For they are wholly given to me from among the children of Israel; instead of all who open the womb, even the firstborn of all the children of Israel, I have taken them to me.
Parallel Translations
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For they are wholly given to me from among the children of Israel; instead of all who open the womb, even the firstborn of all the children of Israel, I have taken them to me.
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For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me.
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For they are wholly given unto Me from among the children of Israel; instead of all that openeth the womb, even the first-born of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto Me.
Cross-references (3)
Passages linked to Numbers 8:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Numbers 3:12 “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,
- Numbers 3:45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock; and the Levites shall be mine. I am Yahweh.
- Numbers 3:9 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.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (7 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain That is, they that are the firstborn.
That is, they that are the firstborn.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain They are given unto me by the people’s consent,…
They are given unto me by the people’s consent, as well as taken (as it follows) by my choice and command. See Num 3:9.
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 For they are wholly given unto me from among…
For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel,.... All of them, entirely, and most certainly; or, "given, given" (u), which is repeated for the confirmation of it; or because of their being twice given, first to the Lord by the children of Israel, and then by the Lord to Aaron and his sons, as Chaskuni; though Jarchi interprets it of the different parts of their service they were devoted to, given for bearing and carrying the vessels of the sanctuary, and given for the song, or to be singers in the temple:
instead of such as open, every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel have I taken them unto me; See Gill on Num 3:12, and See Gill on Num 3:13.
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(u) "dati, dati", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; so Drusius and Ainsworth.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 16. Wholly given — The Hebrew nethunim, nethunim, given,…
16. Wholly given — The Hebrew nethunim, nethunim, given, given, is emphatic by repetition. (See Num_3:9, note.) At first they were the only attendants of the priests, and performed all the menial service.
Subsequently they were re-enforced by three hundred and twenty captive Midianites, (Num_31:47,) and still later by the condemned Gibeonites. Jos_9:27, note. When the service became more stately and onerous David and the princes further strengthened the Levites by the gift of the Nethinim, either prisoners of war or a remnant of the Canaanites, to live within the enclosure of the temple and to do its rougher work. Ezr_8:20. Two hundred and twenty of these were enrolled by Ezra among the Levites to supply their lack of service through a decline of their zeal for Jehovah.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (16) Instead of such as open every womb, even…
(16) Instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel.—It is difficult to determine whether the second clause is to be regarded as an exact equivalent, or as a limitation of the first. If an exact equivalent, a different meaning must be assigned to the firstborn from that which it commonly bears in the Pentateuch, where it appears to be restricted to the firstborn son on the father’s side. (Cf. Exo_13:2.)
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 For they are wholly given unto me. See Num_3:5-13,…
For they are wholly given unto me. See Num_3:5-13, the substance of which is emphatically repeated here.
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 each male child who opens the womb, the firstborn
each male child who opens the womb, the firstborn
These two phrases mean basically the same thing and are combined for emphasize the firstborn sons. (See: Parallelism)
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male child who opens the womb
This is an idiom. "To open the womb" means to give birth for the first time. Here this refers to the first male child to which a mother gives birth. AT: "child who is the firstborn son of his mother" (See: Idiom)
I took the lives
This is a polite way of referring to when a person kills someone. AT: "I killed" (See: Euphemism)
I set them apart
Here "them" refers to "the firstborn from among the people of Israel."
translationWords
womb
firstborn
descend
life
Egypt
set apart
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.