When the tabernacle is to move, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall set it up. The stranger who comes near shall be put to death.
Parallel Translations
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When the tabernacle is to move, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall set it up. The stranger who comes near shall be put to death.
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And when the tabernacle setteth forward, the Levites shall take it down: and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
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And when the tabernacle setteth forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up; and the common man that draweth nigh shall be put to death.
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to Numbers 1:51 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Numbers 3:38 Those who encamp before the tabernacle eastward, in front of the Tent of Meeting toward the sunrise, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the requirements of the sanctuary for the duty of the children of Israel. The outsider who comes near shall be put to death.
- Numbers 3:10 You shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall keep their priesthood, but the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.”
- Numbers 18:22 Henceforth the children of Israel shall not come near the Tent of Meeting, lest they bear sin, and die.
- 1 Samuel 6:19 He struck of the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into Yahweh’s ark, he struck fifty thousand seventy of the men. Then the people mourned, because Yahweh had struck the people with a great slaughter.
- 2 Samuel 6:7 Yahweh’s anger burned against Uzzah; and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by God’s ark.
- Leviticus 22:10-13 “ ‘No stranger shall eat of the holy thing: a foreigner living with the priests, or a hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing. But if a priest buys a slave, purchased by his money, he shall eat of it; and those who are born in his house shall eat of his bread. If a priest’s daughter is married to an outsider, she shall not eat of the heave offering of the holy things. But if a priest’s daughter is a widow, or divorced, and has no child, and has returned to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat of her father’s bread; but no stranger shall eat any of it.
- Numbers 4:1-33 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, from thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all who enter into the service to do the work in the Tent of Meeting. “This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting, regarding the most holy things. When the camp moves forward, Aaron shall go in with his sons; and they shall take down the veil of the screen, cover the ark of the Testimony with it, put a covering of sealskin on it, spread a blue cloth over it, and put in its poles. “On the table of show bread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the spoons, the bowls, and the cups with which to pour out; and the continual bread shall be on it. They shall spread on them a scarlet cloth, and cover it with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in its poles. “They shall take a blue cloth and cover the lamp stand of the light, its lamps, its snuffers, its snuff dishes, and all its oil vessels, with which they minister to it. They shall put it and all its vessels within a covering of sealskin, and shall put it on the frame. “On the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in its poles. “They shall take all the vessels of ministry with which they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of sealskin, and shall put them on the frame. “They shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth on it. They shall put on it all its vessels with which they minister about it, the fire pans, the meat hooks, the shovels, and the basins—all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of sealskin, and put in its poles. “When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furniture of the sanctuary, as the camp moves forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to carry it; but they shall not touch the sanctuary, lest they die. The sons of Kohath shall carry these things belonging to the Tent of Meeting. “The duty of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the continual meal offering, and the anointing oil, the requirements of all the tabernacle, and of all that is in it, the sanctuary, and its furnishings.” Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “Don’t cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites; but thus do to them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint everyone to his service and to his burden; but they shall not go in to see the sanctuary even for a moment, lest they die.” Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ houses, by their families; you shall count them from thirty years old and upward until fifty years old: all who enter in to wait on the service, to do the work in the Tent of Meeting. “This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in bearing burdens: they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the Tent of Meeting, its covering, the covering of sealskin that is on it, the screen for the door of the Tent of Meeting, the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the gate of the court which is by the tabernacle and around the altar, their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and whatever shall be done with them. They shall serve in there. At the commandment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burden and in all their service; and you shall appoint their duty to them in all their responsibilities. This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the Tent of Meeting. Their duty shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. “As for the sons of Merari, you shall count them by their families, by their fathers’ houses; you shall count them from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old—everyone who enters on the service, to do the work of the Tent of Meeting. This is the duty of their burden, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting: the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, the pillars of the court around it, their sockets, their pins, their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service. You shall appoint the instruments of the duty of their burden to them by name. This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”
- Numbers 10:11 In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle of the covenant.
- Numbers 10:17-21 The tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who bore the tabernacle, went forward. The standard of the camp of Reuben went forward according to their armies. Elizur the son of Shedeur was over his army. Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai was over the army of the tribe of the children of Simeon. Eliasaph the son of Deuel was over the army of the tribe of the children of Gad. The Kohathites set forward, bearing the sanctuary. The others set up the tabernacle before they arrived.
- Numbers 16:40 to be a memorial to the children of Israel, to the end that no stranger who isn’t of the offspring of Aaron, would come near to burn incense before Yahweh, that he not be as Korah, and as his company; as Yahweh spoke to him by Moses.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Whosoever is not of the tribe of Levi.
Whosoever is not of the tribe of Levi.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain stranger elsewhere is one of another nation, here one…
The
stranger elsewhere is one of another nation, here one of another tribe, one no Levite. That cometh nigh, so as to do the offices mentioned Num 1:50.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And when the tabernacle setteth forward,.... Or was about…
And when the tabernacle setteth forward,.... Or was about to set forward; that is, the congregation were about to journey, and take the tabernacle with them, as they always did, when and wherever they journeyed:
the Levites shall take it down; unpin it, take the boards and pillars out of their sockets, and the bars out of their places, and the whole into pieces, in order to be put into wagons prepared to carry them, of which mention is made in a following chapter:
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and when the tabernacle is pitched, the Levites shall set it up; at whatsoever place the congregation encamped and took up their abode for any time: the tabernacle was pitched in the manner as tents are, when the Levites put the several parts together, laid the sockets, put in the boards and the bars, and also the pillars of the court and elsewhere, and hung the hangings upon them; and set the candlestick, tables, altars, ark, and all the vessels of the sanctuary in their proper places:
and the stranger that cometh nigh; to meddle with or touch the above things, to assist in taking down or setting up the tabernacle, or bearing any of the vessels of it: by a stranger is meant, not one of another nation, nor a proselyte, whether of the gate or of righteousness; but, as Aben Ezra interprets it, one that is a stranger from the sons of Levi, who is not of that tribe, even though an Israelite:
shall be put to death; either the sanhedrim or court of judicature shall condemn and put him to death, as the same writer observes; or he shall die by the hand of heaven, as Jarchi; that is, by the immediate hand of God, or with flaming fire from before the Lord, as the Targum of Jonathan; as Uzzah was smote, and died by the ark of God for touching it, Sa2 5:6.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain That cometh nigh - The stranger elsewhere is one…
That cometh nigh - The stranger elsewhere is one of another nation, here one of another tribe. So as to do the offices mentioned, ver. 50.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Stranger, even of any other tribe. (St. Augustine, q.…
Stranger, even of any other tribe. (St. Augustine, q. 3.) (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 51. The stranger that cometh nigh — Every non-Levite…
51. The stranger that cometh nigh — Every non-Levite is prohibited from intrusion upon the sacred precincts. So, also, with respect to the priestly office, every Levite not an Aaronic priest is a stranger. The profaned censers used by Korah the Levite, and his host of princes, were made into plates for the covering of the altar, “to be a memorial (warning) unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the Lord.” Num_16:36-40.
Shall be put to death — We find no directions to the Hebrew judiciary in such a case, and no instance of the infliction of the death penalty for this sacrilege by the human magistrate, but a record of the special interposition of Jehovah in the case of Nadab and Abihu, (Lev_10:1-2,) supposed to have been drunk, because of the prohibition of wine immediately subjoined, (Lev_10:8-10,) and also of Uzzah, 1Ch_13:10. Hence we infer that this crime was punished by the immediate stroke of the Divine hand only. To the objection that this punishment was too severe and too summary, we reply that it was designed to teach the holiness of God in an impressive manner. We know too little of the Divine government to criticise its acts.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 51. the stranger] Not a ‘foreigner,’ but one who…
51. the stranger] Not a ‘foreigner,’ but one who does not belong to the particular class mentioned in the context—here and in Num_18:4, the Levites; in Num_3:10; Num_3:38, Num_18:7, the priests.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (51) And the stranger that cometh nigh shall be…
(51) And the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.—The word zar (stranger) here denotes one who was not of the tribe of Levi (Lev_22:10; Lev_22:12).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The stranger. The word appears to mean here any…
The stranger. The word appears to mean here any unauthorized person. (see Num_16:40) This is the first intimation given of the extreme and awful sanctity of the tabernacle, as the tent of the Divine Presence. It is, however, quite of a piece with the anxious warnings against intrusion upon the holy mount at the time of the giving of the law. (Exo_19:21, sq. ) The great necessity for Israel was that he should understand and believe that the Lord before whom he had trembled at Sinai was really in the midst of him in all his travail and his danger. This could only be impressed upon his dull mind and hard heart by surrounding the presence chamber of Jehovah with awful sanctities and terrors. At a subsequent period, when the religious reverence here thrown around the tabernacle had been transferred to, or rather concentrated upon, the ark alone, Uzzah was actually smitten for breaking this law. (1Ch_13:10) The tumult raised against St. Paul (Act_21:27, sq. ) was justified by a supposed violation of the same.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 When the tabernacle is to be set up
When the tabernacle is to be set up
This can be stated in active form. AT: "When it is time to set up the tabernacle" (See: Active or Passive)
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Any stranger ... must be killed
This can be stated in active form. AT: "Any stranger ... must die" or "You must kill any stranger who comes near the tabernacle" (See: Active or Passive)
the banner
a large flag
his armed group
"his military division"
translationWords
Israel
tent
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.