Duties of the Kohathites

(Numbers 3:27-32; Numbers 4:34-37; 1 Chronicles 23:12-20)

1And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, 3from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, all that enter into the service, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: it is most holy.

5And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron and his sons shall go in, and they shall take down the veil of separation and cover the ark of testimony with it; 6and shall put thereon a covering of badgers' skin, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put its staves [to it]. 7And upon the table of shewbread they shall spread a cloth of blue; and put thereon the dishes, and the cups, and the bowls, and goblets of the drink-offering; and the continual bread shall be thereon. 8And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover it with a covering of badgers' skin, and shall put its staves [to it]. 9And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and its lamps, and its snuffers, and its snuff-trays, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they perform its service; 10and they shall put it and all the utensils thereof within a covering of badgers' skin, and shall put it upon a pole. 11And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers' skin, and shall put its staves [to it]. 12And they shall take all the instruments of service, wherewith they serve in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers' skin, and shall put them upon a pole. 13And they shall cleanse the altar of the ashes, and spread a purple cloth thereon; 14and they shall put upon it all the utensils thereof, wherewith they perform service about it: the firepans, the forks, and the shovels, and the bowls, -- all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers' skin, and put its staves [to it]. 15And when Aaron and his sons have ended covering the sanctuary, and all the utensils of the sanctuary, when the camp setteth forward, then afterwards the sons of Kohath shall come to carry it; but they shall not touch the holy things, lest they die. This is what the sons of Kohath have to carry in the tent of meeting.

16And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have the oversight of the oil for the light, and the fragrant incense, and the continual oblation, and the anointing oil, -- the oversight of the whole tabernacle, and of all that is therein, over the sanctuary, and over its furniture.

17And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 18Ye shall not cut off the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites, 19but this shall ye do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they draw near unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden; 20but they shall not go in and see for a moment the holy things, lest they die.

Duties of the Gershonites

(Numbers 3:21-26; Numbers 4:38-41; 1 Chronicles 23:7-11)

21And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 22Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, according to their fathers' houses, after their families. 23From thirty years old and upward to fifty years old shalt thou number them; every one that cometh to labour in the work, to perform the service in the tent of meeting. 24This shall be the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving, and in carrying: 25they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tent of meeting, its covering, and the covering of badgers' skin that is above upon it, and the curtain of the entrance to the tent of meeting, 26and the hangings of the court, and the curtain of the entrance, of the gate of the court, which surroundeth the tabernacle and the altar, and the cords thereof, and all the instruments of their service; and all that is to be done for these things shall they perform. 27At the commandment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their carrying, and in all their service; and ye shall appoint unto them in charge all their carrying. 28This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting, and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

Duties of the Merarites

(Numbers 3:33-37; Numbers 4:42-49; 1 Chronicles 23:21-23)

29The sons of Merari: after their families, according to their fathers' houses shalt thou number them; 30from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the labour, to perform the service of the tent of meeting. 31And this shall be the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tent of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and bases thereof, 32and the pillars of the court round about, and their bases, and their pegs, and their cords, all their instruments, according to all their service; and by name ye shall number to them the materials which are their charge to carry. 33This 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.

The Number of the Kohathites

(Numbers 3:27-32; Numbers 4:1-20; 1 Chronicles 23:12-20)

34And Moses and Aaron and the princes of the assembly numbered the sons of the Kohathites after their families, and according to their fathers' houses, 35from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, every one that entered into the labour, for service in the tent of meeting. 36And those that were numbered of them according to their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty. 37These are they that were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, every one that served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of Jehovah through Moses.

The Number of the Gershonites

(Numbers 3:21-26; Numbers 4:21-28; 1 Chronicles 23:7-11)

38And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, after their families, and according to their fathers' houses, 39from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, every one that entered into the labour, for service in the tent of meeting, 40even those that were numbered of them, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, were two thousand six hundred and thirty. 41These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, all that served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of Jehovah.

The Number of the Merarites

(Numbers 3:33-37; Numbers 4:29-33; 1 Chronicles 23:21-23)

42And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, 43from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, every one that entered into the labour, for service in the tent of meeting, 44even those that were numbered of them according to their families, were three thousand two hundred. 45These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of Jehovah through Moses.

46All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the princes of Israel numbered, after their families and according to their fathers' houses, 47from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, every one that came to serve [in] the work of the service, and [in] the work of carrying, in the tent of meeting, 48even those that were numbered of them, were eight thousand five hundred and eighty. 49According to the commandment of Jehovah they were numbered by Moses, every one for his service, and for his burden, and numbered by him, as Jehovah had commanded Moses.