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1 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

2 Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers,

3 From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.

4 This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things:

5 And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering vail, and cover the ark of testimony with it:

6 And shall put thereon the covering of badgers' skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof.

7 And upon the table of shewbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover withal: and the continual bread shall be thereon:

8 And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put in the staves thereof.

9 And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and his lamps, and his tongs, and his snuffdishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it:

10 And they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put it upon a bar.

11 And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put to the staves thereof:

12 And they shall take all the instruments of ministry, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put them on a bar:

13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon:

14 And they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, even the censers, the fleshhooks, and the shovels, and the basons, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers' skins, and put to the staves of it.

15 And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.

16 And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof.

17 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron saying,

18 Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites:

19 But thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden:

20 But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die.

21 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

22 Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, throughout the houses of their fathers, by their families;

23 From thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that enter in to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.

24 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, to serve, and for burdens:

25 And they shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the congregation, his covering, and the covering of the badgers' skins that is above upon it, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,

26 And the hangings of the court, and the hanging for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and all that is made for them: so shall they serve.

27 At the appointment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burdens, and in all their service: and ye shall appoint unto them in charge all their burdens.

28 This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation: and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

29 As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them after their families, by the house of their fathers;

30 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation.

31 And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation; the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and sockets thereof,

32 And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name ye shall reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden.

33 This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tabernacle of the congregation, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

34 And Moses and Aaron and the chief of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites after their families, and after the house of their fathers,

35 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation:

36 And those that were numbered of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty.

37 These were they that were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, which Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

38 And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, throughout their families, and by the house of their fathers,

39 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation,

40 Even those that were numbered of them, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty.

41 These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the Lord.

42 And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers,

43 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation,

44 Even those that were numbered of them after their families, were three thousand and two hundred.

45 These be those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

46 All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chief of Israel numbered, after their families, and after the house of their fathers,

47 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation.

48 Even those that were numbered of them, were eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore,

49 According to the commandment of the Lord they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered of him, as the Lord commanded Moses.

h.נשא את ראש וגו׳ TAKE THE SUM OF [THE SONS OF KOHATH] — Count those that are fit among them for the service of carrying, and these are the men from thirty to fifty years, for a person less than thirty has not yet attained his full strength, — hence they (the Rabbis) said (Avot 5:21) “a man of thirty has reached the age when he enters into full strength”, — as for one who is older than fifty, his strength gradually diminishes from then.

h.קדש הקדשים [THIS SHALL BE THE SERVICE OF THE SONS OF KOHATH] THE קדש הקדשים — i.e., whatever is most holy of them all: the Ark, the table, the candelabrum, the altars, the Partition Veil and the vessels of service.

h.ובא אהרן ובניו וגו׳ AND [WHEN THE CAMP SETTETH FORWARD,] AARON SHALL COME, AND HIS SONS, etc. — They shall put every object into its wrapping that is prescribed for it in this section, so that the sons of Kohath should have nothing to do except to carry them.

h.בנסוע המחנה WHEN THE CAMP SETTETH FORWARD — When the cloud departed they knew that they were to set out on the journey (see Rashi on Numbers 1:51, and Note thereon).

h.קערת וכפת וקשות ומנקיות — I have already described these in the chapter dealing with the work of the Tabernacle (Exodus XXV).

h.הנסך means, “covering”, — having the same meaning as מסך, the screen, — as it is written, (Exodus 25:29) “the covers by which they shall be covered (יסך)” (cf. Rashi on that verse and the Note thereon).

h.מלקחיה — a kind of tongs whereby one draws the wick in any direction one wishes.

h.מחתתיה — a kind of small ladle, the bottom of which was flat, not rounded (concave), and it had no wall in front (no piece projecting upwards) but only at its sides; and he (the priest) raked into it the ashes of the lamps when he cleansed them out (cf. Rashi on Exodus 25:28).

h.נרתיה ITS LAMPS — luces in O. F., the receptacles into which people put the oil and the wicks (not the lights as the word sometimes means; see e. g. Exodus 40:4).

h.אל מכסה עור תחש [AND THEY SHALL PUT IT, AND ALL THE VESSELS] WITHIN A COVERING OF TACHASH SKINS — This was a kind of packing bag.

h.את כל כלי השרת אשר ישרתו בם בקדש [AND THEY SHALL TAKE] ALL THE VESSELS OF MINISTRY, WHEREWITH THEY MINISTER IN THE HOLY PLACE — i.e. in the Tabernacle which is called holy; these were the vessels for the incense with which they performed the ministry at the inner altar.

h.ודשנו את המזבח AND THEY SHALL TAKE AWAY THE ASHES FROM THE ALTAR — from the brazen altar.

h.ודשנו means, they shall remove the ashes from off it (cf. Rashi on Exodus 27:3).

h.ופרשו עליו בגד ארגמן AND THEY SHALL SPREAD A GARMENT OF RED PURPLE THEREON — But the fire that descended from heaven on the altar (cf. Rashi on Leviticus 1:7) lay beneath the garment in the form of a lion during the journeyings; it did not, however, burn it because they inverted a large vessel of copper over it (cf. Yoma 21b).

h.מחתת THE CENSERS into which the coals were raked for the purpose of the ceremony of תרומת הדשן, removing a pan of ashes from the copper altar (cf. Rashi on Leviticus 6:4), and which were formed like a pan which has only three walls (none in front) and with the front of it draws in the coals.

h.מזלגת — copper hooks (cf. Rashi on Exodus 27:3) which they stuck forcibly into the limbs that were on the altar in order to turn them over so that they might become thoroughly and quickly consumed.

h.יעים are shovels; in O. F. vedil. They were of copper and with them they cleared the ashes from off the altar.

h.לכסת את הקדש [AND AARON AND HIS SONS FINISHED] COVERING THE HOLY THINGS — the Ark and the altar,

h.ואת כל כלי הקדש AND ALL THE VESSELS OF THE SANCTUARY — the candelabrum and the vessels for service,

h.ומתו [SO THAT THEY SHALL NOT TOUCH ANY THING OF HOLINESS] LEST THEY DIE — because if they do touch they become liable to death by Heaven.

h.ופקדת אלעזר AND THE CHARGE OF ELEAZAR … [WERE THE OIL FOR THE LIGHT, AND THE INCENSE OF AROMATICS, AND THE CONTINUAL MEAL OFFERING, AND THE ANOINTING OIL] — This means: the charge of Eleazar who was appointed over them to carry them were the oil, and the incense and the anointing oil. As regards the continual meal-offering mentioned here, upon him lay the charge to give orders and to urge on that it should be offered at the time when they encamped.

h.פקדת כל המשכן means: and further he was appointed over the burden of the sons of Kohath, i.e., to give each man orders regarding his service and his burden, which was the Tabernacle and all that was therein — all the articles set forth above in this section. The burden of the sons of Gershon and of the sons of Merari, however, which did not appertain to things of most holy character, was carried out by order of Ithamar, as is set forth in the section commencing with the word נשא (vv. 21—34).

h.אל תכריתו CUT YE NOT OFF [THE TRIBE OF THE FAMILIES OF THE KOHATHITES] — Do not bring it about for them that they shall die.

h.ולא יבאו לראות כבלע את הקדש BUT THEY SHALL NOT COME IN TO SEE WHEN THE HOLY THINGS ARE WRAPPED IN, each into its wrapping, as I have explained above in this section (v. 5 ff.): ‘‘and they shall spread upon it such-and-such a garment”, “and they shall cover it over with such-and-such a cover”, — for the “wrapping-up’ of it mentioned here is identical with the “covering up” of it mentioned in those passages.

h.נשא את ראש בני גרשון גם הם TAKE ALSO THE SUM OF THE SONS OF GERSHON - “also” implies: even as I have commanded you regarding the sons of Kohath; i.e. to see how many of them have already reached the age to be included amongst those fit for service.

h.את יריעת המשכן THE CURTAINS OF THE TABERNACLE — the ten lower ones,

h.ואת אהל מועד AND THE TENT OF MEETING i.e. the curtains of goats’ skins which were made as a tent above it (the Tabernacle).

h.מכסהו ITS COVERING — the rams’ skins dyed red.

h.מסך פתח THE SCREEN FOR THE ENTRANCE — the Veil at the east side.

h.אשר על המשכן [AND THE HANGINGS OF THE ENCLOSURE, AND THE SCREEN FOR THE ENTRANCE OF THE GATE OF THE ENCLOSURE] WHICH ARE על המשכן — that is to say, the hangings and the screen of the court which together screen and shelter the Tabernacle and the copper altar on all sides.

h.ואת כל אשר יעשה להם — Understand this as the Targum does; “and everything that is handed over to them” — i.e. to the sons of Gershon.

h.על פי אהרן ובניו AT THE APPOINTMENT OF AARON AND HIS SONS [SHALL BE ALL THE SERVICE OF THE SONS OF THE GERSHONITES] — and which of his sons shall be appointed over them? Everything was (v. 28) “under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest”.

h.ויתדתם ומיתריהם [AND THE COLUMNS OF THE ENCLOSURE ROUND ABOUT IT AND THEIR SOCKETS] AND THEIR PINS, AND THEIR CORDS — i.e. the pins and cords of the columns only, because the pins and cords of the hangings were part of the burden of the Gershonites (not of the sons of Merari). There were, as a matter of fact, pegs and cords for the curtains and the hangings on their lower edges in order that the wind should not raise them, there were also pegs and cords for the columns, round about, upon which to suspend the hangings by their upper edges on poles and rails, just as it is set forth in the Boraitha dealing with the work of the Tabernacle (cf. Rashi on Exodus 27:10, 19; Numbers 3:26 and our Note thereon).

h.עבדת עבדה THE SERVICE OF THE MINISTRY — (lit., a service of a service). This is the song of the Levites with accompaniment of cymbals and harps, this being the service attached to another service (the sacrificial service) (Arakhin 11a).

h.ועבדת משא is what it literally implies: AND THE SERVICE OF CARRYING.

h.ופקדיו אשר צוה ה' את משה — This means, and those appointed by him (Moses) were appointed under the terms of the command which God had given to Moses (v. 43): from thirty years to fifty years old.