“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.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 15 Which divided the Sanctuary from the holiest of all.
Which divided the Sanctuary from the holiest of all.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv5, 8, 13, 15 Num 4:5 And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron…
Num 4:5 And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering vail, and cover the ark of testimony with it:
Ver. 5. And when the camp setteth forward.] Which was not till the cloud was taken up from off the tabernacle, by the Lord, {Num 10:11-12} who went before them. Semper memento illud Pythagoricum, Eπον θεω, {a} Let God lead us, and we cannot miscarry.
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{a} Boetius.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 Hereafter mentioned, as the ark, table, altar, &c. Compare…
Hereafter mentioned, as the ark, table, altar, &c. Compare Num 3:31.
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 On vv4–15 This shall be the service of the sons of…
This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath, in the tabernacle of the congregation,.... What follows, Num 4:4,
about the most holy things; which Aben Ezra interprets only of the ark, which was indeed a most holy thing, and stood in the most holy place; but there were other holy things, in the care of which the service of the Kohathites lay; as the shewbread table, the candlestick, and the altars of incense and burnt offering, and the vail, and the ministering: vessels, which Jarchi reckons with it, as more holy than all other things.
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 On vv5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 15 They shall take down - For upon this necessary…
They shall take down - For upon this necessary occasion the inferior priests are allowed to come into the holy of holies, which otherwise was peculiar to the high-priest. The covering veil - The second veil, wherewith the ark was covered while the tabernacle stood, Exod. xl, 3. Cover the ark - Because the Levites, who were to carry the ark, might neither see, nor immediately touch it.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv5, 7, 11, 13, 15 Num 4:5-6. They shall take down — For upon…
Num 4:5-6. They shall take down — For upon this necessary occasion the inferior priests were allowed to come into the holy of holies, which otherwise was peculiar to the high-priest. The covering veil — The second veil, wherewith the ark was covered while the tabernacle stood, Exo 40:3. Cover the ark — Because the Levites, who were to carry the ark, might neither see, nor immediately touch it. Badgers’ skins — Whereby the ark was secured from the injuries of the weather.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv4, 6 About the most holy things - Omit “about.” The…
About the most holy things - Omit “about.” The sense is, “this is the charge of the sons of Kohath, the most holy things:” i. e. the ark of the covenant, the table of showbread, the candlestick, and the golden altar, together with the furniture pertaining thereto. It appears, from a comparison of Num 4:16, Num 4:28, Num 4:33, that the ministry of the Kohathites was superintended by Eleazar, the older of the two surviving sons of Aaron; and that of the two other families by Ithamar.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 7, 10, 13, 15 Sons. Necessity excused them on this occasion. Out of…
Sons. Necessity excused them on this occasion. Out of respect for the ark, the Levites were not allowed to behold or touch it uncovered. (Calmet) --- That hangeth before the door. Hebrew, "the covering veil, and shall," &c. (Haydock)
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 15 This shall be the service of the sons of…
This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath, &c.--They are mentioned first, from their close connection with Aaron; and the special department of duty assigned to them during the journeyings of Israel accorded with the charge they had received of the precious contents of the tabernacle. But these were to be previously covered by the common priests, who, as well as the high priest, were admitted on such necessary occasions into the holy place. This was an exception to the general rule, which prohibited the entrance of any but the high priest. But when the cloud removed from the tabernacle, the sanctuary might be entered by the common priests, as to them was reserved the exclusive privilege of packing the sacred utensils; and it was not till the holy things were thus ready for carriage, that the Kohathites were allowed to approach.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 15 SERVICE OF THE SONS OF KOHATH, Num_4:4-20.
SERVICE OF THE SONS OF KOHATH, Num_4:4-20.
These have the post of honour, perhaps because Moses and Aaron pertained to this family. Seniority would have assigned this most responsible charge to the Gershonites.
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4. In the tabernacle — Into the holy of holies, where God met the high priest, no other person was permitted to go. But it was the office of the Kohathites to transport and have the charge of the sacred furniture contained therein when wrapped up by Aaron and his sons.
The most holy things — Hebrew, holiness of holiness, a form of Hebrew superlative. There is no need of the English preposition about. “The most holy things” are the grammatical appositive of tabernacle; the container is put for the contained, such as the ark of the covenant, the golden altar, the table of show-bread, and the candlestick. These were not to be touched, nor even seen, till wrapped up by the priests in the manner prescribed in the following verses. Eleazar, the elder of Aaron’s living sons, was charged with the preparation of these burdens of the Kohathites. See Num_4:16.
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 On vv4, 5, 7, 15 4. the most holy things] The furniture and utensils…
4. the most holy things] The furniture and utensils of the Dwelling, enumerated in Num_4:5-14. The ‘service of the sons of Kohath’ is not stated till Num_4:15 b. Before they could perform their duty of carrying the sacred objects the priests must cover them up, that the Levites may neither touch (Num_4:15) nor see them (Num_4:20).
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 On vv5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15 (5) Aaron shall come, and his sons . .…
(5) Aaron shall come, and his sons . . . —Under ordinary circumstances the high priest himself might only enter the most holy place on one day in the year. At the time of the moving of the camp, however, the Divine Presence seems to have departed from the Holy of Holies, and to have ascended in the cloud which gave the signal for the removal.
The covering vail.—Better, the vail of the hanging or curtain—viz., that which separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. (Comp. Num_3:31.)
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 On vv4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15 About the most holy things. Rather, "the most holy…
About the most holy things. Rather, "the most holy things:" they were the service of the Kohathites. So the Septuagint.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v7 (See Scofield "Exo 25:30").
shewbread
(See Scofield "Exo 25:30").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv5, 7, 9, 12, 15 When the camp prepares
When the camp prepares
Here "camp" refers to all of the people in the camp. AT: "When the people prepare" (See: Metonymy)
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to move forward
This refers to the people moving to another location. AT: "to move to another location" (See: Idiom)
cover the ark of the testimony with it
The word "it" refers to the curtain that separated the most holy place from the holy place.
insert the poles
The poles were inserted into rings on the sides of the ark so that the poles could be used to carry the ark. This can be stated clearly. AT: "insert the poles into the rings on the ark's sides" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
son
tent
curtain
holy place
ark of the covenant
sea cow
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4, 15 4:4-20 The duties of the Kohathites (see 3:27-32) are…
4:4-20 The duties of the Kohathites (see 3:27-32) are listed first because they performed a special service related to the most sacred objects (perhaps because Aaron and the priests came from this clan; 1 Chr 6:2-3). The tasks of carrying, setting up, and disassembling these sacred coverings and furnishings were extremely important. All the things entrusted to Kohath’s descendants—the Ark of the Covenant, the table of the Bread of the Presence, the lampstand (Hebrew menorah), the gold incense altar, and the altar for sacrifices—held tremendous value. These objects are first described in Exod 25–30, but Numbers shows how they were integrated into Hebrew life. The Kohathites carried these items on poles or in frames, and they were not to touch them or enter the sanctuary to look at them on penalty of death.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.