full of 20 loaves of barley bread from the first bread of the harvest. Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.”

Take with you 10 loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.”

"Suppose we do go," Saul said to his attendant, "what do we take the man? The food from our packs is gone, and there's no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?" The attendant answered Saul: "Here, I have a piece of silver. I'll give it to the man of God, and he will tell us our way."

So the king said to Hazael, "Take a gift with you and go meet the man of God. Inquire of the Lord through him, 'Will I recover from this sickness?' " Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him a gift: 40 camel-loads of all kinds of goods from Damascus. When he came and stood before him, he said, "Your son, Ben-hadad king of Aram, has sent me to ask you, 'Will I recover from this sickness?' "

You profane Me in front of My people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread; you kill those who should not die and spare those who should not live, when you lie to My people, who listen to lies.


But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, I stand before Him. I will not accept it.” Naaman urged him to accept it, but he refused.

But Balaam responded to the servants of Balak, “If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go against the command of the Lord my God to do anything small or great.

Therefore, the king of Aram said, “Go and I will send a letter with you to the king of Israel.”

So he went and took with him 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and 10 changes of clothes.

Then the king declared to the man of God, "Come home with me, refresh yourself, and I'll give you a reward." But the man of God replied, "If you were to give me half your house, I still wouldn't go with you, and I wouldn't eat bread or drink water in this place,


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