and Aaron shall offer the Levites before Yahweh for a wave offering on the behalf of the children of Israel, that it may be theirs to do the service of Yahweh.
Parallel Translations
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and Aaron shall offer the Levites before Yahweh for a wave offering on the behalf of the children of Israel, that it may be theirs to do the service of Yahweh.
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And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the LORD.
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And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for a wave-offering from the children of Israel, that they may be to do the service of the LORD.
Cross-references (7)
Passages linked to Numbers 8:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Leviticus 7:30 With his own hands he shall bring the offerings of Yahweh made by fire. He shall bring the fat with the breast, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before Yahweh.
- Exodus 29:24 You shall put all of this in Aaron’s hands, and in his sons’ hands, and shall wave them for a wave offering before Yahweh.
- Leviticus 8:27 He put all these in Aaron’s hands and in his sons’ hands, and waved them for a wave offering before Yahweh.
- Leviticus 8:29 Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave offering before Yahweh. It was Moses’ portion of the ram of consecration, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
- Numbers 1:49-53 “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not count, neither shall you take a census of them among the children of Israel; but appoint the Levites over the Tabernacle of the Testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; and they shall take care of it, and shall encamp around it. 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. The children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, according to their divisions. But the Levites shall encamp around the Tabernacle of the Testimony, that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the children of Israel. The Levites shall be responsible for the Tabernacle of the Testimony.”
- Numbers 3:5-43 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. They shall keep his requirements, and the requirements of the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle. They shall keep all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting, and the obligations of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. You shall give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons. They are wholly given to him on the behalf of the children of Israel. You shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall keep their priesthood, but the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.” Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn who open the womb among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine, for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I made holy to me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and animal. They shall be mine. I am Yahweh.” Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, “Count the children of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their families. You shall count every male from a month old and upward.” Moses counted them according to Yahweh’s word, as he was commanded. These were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei. The sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. The sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ houses. Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimeites. These are the families of the Gershonites. Those who were counted of them, according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward, even those who were counted of them were seven thousand five hundred. The families of the Gershonites shall encamp behind the tabernacle westward. Eliasaph the son of Lael shall be the prince of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites. The duty of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting shall be the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for the door of the Tent of Meeting, the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court which is by the tabernacle and around the altar, and its cords for all of its service. Of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites. These are the families of the Kohathites. According to the number of all the males from a month old and upward, there were eight thousand six hundred keeping the requirements of the sanctuary. The families of the sons of Kohath shall encamp on the south side of the tabernacle. The prince of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. Their duty shall be the ark, the table, the lamp stand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which they minister, the screen, and all its service. Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be prince of the princes of the Levites, with the oversight of those who keep the requirements of the sanctuary. Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites. These are the families of Merari. Those who were counted of them, according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward, were six thousand two hundred. The prince of the fathers’ house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They shall encamp on the north side of the tabernacle. The appointed duty of the sons of Merari shall be the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, all its instruments, all its service, the pillars of the court around it, their sockets, their pins, and their cords. 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. All who were counted of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the commandment of Yahweh, by their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty-two thousand. Yahweh said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names. You shall take the Levites for me—I am Yahweh—instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the livestock of the children of Israel.” Moses counted, as Yahweh commanded him, all the firstborn among the children of Israel. All the firstborn males according to the number of names from a month old and upward, of those who were counted of them, were twenty-two thousand two hundred seventy-three.
- Numbers 6:20 and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before Yahweh. They are holy for the priest, together with the breast that is waved and the thigh that is offered. After that the Nazirite may drink wine.
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Num 8:11 And Aaron shall offer the Levites before…
Num 8:11 And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD [for] an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the LORD.
Ver. 11. And Aaron shall offer the Levites.] Heb., Wave the Levites; which might figure, ministers’ miseries and afflictions, by Satan’s sifting them, and wicked men’s turmoiling them, as Jeremiah, that "man of contentions." {Jer 15:12}
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 For an offering, Heb. for a wave-offering. Of which…
For an offering, Heb. for a wave-offering. Of which see Exo 29:24. Not that Aaron did so wave them, which he could not do, but that he caused or commanded them to imitate that motion, and to wave themselves towards the several parts of the world; whereby they might signify their readiness to serve God according to their capacity wheresoever they should be; though the word may be taken more generally for any offering made to God, as Exo 35:22.
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 Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord,....…
And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord,.... Or "wave" (r) them, as a wave offering, which was moved to and fro, backwards and forwards; not that they were actually so waved and moved to and fro by Aaron, which could not be done by him; though it is possible he might make such a motion himself, and they might do the like after him, thereby signifying that they belonged unto the Lord of the whole earth; and some think this testified their readiness to serve the Lord; to which may be added their constant employment in his service, being always in motion, doing one piece of service or another continually; as the people of God, and especially the ministers of the word, should be always abounding: in the work of the Lord. Ainsworth supposes that the troubles and afflictions of the ministers of God are figured hereby:
for an offering of the children of Israel; to the Lord, hereby devoting them to his service:
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that they may execute the service of the Lord; for them, in their room and stead, do what otherwise they must have done; see Num 3:7; with this compare Isa 66:20.
(r) "et motabit", Tigurine version; "et faciet elevare", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; "et agitabit", Drusius; "et agitato", Piscator.
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 For an offering - Hebrew. for a wave-offering. Not…
For an offering - Hebrew. for a wave-offering. Not that Aaron did so wave them, which he could not do, but that he caused them to imitate that motion, and to wave themselves toward the several parts of the world: whereby they might signify their readiness to serve God, according to their capacity wheresoever they should be.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Num 8:11. Aaron shall offer — Hebrew, Shall wave…
Num 8:11. Aaron shall offer — Hebrew, Shall wave the Levites for a wave- offering; not that Aaron did so wave them, which be could not do, but it is probable that he lifted up his hands, and turned to all quarters of the heavens, as he did when he offered a wave-offering; and that he caused them to imitate his motions, and to wave themselves toward the several parts of the world; in order that they might hereby signify their readiness to serve God, according to their capacity, wheresoever they should be.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain A gift. Hebrew, "he shall heave them as a…
A gift. Hebrew, "he shall heave them as a heave-offering before the Lord." Some assert, that Aaron lifted each of them towards the four quarters of the world; (ver. 21,) or he made them go up towards the altar, and on each side. This ceremony was performed whenever a Levite was taken into the ministry, 2 Paralipomenon xxix. 34.
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 And Aaron shall offer the Levites--Hebrew, "as a wave…
And Aaron shall offer the Levites--Hebrew, "as a wave offering"; and it has been thought probable that the high priest, in bringing the Levites one by one to the altar, directed them to make some simple movements of their persons, analogous to what was done at the presentation of the wave offerings before the Lord. Thus were they first devoted as an offering to God, and by Him surrendered to the priests to be employed in His service. The consecration ceremonial was repeated in the case of every Levite who was taken (as was done at a later period) to assist the priests in the tabernacle and temple. (See on Ch2 29:34).
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 11. Aaron shall offer the Levites — Literally, wave…
11. Aaron shall offer the Levites — Literally, wave the Levites. In the wave offering portions of the victims were waved to and fro at the altar, (Lev_7:30, note,) but in the case of men they no doubt were solemnly led backward and forward before the altar.
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 11. offer] wave, as R.V. marg.; see Num_8:13; Num_8:15;…
11. offer] wave, as R.V. marg.; see Num_8:13; Num_8:15; Num_8:21. The literal significance of the term (see on Num_5:25) is here lost, but the underlying thought remains that, having been given to Jehovah, the Levites were given back by Him for ritual service to the priests and the congregation.
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 (11) And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the…
(11) And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord for an offering.—Literally, and Aaron shall wave the Levites as a wave-offering before the Lord. The manner in which the Levites were thus set apart to the Lord is not expressed. It may have been done by leading them backwards and forwards in front of the Tabernacle and in the presence of the people, or by the waving of Aaron’s hands. The same word is used elsewhere in reference to offerings of different kinds—as, e.g., of gold in Exo_35:22. (Comp. Num_8:13; Num_8:15; Num_8:21 of this chapter.) The symbolical meaning of the ceremony is obvious from the concluding words of the verse, and is further explained in Num_8:13-14. (Comp. Lev_7:30 and Note.)
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 And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord…
And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord for an offering. Rather, "Aaron shall wave" them "for a wave offering"; (Hebrew, nuph; see Exo_29:24) and so in verses 13, 15, and 21. This injunction seems conclusive that the whole ceremonial was to be symbolically per. formed, for the Levites could not possibly be waved in any literal sense. Some have supposed that they were marched up and down before the altar, forgetting that the court would scarcely afford standing room for 1000 people, while the Levites between thirty and fifty numbered more than 8000. It is certain that the Levites could only be brought before the Lord, could only be waved (howsoever that was done), could only lay their hands upon the bullocks, by representation. If we suppose, e.g., that a hundred men of position and command among them entered the court as representatives of the tribe, then we can understand how the ceremonial here commanded might have been effectively carried out. That they may execute the service of the Lord. Literally, "that they may be to execute the service of the Lord." Their being waved made them over in a figure to the Lord to be wholly his, and to live only for his service, and at his command. But just as wave offerings were assigned by Divine permission to the use of the priests, so were the Levites given to Aaron and his sons for ever.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 8:11 The reference to Aaron’s raised hands suggests that…
8:11 The reference to Aaron’s raised hands suggests that Israel offered the Levites to the Lord as a “wave offering”—the type of offering lifted up to the Lord (cp. Lev 7:30). The Levites were dedicated to duties that made them “living and holy sacrifices” (cp. Rom 12:1).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.