Numbers 4:2

“Take a census ¹  of the Kohathites from among the Levites, by their families and by their clans,

"Take a census of the Kohathite branch of the Levites by their clans and families.

"Take a census of the descendants of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ households,

"Take a census of the clans and families of the Kohathite division of the Levite tribe.

"Number the Kohathite line of Levites by clan and family.

Let the sons of Kohath, from among the sons of Levi, be numbered by their families, in the order of their fathers’ houses;

Take a census of the Kohathites separate from the other Levites, by their clans and their ancestral houses,

"Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the children of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ house,

“Take a census ¹  of the Kohathites from among the Levites, by their families and by their clans,

¹ tn Heb “lift up the head.” The form נָשֹׂא (naso’) is the Qal infinitive absolute functioning here as a pure verb form. This serves to emphasize the basic verbal root idea (see GKC 346 §113.bb).

sn The census of chapter 3 was to register all male Levites from a month old and up. It arranged the general duties of each of the tribes. The second census of Levites now will focus on those between 30 and 50 years of age, those who were actually in service. These are the working Levites. The duties here will be more specific for each of the families. The Kohathites, although part of the ordinary ministry of Levites, were a special group chosen to handle the most holy furnishings. J. Milgrom shows three aspects of their service: (1) skilled labor (מְלָאכָה, mÿla’khah) or “work,” (2) physical labor (עֲבֹדָה, ‘avodah) or “service,” and (3) assisting the priests (שָׁרֵת, sharet) or “ministering” (see his Studies in Levitical Terminology, 1:60-70).