7:6 So Moses accepted the carts and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. 7:7 He gave two carts and four oxen to the Gershonites, as their service required; 7:8 and he gave four carts and eight oxen to the Merarites, as their service required, under the authority 1 of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. 7:9 But to the Kohathites he gave none, because the service of the holy things, which they carried 2 on their shoulders, was their responsibility. 3
1 tn Heb “hand.”
2 tn The verb is the imperfect tense, but it describes their customary activity – they had to carry, they used to carry.
3 tn Heb “upon them,” meaning “their duty.”