Numbers 3:22

3:22 Those of them who were numbered, counting every male from a month old and upward, were 7,500.

Numbers 3:28

3:28 Counting every male from a month old and upward, there were 8,600. They were responsible for the care ¹  of the sanctuary.

Numbers 3:34

3:34 Those of them who were numbered, counting every male from a month old and upward, were 6,200.

Numbers 3:39-40

3:39 All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the word ²  of the Lord, according to their families, every male from a month old and upward, were 22,000. ³ 

The Substitution for the Firstborn

3:40 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Number all the firstborn males of the Israelites from a month old and upward, and take ⁴  the number of their names.

Numbers 3:43

3:43 And all the firstborn males, by the number of the names from a month old and upward, totaled 22,273.

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¹ tn The construction here is a little different. The Hebrew text uses the participle in construct plural: שֹׁמְרֵי (shomÿrey, literally “keepers of”). The form specifies the duties of the 8,600 Kohathites. The genitive that follows this participle is the cognate מִשְׁמֶרֶת (mishmeret) that has been used before. So the expression indicates that they were responsible for the care of this part of the cult center. There is no reason to delete one of the forms (as does J. A. Paterson, Numbers, 42), for the repetition stresses the central importance of their work.

² tn Here again the Hebrew has “at the mouth of,” meaning in accordance with what the Lord said. So also in v. 51.

³ tn The total is a rounded off number; it does not duplicate the precise total of 22,300. Some modern scholars try to explain it by positing an error in v. 28, suggesting that “six” should be read as “three” (שֵׁשׁ [shesh] as שָׁלֹשׁ [shalosh]).

⁴ tn The verb נָשָׂא (nasa’, “take”) has here the sense of collect, take a census, or register the names.