Numbers 8 KJV
Setting Up the Lamps
Numbers Chapter 8: Setting Up the Lamps
The Levites' consecration requires shaving all body hair and washing garments, mirroring the purification protocol for lepers in Leviticus 14 and marking their transition from ordinary status to ritually set-apart substitutes for Israel's firstborn.
1nd the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick.
3 And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the LORD commanded Moses.
4 And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work: according unto the pattern which the LORD had shewed Moses, so he made the candlestick.
5 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
6 Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.
7 And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.
8 Then let them take a young bullock with his meat offering, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin offering.
9 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together:
10 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites:
11 And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the LORD.
12 And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, unto the LORD, to make an atonement for the Levites.
13 And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the LORD.
14 Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.
15 And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering.
16 For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me.
17 For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.
18 And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel.
19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary.
20 And Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites according unto all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the children of Israel unto them.
21 And the Levites were purified, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as an offering before the LORD; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them.
22 And after that went the Levites in to do their service in the tabernacle of the congregation before Aaron, and before his sons: as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they unto them.
23 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
24 This is it that belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation:
25 And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, and shall serve no more:
26 But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge.
โ โ arrow keys to navigate chapters ยท spacebar to play/pause audio
Did You Know?
The Levites' consecration requires shaving all body hair and washing garments, mirroring the purification protocol for lepers in Leviticus 14 and marking their transition from ordinary status to ritually set-apart substitutes for Israel's firstborn.
Although Numbers 4:3 sets the minimum service age at thirty, chapter 8:24 lowers it to twenty-five, implying a five-year probationary apprenticeship before Levites assume full tabernacle duties.
The Levites themselves are presented as a tenufah (wave offering) before Yahweh, an action normally applied only to portions of animal sacrifices, thereby framing their dedication as a living, human equivalent to atoning ritual elements.
Aaron is commanded to position the seven lamps so they illuminate the area 'over against' the menorah, a detail that underscores the lampstand's function in casting light inward toward the table of showbread rather than outward, reinforcing themes of ordered divine illumination within sacred space.
The dedication of the Levites is explicitly tied to the Passover redemption narrative, with their substitutionary role enacted shortly after the first wilderness Passover, linking their ongoing service to Israel's foundational act of deliverance from Egypt.
Commentary & Study Notes Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871) ยท Public Domain the Lord spake unto Moses โ The order of this chapter suggests the idea that the following instructions were given to Moses while he was within the tabernacle of the congregation,โฆ
Classic verse-by-verse commentary on Numbers 8 from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871). Covers: How the lamps are to be lighted; The consecration of the levites.
- 1
- the Lord spake unto Moses โ The order of this chapter suggests the idea that the following instructions were given to Moses while he was within the tabernacle of the congregation, after the princes had completed their offering. But from the tenor of the instructions, it is more likely that they were given immediately after the Levites had been given to the priests (see on Nu 3:1-4:49), and that the record of these instructions had been postponed till the narrative of other transactions in the camp had been made [PATRICK].
- 2
- Speak unto Aaron, &c. โ The candlestick, which was made of one solid, massive piece of pure gold, with six lamps supported on as many branches, a seventh in the center surmounting the shaft itself (Ex 25:31; 37:17), and completed according to the pattern shown in the mount, was now to be lighted, when the other things in the sanctuary began to be applied to religious service. It was Aaron's personal duty, as the servant of God, to light His house, which, being without windows, required the aid of lights (2Pe 1:19). And the course he was ordered to follow was first to light the middle lamp from the altar-fire, and then the other lamps from each other โ a course symbolical of all the light of heavenly truth being derived from Christ, and diffused by His ministers throughout the world (Re 4:5). the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick โ The candlestick stood close to the boards of the sanctuary, on the south side, in full view of the table of showbread on the north (Ex 26:35), having one set of its lamps turned towards the east, and another towards the west; so that all parts of the tabernacle were thus lighted up.
Read all 11 notes on Numbers 8 โ