Bilangan 3:17

The Summary of Families

3:17 These were the sons ¹  of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Bilangan 3:1

The Sons of Aaron

3:1 ² Now these are the records ³  of Aaron and Moses when ⁴  the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.

1 Tawarikh 24:20

Remaining Levites

24:20 The rest of the Levites included: ⁵ 

Shubael ⁶  from the sons of Amram,

Jehdeiah from the sons of Shubael,

[3:17]  ¹ tn The word “sons of” does at the outset refer to the sons of Levi. But as the listing continues the expression refers more to the family groups of the various descendants.

[3:1]  ² sn For significant literature for this chapter, see M. Aberbach and L. Smolar, “Aaron, Jeroboam, and their Golden Calves,” JBL 86 (1967): 129-40; G. Brin, “The First-born in Israel in the Biblical Period” (Ph.D. diss., University of Tel Aviv, 1971); S. H. Hooke, “Theory and Practice of Substitution,” VT 2 (1952): 2-17; and J. Morgenstern, “A Chapter in the History of the High Priesthood,” AJSL 55 (1938): 1-24.

[3:1]  ³ tn The construction is וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת (vÿ’elleh tolÿdot), which was traditionally translated “now these are the generations,” much as it was translated throughout the book of Genesis. The noun can refer to records, stories, genealogies, names, and accounts of people. Here it is the recorded genealogical list with assigned posts included. Like Genesis, it is a heading of a section, and not a colophon as some have suggested. It is here similar to Exodus: “these are the names of.” R. K. Harrison, Numbers (WEC), 62, insists that it is a colophon and should end chapter 2, but if that is followed in the Pentateuch, it creates difficulty throughout the narratives. See the discussion by A. P. Ross, Creation and Blessing, 69-74.

[3:1]  ⁴ tn The expression in the Hebrew text (“in the day of”) is idiomatic for “when.”

[24:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “Belonging to the rest of the sons of Levi.”

[24:20]  ⁶ tn This appears to be a variant of the name Shebuel (cf. 1 Chr 23:16 and 26:24).