Ulangan 10:8

10:8 At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi ¹  to carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, to stand before the Lord to serve him, and to formulate blessings ²  in his name, as they do to this very day.

Ulangan 10:1

The Opportunity to Begin Again

10:1 At that same time the Lord said to me, “Carve out for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones and come up the mountain to me; also make for yourself a wooden ark. ³ 

1 Samuel 16:21-22

16:21 David came to Saul and stood before him. Saul liked him a great deal, ⁴  and he became his armor bearer. 16:22 Then Saul sent word to Jesse saying, “Let David be my servant, for I really like him.” ⁵ 

1 Samuel 16:2

16:2 Samuel replied, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!” But the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you ⁶  and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’

1 Samuel 29:11

29:11 So David and his men got up early in the morning to return ⁷  to the land of the Philistines, but the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

[10:8]  ¹ sn The Lord set apart the tribe of Levi. This was not the initial commissioning of the tribe of Levi to this ministry (cf. Num 3:11-13; 8:12-26), but with Aaron’s death it seemed appropriate to Moses to reiterate Levi’s responsibilities. There is no reference in the Book of Numbers to this having been done, but the account of Eleazar’s succession to the priesthood there (Num 20:25-28) would provide a setting for this to have occurred.

[10:8]  ² sn To formulate blessings. The most famous example of this is the priestly “blessing formula” of Num 6:24-26.

[10:1]  ³ tn Or “chest” (so NIV, CEV); NLT “sacred chest”; TEV “wooden box.” This chest was made of acacia wood; it is later known as the ark of the covenant.

[16:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “he loved him.”

[16:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “Let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my eyes.”

[16:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “in your hand.”

[29:11]  ⁷ tc Heb “to go in the morning to return.” With the exception of Origen and the Lucianic recension, the Old Greek tradition lacks the phrase “in the morning.” The Syriac Peshitta also omits it.