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The Leaders Bring Gifts to the Sacred Tent

When Moses had finished setting up the sacred tent, he dedicated it to the Lord, together with its furnishings, the altar, and its equipment. Then the twelve tribal leaders of Israel, the same men who had been in charge of counting the people,[a] came to the tent with gifts for the Lord. They brought six strong carts and twelve oxen—one ox from each leader and a cart from every two.

The Lord said to Moses, “Accept these gifts, so the Levites can use them here at the sacred tent for carrying the sacred things.”

Then Moses took the carts and oxen and gave them to the Levites, 7-8 who were under the leadership of Ithamar son of Aaron. Moses gave two carts and four oxen to the Gershonites for their work, and four carts and eight oxen to the Merarites for their work. But Moses did not give any to the Kohathites, because they were in charge of the sacred objects that had to be carried on their shoulders.

10 On the day the altar was dedicated, the twelve leaders brought offerings for its dedication. 11 The Lord said to Moses, “Each day one leader is to give his offering for the dedication.”

12-83 So each leader brought the following gifts:

a silver bowl that weighed one and a half kilograms and a silver sprinkling bowl weighing almost a kilogram, both of them filled with flour and olive oil as grain sacrifices and weighed according to the official standards;

a small gold dish filled with incense;

a young bull, a full-grown ram, and a year-old ram as sacrifices to please the Lord;[b]

a goat[c] as a sacrifice for sin;

and two bulls, five full-grown rams, five goats, and five rams a year old as sacrifices to ask the Lord's blessing.[d]

The tribal leaders brought their gifts and offerings in the following order:

On the first day

Nahshon from Judah,

on the second day

Nethanel from Issachar,

on the third day

Eliab from Zebulun,

on the fourth day

Elizur from Reuben,

on the fifth day

Shelumiel from Simeon,

on the sixth day

Eliasaph from Gad,

on the seventh day

Elishama from Ephraim,

on the eighth day

Gamaliel from Manasseh,

on the ninth day

Abidan from Benjamin,

on the tenth day

Ahiezer from Dan,

on the eleventh day

Pagiel from Asher,

on the twelfth day

Ahira from Naphtali.

84-88 And so when the altar was dedicated to the Lord, these twelve leaders brought the following gifts:

12 silver bowls and 12 silver sprinkling bowls, weighing a total of almost 28 kilograms, according to the official standards;

12 gold dishes filled with incense and weighing over a kilogram;

12 bulls, 12 full-grown rams, and 12 rams a year old as sacrifices to please the Lord, along with the proper grain sacrifices;

12 goats as sacrifices for sin;

and 24 bulls, 60 full-grown rams, 60 goats, and 60 rams a year old as sacrifices to ask the Lord's blessing.

89 Whenever Moses needed to talk with the Lord, he went into the sacred tent, where he heard the Lord's voice coming from between the two winged creatures above the lid of the sacred chest.

Aaron Puts the Gold Lamps in Place

(A) The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron to put the seven lamps on the lampstand so they shine toward the front.”

Aaron obeyed and placed the lamps as he was told. The lampstand was made of hammered gold from its base to the decorative flowers on top, exactly like the pattern the Lord had described to Moses.

Instructions for Ordaining the Levites

The Lord said to Moses:

The Levites must be acceptable to me before they begin working at the sacred tent. So separate them from the rest of the Israelites and sprinkle them with the water that washes away their sins. Then have them shave their entire bodies and wash their clothes.

They are to bring a bull and its proper grain sacrifice of flour mixed with olive oil. And they must bring a second bull as a sacrifice for sin.

Then you, Moses, will call together all the people of Israel and send the Levites to my sacred tent, 10 where the people will place their hands on them. 11 Aaron will present the Levites to me as a gift from the people, so that the Levites will do my work.

12 After this, the Levites are to place their hands on the heads of the bulls. Sacrifice one of the bulls for the forgiveness of sin, and the other to make sure that I am pleased. Then the Levites will be acceptable to me. 13 They will stand at my altar in front of Aaron and his sons, who will dedicate the Levites to me.

14 This ceremony will show that the Levites are different from the other Israelites and belong to me in a special way. 15 After they have been made acceptable and have been dedicated, they will be allowed to work at my sacred tent. 16 They are mine and will take the place of the first-born Israelite sons. 17 (B) When I killed the oldest sons of the Egyptians, I decided that the first-born sons in each Israelite family would be mine, as well as every first-born male from their flocks and herds. 18 But now I have chosen these Levites as substitutes for the first-born sons, 19 and I have given them as gifts to Aaron and his sons to serve at the sacred tent. I will hold them responsible for what happens to anyone who gets too close to the sacred tent.[e]

The Levites Are Dedicated to the Lord

20 Moses, Aaron, and the other Israelites made sure that the Levites did everything the Lord had commanded. 21 The Levites sprinkled themselves with the water of forgiveness and washed their clothes. Then Aaron brought them to the altar and offered sacrifices to forgive their sins and make them acceptable to the Lord. 22 After this, the Levites worked at the sacred tent as assistants to Aaron and his sons, just as the Lord had commanded.

23 The Lord also told Moses, 24-25 “Levites who are between the ages of 25 and 50 must work at my sacred tent. But once they turn 50, they must retire. 26 They may help the other Levites in their duties, but they must no longer be responsible for any work themselves. Remember this when you assign their duties.”

Footnotes

  1. 7.2 the same men … the people: See 1.1-19.
  2. 7.12-83 sacrifices to please the Lord: See the note at 6.11.
  3. 7.12-83 goat: Hebrew “male goat.”
  4. 7.12-83 sacrifices to ask the Lord's blessing: See the note at 6.14.
  5. 8.19 I will hold … sacred tent: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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