Numbers 1:50

1:50 But appoint 1  the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, 2  over all its furnishings and over everything in it. They must carry 3  the tabernacle and all its furnishings; and they 4  must attend to it and camp around it. 5 

Numbers 1:53

1:53 But the Levites must camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that the Lord’s anger 6  will not fall on the Israelite community. The Levites are responsible for the care 7  of the tabernacle of the testimony.”

Numbers 11:24

11:24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. He then gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and had them stand around the tabernacle.

Numbers 11:32

11:32 And the people stayed up 8  all that day, all that night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail. The one who gathered the least gathered ten homers, 9  and they spread them out 10  for themselves all around the camp.

Numbers 35:2

35:2 “Instruct the Israelites to give 11  the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites 12  will possess. You must also give the Levites grazing land around the towns.

1 tn The same verb translated “number” (פָּקַד, paqad) is now used to mean “appoint” (הַפְקֵד, hafqed), which focuses more on the purpose of the verbal action of numbering people. Here the idea is that the Levites were appointed to take care of the tabernacle. On the use of this verb with the Levites’ appointment, see M. Gertner, “The Masorah and the Levites,” VT 10 (1960): 252.

2 tn The Hebrew name used here is מִשְׁכַּן הָעֵדֻת (mishkan ha’edut). The tabernacle or dwelling place of the Lord was given this name because it was here that the tablets of the Law were kept. The whole shrine was therefore a reminder (הָעֵדוּת, a “warning sign” or “testimony”) of the stipulations of the covenant. For the ancient Near Eastern customs of storing the code in the sanctuaries, see M. G. Kline, Treaty of the Great King, 14-19, and idem, The Structure of Biblical Authority, 35-36. Other items were in the ark in the beginning, but by the days of Solomon only the tablets were there (1 Kgs 8:9).

3 tn The imperfect tense here is an obligatory imperfect telling that they are bound to do this since they are appointed for this specific task.

4 tn The addition of the pronoun before the verb is emphatic – they are the ones who are to attend to the tabernacle. The verb used is שָׁרַת (sharat) in the Piel, indicating that they are to serve, minister to, attend to all the details about this shrine.

5 tn Heb “the tabernacle.” The pronoun (“it”) was used in the translation here for stylistic reasons.

6 tc Instead of “wrath” the Greek text has “sin,” focusing the emphasis on the human error and not on the wrath of God. This may have been a conscious change to explain the divine wrath.

tn Heb “so that there be no wrath on.” In context this is clearly the divine anger, so “the Lord’s” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

7 tn The main verb of the clause is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive, וְשָׁמְרוּ (vÿshamÿru) meaning they “shall guard, protect, watch over, care for.” It may carry the same obligatory nuance as the preceding verbs because of the sequence. The object used with this is the cognate noun מִשְׁמֶרֶת (mishmeret): “The Levites must care for the care of the tabernacle.” The cognate intensifies the construction to stress that they are responsible for this care.

8 tn Heb “rose up, stood up.”

9 sn This is about two thousand liters.

10 tn The verb (a preterite) is followed by the infinitive absolute of the same root, to emphasize the action of spreading out the quail. Although it is hard to translate the expression, it indicates that they spread these quail out all over the area. The vision of them spread all over was evidence of God’s abundant provision for their needs.

11 tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive: “command…and they will give,” or “that they give.”

12 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.