Thematic Bible


Thematic Bible



as a reminder to the sons of Israel so that no layman—that is, one who is not of the descendants of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the Lord; so that he will not become like Korah and as his company—just as the Lord had said to him through Moses. Verse ConceptsPriests, Institution In Ot TimesStrangersExclusion

He shall take a censer full of burning coals from the [bronze] altar before the Lord, and two handfuls of finely ground sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil [into the Most Holy Place], Verse ConceptsGrindingIncenseCensersBurning Sacrifices

Moses said to Aaron, “Take a censer and put fire in it from the altar and lay incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone forth from the Lord; the plague has begun!” Verse ConceptsMoses, Significance OfAaron, As High PriestCensers

You shall beat some of it very small and put some of it before the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you; it shall be to you most holy. And the incense which you shall make according to its composition you shall not make for yourselves; it shall be to you holy to the Lord. Whoever makes any like it for perfume shall be cut off from his people.

Each of you take his censer and put incense on it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty censers; also you and Aaron shall each bring his censer.” Verse ConceptsTwo Hundred And Some


“The priests shall teach Your ordinances (judgments) to Jacob,
And Your law to Israel.
They shall put incense before You,
And whole burnt offerings on Your altar.
Verse ConceptsDoctrine, CommunicatedBurnt offeringHigh Priest, In OtIncenseTeaching The Way Of God

as a reminder to the sons of Israel so that no layman—that is, one who is not of the descendants of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the Lord; so that he will not become like Korah and as his company—just as the Lord had said to him through Moses. Verse ConceptsPriests, Institution In Ot TimesStrangersExclusion


“The priests shall teach Your ordinances (judgments) to Jacob,
And Your law to Israel.
They shall put incense before You,
And whole burnt offerings on Your altar.
Verse ConceptsDoctrine, CommunicatedBurnt offeringHigh Priest, In OtIncenseTeaching The Way Of God

So the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord, so that He will remove the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. Verse ConceptsCalling upon GodMoses, Significance OfRepentance, Examples OfAcknowledge, SinAfflictions, Benefits OfPraying For SinnersWe Have SinnedComplaints


Therefore He said He would destroy them,
[And He would have done so] had not Moses, His chosen one, stepped into the gap before Him,
To turn away His wrath from destroying them.
Verse Conceptselection, responsibilities ofCalf worshipMoses, Significance OfPlaguesGod Might Kill His PeopleAction Lest God Be Angry

And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin and will You be angry with all the congregation?

Let [the tribe of] Reuben live and not die out, but let his men be few. And this he [Moses] said of Judah: Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him to his people! With his hands he contended for himself; but may You be a help against his enemies. And of Levi he said: Your Thummim and Your Urim [by which the priest sought God's will for the nation] are for Your pious one [Aaron on behalf of the tribe], whom You tried and proved at Massah, with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah; read more.
[Aaron] who said of his father and mother, I do not regard them; nor did he acknowledge his brothers or openly recognize his own children. For the priests observed Your word and kept Your covenant [as to their limitations]. [The priests] shall teach Jacob Your ordinances and Israel Your law. They shall put incense before You and whole burnt offerings upon Your altar. Bless, O Lord, [Levi's] substance, and accept the work of his hands; crush the loins of his adversaries, and of those who hate him, that they arise no more. Of Benjamin he said: The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; He covers him all the day long, and makes His dwelling between his shoulders. And of Joseph he said: Blessed by the Lord be his land, with the precious gifts of heaven from the dew and from the deep that couches beneath, With the precious things of the fruits of the sun and with the precious yield of the months, With the chief products of the ancient mountains and with the precious things of the everlasting hills, With the precious things of the earth and its fullness and the favor and goodwill of Him Who dwelt in the bush. Let these blessings come upon the head of Joseph, upon the crown of the head of him who was separate and prince among his brothers. Like a firstling young bull his majesty is, and his horns like the horns of the wild ox; with them he shall push the peoples, all of them, to the ends of the earth. And they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

To the Levites who taught all Israel and were holy to the Lord he said, “Put the holy ark in the house (temple) which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built; it shall not be a burden [carried] on your shoulders any longer. Now serve the Lord your God and His people Israel. Verse ConceptsArk Of The Covenant, EventsHoliness, As Set Apart For GodHoliness, Purpose OfPriests, Types Of In Nt TimesThe Ark In The TempleArk Of The Covenant

and you are to teach the Israelites all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them through Moses.” Verse ConceptsKnowledge, Of SinLeaders, SpiritualScripture Teaching


“The priests shall teach Your ordinances (judgments) to Jacob,
And Your law to Israel.
They shall put incense before You,
And whole burnt offerings on Your altar.
Verse ConceptsDoctrine, CommunicatedBurnt offeringHigh Priest, In OtIncenseTeaching The Way Of God

Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, explained the Law to the people, and the people remained in their places. Verse ConceptsA Fourth Part

For the lips of the priest should guard and preserve knowledge [of My law], and the people should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. Verse ConceptsLeaders, SpiritualOccupationsPriests, Function In Ot TimesSpeech, Positive Aspects OfStumbling BlocksValuing KnowledgeLet Your Speech Be GoodTeaching The Way Of Godpreservationpriests

And of Levi he said: Your Thummim and Your Urim [by which the priest sought God's will for the nation] are for Your pious one [Aaron on behalf of the tribe], whom You tried and proved at Massah, with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah; [Aaron] who said of his father and mother, I do not regard them; nor did he acknowledge his brothers or openly recognize his own children. For the priests observed Your word and kept Your covenant [as to their limitations]. [The priests] shall teach Jacob Your ordinances and Israel Your law. They shall put incense before You and whole burnt offerings upon Your altar.

To the Levites who taught all Israel and were holy to the Lord he said, “Put the holy ark in the house (temple) which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built; it shall not be a burden [carried] on your shoulders any longer. Now serve the Lord your God and His people Israel. Verse ConceptsArk Of The Covenant, EventsHoliness, As Set Apart For GodHoliness, Purpose OfPriests, Types Of In Nt TimesThe Ark In The TempleArk Of The Covenant


“The priests shall teach Your ordinances (judgments) to Jacob,
And Your law to Israel.
They shall put incense before You,
And whole burnt offerings on Your altar.
Verse ConceptsDoctrine, CommunicatedBurnt offeringHigh Priest, In OtIncenseTeaching The Way Of God

And with them were the Levites -- "Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah; and with these Levites were the priests Elishama and Jehoram. And they taught in Judah, and had the Book of the Law of the Lord with them; they went about throughout all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.

Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good understanding in the things of the Lord. So the people ate for the appointed seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord God of their fathers. Verse ConceptsFellowship Offeringencouragement, examples of

Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah -- "the Levites -- "helped the people to understand the Law, and the people [remained] in their place. So they read from the Book of the Law of God distinctly, faithfully amplifying and giving the sense so that [the people] understood the reading. And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all of them, This day is holy to the Lord your God; mourn not nor weep. For all the people wept when they heard the words of the Law. read more.
Then [Ezra] told them, Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet drink, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. And be not grieved and depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold. So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, Be still, for the day is holy. And do not be grieved and sad. And all the people went their way to eat, drink, send portions, and make great rejoicing, for they had understood the words that were declared to them. On the second day, all the heads of fathers' houses, with the priests and Levites, gathered to Ezra the scribe to study and understand the words of divine instruction.

The law of truth was in [Levi's] mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips; he walked with Me in peace and uprightness and turned many away from iniquity. For the priest's lips should guard and keep pure the knowledge [of My law], and the people should seek (inquire for and require) instruction at his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.

And you shall know, recognize, and understand that I have sent this [new] decree to you priests, to be My [new] covenant with Levi [the priestly tribe], says the Lord of hosts. My covenant [on My part with Levi] was to give him life and peace, because [on his part] of the [reverent and worshipful] fear with which [the priests] would revere Me and stand in awe of My name.

Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoever is on the Lord's side, let him come to me. And all the Levites [the priestly tribe] gathered together to him. And he said to them, Thus says the Lord God of Israel, Every man put his sword on his side and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses; and there fell of the people that day about 3000 men.

[Aaron] who said of his father and mother, I do not regard them; nor did he acknowledge his brothers or openly recognize his own children. For the priests observed Your word and kept Your covenant [as to their limitations]. [The priests] shall teach Jacob Your ordinances and Israel Your law. They shall put incense before You and whole burnt offerings upon Your altar.

Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoever is on the Lord's side, let him come to me. And all the Levites [the priestly tribe] gathered together to him. And he said to them, Thus says the Lord God of Israel, Every man put his sword on his side and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses; and there fell of the people that day about 3000 men.

[Aaron] who said of his father and mother, I do not regard them; nor did he acknowledge his brothers or openly recognize his own children. For the priests observed Your word and kept Your covenant [as to their limitations]. [The priests] shall teach Jacob Your ordinances and Israel Your law. They shall put incense before You and whole burnt offerings upon Your altar.


“[Even] the priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
And those who deal with the law [given to Moses] did not know Me.
The rulers and shepherds also transgressed against Me,
And the prophets prophesied by [the authority and in the name of] Baal
And walked after [idolatrous] things that did not benefit [them].
Verse ConceptsBaal Worship, HistoryPriests, Function In Ot TimesInadequate ShepherdingStudying The LawWhere Is God?Prophets Of Other Gods

For the lips of the priest should guard and preserve knowledge [of My law], and the people should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. Verse ConceptsLeaders, SpiritualOccupationsPriests, Function In Ot TimesSpeech, Positive Aspects OfStumbling BlocksValuing KnowledgeLet Your Speech Be GoodTeaching The Way Of Godpreservationpriests

and you are to teach the Israelites all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them through Moses.” Verse ConceptsKnowledge, Of SinLeaders, SpiritualScripture Teaching

“Be careful during an outbreak of leprosy, that you diligently observe and do according to all that the Levitical priests teach you; just as I have commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. Verse ConceptsInstructionHygieneKeeping Man's Word


“The priests shall teach Your ordinances (judgments) to Jacob,
And Your law to Israel.
They shall put incense before You,
And whole burnt offerings on Your altar.
Verse ConceptsDoctrine, CommunicatedBurnt offeringHigh Priest, In OtIncenseTeaching The Way Of God

The Levites shall answer with a loud voice to all the men of Israel:

And Moses wrote this law and delivered it to the Levitical priests, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. And Moses commanded them, At the end of every seven years, at the set time of the year of release [of debtors from their debts], at the Feast of Booths, When all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses [for His sanctuary], you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. read more.
Assemble the people -- "men, women, and children, and the stranger and the sojourner within your towns -- "that they may hear and learn [reverently] to fear the Lord your God and be watchful to do all the words of this law, And that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn [reverently] to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land which you go over the Jordan to possess.


“The priests shall teach Your ordinances (judgments) to Jacob,
And Your law to Israel.
They shall put incense before You,
And whole burnt offerings on Your altar.
Verse ConceptsDoctrine, CommunicatedBurnt offeringHigh Priest, In OtIncenseTeaching The Way Of God

Of Levi he said,

“Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your godly man [Aaron],
Whom You tested and proved at Massah,
With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah;
Verse ConceptsHigh Priest, In OtTestingThe Urim And ThummimUrim And Thummim

Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the beginning (the firstfruits) of my manly strength and vigor; [your birthright gave you] the preeminence in dignity and the preeminence in power. But unstable and boiling over like water, you shall not excel and have the preeminence [of the firstborn], because you went to your father's bed; you defiled it -- "he went to my couch! Simeon and Levi are brothers [equally headstrong, deceitful, vindictive, and cruel]; their swords are weapons of violence. read more.
O my soul, come not into their secret council; unto their assembly let not my honor be united [for I knew nothing of their plot], because in their anger they slew men [an honored man, Shechem, and the Shechemites], and in their self-will they disabled oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel. Judah, you are the one whom your brothers shall praise; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down to you. Judah, a lion's cub! With the prey, my son, you have gone high up [the mountain]. He stooped down, he crouched like a lion, and like a lioness -- "who dares provoke and rouse him? The scepter or leadership shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh [the Messiah, the Peaceful One] comes to Whom it belongs, and to Him shall be the obedience of the people. Binding His foal to the vine and His donkey's colt to the choice vine, He washes His garments in wine and His clothes in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker and more sparkling than wine, and His teeth whiter than milk. Zebulun shall live toward the seashore, and he shall be a haven and a landing place for ships; and his border shall be toward Sidon. Issachar is a strong-boned donkey crouching down between the sheepfolds. And he saw that rest was good and that the land was pleasant; and he bowed his shoulder to bear [his burdens] and became a servant to tribute [subjected to forced labor]. Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, a horned snake in the path, that bites at the horse's heels, so that his rider falls backward. I wait for Your salvation, O Lord. Gad -- "a raiding troop shall raid him, but he shall raid at their heels and assault them [victoriously]. Asher's food [supply] shall be rich and fat, and he shall yield and deliver royal delights. Naphtali is a hind let loose which yields lovely fawns. Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well (spring or fountain), whose branches run over the wall. Skilled archers have bitterly attacked and sorely worried him; they have shot at him and persecuted him. But his bow remained strong and steady and rested in the Strength that does not fail him, for the arms of his hands were made strong and active by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, By the God of your father, Who will help you, and by the Almighty, Who will bless you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings lying in the deep beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. The blessings of your father [on you] are greater than the blessings of my forefathers [Abraham and Isaac on me] and are as lasting as the bounties of the eternal hills; they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was the consecrated one and the one separated from his brethren and [the one who] is prince among them. Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey and at night dividing the spoil.

Let [the tribe of] Reuben live and not die out, but let his men be few. And this he [Moses] said of Judah: Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him to his people! With his hands he contended for himself; but may You be a help against his enemies. And of Levi he said: Your Thummim and Your Urim [by which the priest sought God's will for the nation] are for Your pious one [Aaron on behalf of the tribe], whom You tried and proved at Massah, with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah; read more.
[Aaron] who said of his father and mother, I do not regard them; nor did he acknowledge his brothers or openly recognize his own children. For the priests observed Your word and kept Your covenant [as to their limitations]. [The priests] shall teach Jacob Your ordinances and Israel Your law. They shall put incense before You and whole burnt offerings upon Your altar. Bless, O Lord, [Levi's] substance, and accept the work of his hands; crush the loins of his adversaries, and of those who hate him, that they arise no more. Of Benjamin he said: The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; He covers him all the day long, and makes His dwelling between his shoulders. And of Joseph he said: Blessed by the Lord be his land, with the precious gifts of heaven from the dew and from the deep that couches beneath, With the precious things of the fruits of the sun and with the precious yield of the months, With the chief products of the ancient mountains and with the precious things of the everlasting hills, With the precious things of the earth and its fullness and the favor and goodwill of Him Who dwelt in the bush. Let these blessings come upon the head of Joseph, upon the crown of the head of him who was separate and prince among his brothers. Like a firstling young bull his majesty is, and his horns like the horns of the wild ox; with them he shall push the peoples, all of them, to the ends of the earth. And they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. And of Zebulun he said: Rejoice, Zebulun, in your interests abroad, and you, Issachar, in your tents [at home]. They shall call the people unto Mount [Carmel]; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness, for they shall suck the abundance of the seas and the treasures hid in the sand. And of Gad he said: Blessed is He Who enlarges Gad! Gad lurks like a lioness, and tears the arm, yes, the crown of the head. He selected the best land for himself, for there was the leader's portion reserved; yet he came with the chiefs of the nation, and the righteous will of the Lord he performed, and His ordinances with Israel. Of Dan he said: Dan is a lion's whelp that leaps forth from Bashan. Of Naphtali he said: O Naphtali, satisfied with favor and full of the blessing of the Lord, possess the Sea [of Galilee] and [its warm, sunny climate like] the south. Of Asher he said: Blessed above sons is Asher; let him be acceptable to his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil. Your castles and strongholds shall have bars of iron and bronze, and as your day, so shall your strength, your rest and security, be. There is none like God, O Jeshurun [Israel], Who rides through the heavens to your help and in His majestic glory through the skies. The eternal God is your refuge and dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He drove the enemy before you and thrust them out, saying, Destroy! And Israel dwells in safety, the fountain of Jacob alone in a land of grain and new wine; yes, His heavens drop dew. Happy are you, O Israel, and blessing is yours! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the Shield of your help, the Sword that exalts you! Your enemies shall come fawning and cringing, and submit feigned obedience to you, and you shall march on their high places.