🔢WEB · Numbers 3:16
What does Numbers 3:16 mean?
"Moses counted them according to Yahweh’s word, as he was commanded."
— Numbers 3:16 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I made holy to me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and animal. They shall be mine. I am Yahweh.”
Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,
“Count the children of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their families. You shall count every male from a month old and upward.”
Moses counted them according to Yahweh’s word, as he was commanded.
These were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari.
These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei.
The sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, and Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
Explanation
Numbers 3:16 records a simple but significant moment: Moses did exactly what the Lord told him to do. The verse itself is brief and unadorned—it doesn't describe dramatic events or theological arguments, but simply confirms that when God gave Moses a specific instruction, Moses carried it out faithfully. In this case, the instruction concerned counting the tribe of Levi according to their families, as God had directed just a few verses earlier (Numbers 3:14-15).
The context is the w
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