Numbers 18 · WEB
Duties and Provisions for Priests and Levites
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Yahweh said to Aaron, "You and your sons and your fathers' house with you shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary; and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.
2Your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, bring near with you, that they may be joined to you and minister to you; but you and your sons with you shall be before the tent of the testimony.
3They shall keep your requirements and the requirements of the whole tent; only they shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary and to the altar, that they not die, neither they nor you.
4They shall be joined to you and keep the requirements of the Tent of Meeting, for all the service of the Tent. A stranger shall not come near to you.
5You shall keep the requirements of the sanctuary and the requirements of the altar, that there may be no more wrath on the children of Israel.
6Behold, I myself have taken your brothers the Levites from among the children of Israel. They are a gift to you, given to Yahweh, to do the service of the Tent of Meeting.
7You and your sons with you shall keep your priesthood for everything of the altar and for that within the veil. You shall serve. I give you the priest's office as a gift. The stranger who comes near shall be put to death."
8Yahweh spoke to Aaron, "Behold, I myself have given you the charge of my wave offerings, even all the holy things of the children of Israel. I have given them to you by reason of the anointing, and to your sons as a portion forever.
9This shall be yours of the most holy things from the fire: every offering of theirs, every meal offering of theirs, every sin offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render to me, shall be most holy for you and for your sons.
10You shall eat of it like the most holy things. Every male shall eat of it. It shall be holy to you.
11This is yours, too: the wave offering of their gift, even all the wave offerings of the children of Israel. I have given them to you and to your sons and to your daughters with you, as a portion forever. Everyone who is clean in your house shall eat of it.
12All the best of the oil, all the best of the vintage, and the best of the grain, the first fruits of them which they give to Yahweh, I have given them to you.
13The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land which they bring to Yahweh, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house shall eat of it.
14Everything devoted in Israel shall be yours.
15Everything that opens the womb, of all flesh which they offer to Yahweh, both of man and animal, shall be yours. Nevertheless, you shall surely redeem the firstborn of man, and you shall redeem the firstborn of unclean animals.
16You shall redeem those who are to be redeemed of them from a month old, according to your valuation, for five shekels of money, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.
17But you shall not redeem the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat. They are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and shall burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
18Their flesh shall be yours, as the wave offering's breast and as the right thigh are yours.
19All the wave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to Yahweh, I have given to you and to your sons and to your daughters with you, as a portion forever. It is a covenant of salt forever before Yahweh to you and to your offspring with you."
20Yahweh said to Aaron, "You shall have no inheritance in their land, and you shall have no portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.
21To the children of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, even the service of the Tent of Meeting.
22Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the Tent of Meeting, lest they bear sin and die.
23But the Levites shall do the service of the Tent of Meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.
24For the tithe of the children of Israel which they offer as a wave offering to Yahweh, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said to them that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance."
25Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
26"Moreover, you shall speak to the Levites and tell them, 'When you take from the children of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall offer up a wave offering of it for Yahweh, a tithe of the tithe.
27Your wave offering shall be credited to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor or the fullness of the wine press.
28Thus you shall also offer a wave offering to Yahweh of all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel; and of it you shall give Yahweh's wave offering to Aaron the priest.
29Out of all the gifts to you, you shall offer every wave offering of Yahweh of all the best of it, even the holy part of it out of it.'
30Therefore you shall tell them, 'When you have lifted up the best of it from it, then it shall be credited to the Levites as the increase of the threshing floor and as the increase of the wine press.
31You shall eat it in every place, you and your household, for it is your reward in return for your service in the Tent of Meeting.
32You shall bear no sin by reason of it when you have lifted up from it the best of it. You shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, that you not die.' "
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Summary
God addresses Aaron directly about the responsibilities of the priesthood: the priests bear the weight of protecting the holy things and standing between God's holiness and the people. In return, God assigns the priests generous portions from every offering and the best of the firstfruits. The Levites receive the tithes of all Israel as their inheritance in place of land. The Levites, in turn, give a tithe of the tithe to the priests. The underlying principle: "I am your portion and your inheritance" — God himself is the priests' reward.
Themes
- Responsibility accompanies privilege in priestly service
- God as the ultimate inheritance — better than land or wealth
- Tithing as a community system of mutual support for worship ministry
- The tithe of the tithe — those who receive gifts give gifts in return
- Sustainable provision for those who devote themselves to sacred work
Key verses
- Num 18:20 — “You shall have no inheritance in their land, and you shall have no portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.”
- Num 18:21 — “To the children of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve.”
- Num 18:7 — “You and your sons with you shall keep your priesthood for everything of the altar and for that within the veil. You shall serve. I give you the priest's office as a gift.”
Context & background
After Korah's rebellion challenged the Aaronic priesthood, this chapter restores clarity about priestly roles and compensation, setting the economic and theological basis for the Levitical system. The priests received no tribal land inheritance in Canaan (modern Israel) — a remarkable provision that kept them spiritually dependent on God and practically dependent on the generosity of the people. The "covenant of salt" (v. 19) was an ancient Near Eastern expression of an eternally binding, incorruptible agreement. The system described here — tithe to Levites, tithe of tithe to priests — was Israel's mechanism for funding full-time worship ministry, and it remained in force throughout the Old Testament period.
Cross-references
- 1 Cor 9:13-14 — Paul appeals to the Levitical model to argue that those who preach the gospel should live by the gospel
- Deut 18:1-8 — The priests' portions reiterated for life in Canaan
- Heb 7:5-9 — The author of Hebrews explores the Levitical tithe system to argue for Christ's superior priesthood
- Mal 3:10 — God's challenge to "bring the whole tithe into the storehouse," citing this system
- Ps 16:5 — "Yahweh, you are my portion and my cup" — David echoes the priestly inheritance principle