Bilangan 8:19

8:19 I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites, to do the work for the Israelites in the tent of meeting, and to make atonement for the Israelites, so there will be no plague among the Israelites when the Israelites come near the sanctuary.” ¹ 

Bilangan 9:14

9:14 If a resident foreigner lives ²  among you and wants to keep ³  the Passover to the Lord, he must do so according to the statute of the Passover, and according to its custom. You must have ⁴  the same ⁵  statute for the resident foreigner ⁶  and for the one who was born in the land.’”

Bilangan 15:15

15:15 One statute must apply ⁷  to you who belong to the congregation and to the resident foreigner who is living among you, as a permanent ⁸  statute for your future generations. You and the resident foreigner will be alike ⁹  before the Lord.

Bilangan 15:39

15:39 You must have this tassel so that you may look at it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and obey them and so that you do not follow ¹⁰  after your own heart and your own eyes that lead you to unfaithfulness. ¹¹ 

Bilangan 16:47

16:47 So Aaron did ¹²  as Moses commanded ¹³  and ran into the middle of the assembly, where the plague was just beginning among the people. So he placed incense on the coals and made atonement for the people.

[8:19]  ¹ sn The firstborn were those that were essentially redeemed from death in Egypt when the blood was put on the doors. So in the very real sense they belonged to God (Exod 13:2,12). The firstborn was one who stood in special relationship to the father, being the successive offspring. Here, the Levites would stand in for the firstborn in that special role and special relationship. God also made it clear that the nation of Israel was his firstborn son (Exod 4:22-23), and so they stood in that relationship before all the nations. The tribe of Reuben was to have been the firstborn tribe, but in view of the presumptuous attempt to take over the leadership through pagan methods (Gen 35:22; 49:3-4), was passed over. The tribes of Levi and Simeon were also put down for their ancestors’ activities, but sanctuary service was still given to Levi.

[9:14]  ² tn The words translated “resident foreigner” and “live” are from the same Hebrew root, גּוּר (gur), traditionally translated “to sojourn.” The “sojourner” who “sojourns” is a foreigner, a resident alien, who lives in the land as a temporary resident with rights of land ownership.

[9:14]  ³ tn The verb is the simple perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. It is therefore the equivalent to the imperfect that comes before it. The desiderative imperfect fits this usage well, since the alien is not required to keep the feast, but may indeed desire to do so.

[9:14]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text has “there will be to you,” which is the way of expressing possession in Hebrew. Since this is legal instruction, the imperfect tense must be instruction or legislation.

[9:14]  ⁵ tn Or “you must have one statute.”

[9:14]  ⁶ tn The conjunction is used here to specify the application of the law: “and for the resident foreigner, and for the one…” indicates “both for the resident foreigner and the one who….”

[15:15]  ⁷ tn The word “apply” is supplied in the translation.

[15:15]  ⁸ tn Or “a statute forever.”

[15:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “as you, as [so] the alien.”

[15:39]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “seek out, look into.”

[15:39]  ¹¹ tn This last clause is a relative clause explaining the influence of the human heart and physical sight. It literally says, “which you go whoring after them.” The verb for “whoring” may be interpreted to mean “act unfaithfully.” So, the idea is these influences lead to unfaithful activity: “after which you act unfaithfully.”

[16:47]  ¹² tn Heb “took.”

[16:47]  ¹³ tn Or “had spoken” (NASB); NRSV “had ordered.”