🔢WEB · Numbers 3:26
What does Numbers 3:26 mean?
"and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and around the altar, and its cords for all of its service."
— Numbers 3:26 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
The families of the Gershonites shall encamp behind the tabernacle westward.
The prince of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael.
The duty of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, its covering, and the screen for the door of the Tent of Meeting,
and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and around the altar, and its cords for all of its service.
Of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites.
According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were eight thousand six hundred, keeping the requirements of the sanctuary.
The families of the sons of Kohath shall encamp on the south side of the tabernacle.
Explanation
Numbers 3:26 comes in the middle of a list describing exactly what the Gershonite Levites were responsible for carrying and caring for in Israel's tabernacle. In plain language, the verse says that the Gershonites were in charge of the curtains that formed the walls around the courtyard of the tabernacle, the curtain that served as a doorway or screen into that courtyard, the area surrounding the altar, and all the ropes and cords needed to set up, secure, and maintain these structures. It's a technical, almost inventory-like statement, but it reflects a very real and important job within Israel's worship life.
The book of Numbers was written by Moses, addressed to the Israelites during their wilderness wanderings after the exodus from Egypt. Numbers 3 specifically organizes the tribe of Levi, who had been set apart by God to serve in the tabernacle instead of serving as regular soldiers or landowners like the other tribes. The Levites were divided into three clans — Gershon, Kohath, and Merari — each given distinct responsibilities
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