1 The LORD spoke to Moses, and said,
2 "Give Aaron this command: When you set up the seven lamps, have them throw their light toward the front of the lampstand."
3 Aaron did so, setting up the lamps to face toward the front of the lampstand, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
4 The lampstand was made of beaten gold in both its shaft and its branches, according to the pattern which the LORD had shown Moses.
5 The LORD said to Moses:
6 "Take the Levites from among the Israelites and purify them.
7 This is what you shall do to them to purify them. Sprinkle them with the water of remission; then have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves.
8 They shall take a young bull, along with its cereal offering of fine flour mixed with oil; you shall take another young bull for a sin offering.
9 Then have the Levites come forward in front of the meeting tent, where you shall assemble also the whole community of the Israelites.
10 While the Levites are present before the LORD, the Israelites shall lay their hands upon them.
11 Let Aaron then offer the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the Israelites, thus devoting them to the service of the LORD.
12 The Levites in turn shall lay their hands on the heads of the bullocks, which shall then be immolated, the one as a sin offering and the other as a holocaust to the LORD, in atonement for the Levites.
13 Thus, then, shall you have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons, to be offered as a wave offering to the LORD;
14 and thus shall you set aside the Levites from the rest of the Israelites, that they may be mine.
15 "Only then shall the Levites enter upon their service in the meeting tent. You shall purify them and offer them as a wave offering;
16 because they, among the Israelites, are strictly dedicated to me; I have taken them for myself in place of every first-born that opens the womb among the Israelites.
17 Indeed, all the first-born among the Israelites, both of man and of beast, belong to me; I consecrated them to myself on the day I slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt.
18 But in place of all the first-born Israelites I have taken the Levites;
19 and I have given these dedicated Israelites to Aaron and his sons to discharge the duties of the Israelites in the meeting tent and to make atonement for them, so that no plague may strike among the Israelites should they come near the sanctuary."
20 Thus, then, did Moses and Aaron and the whole community of the Israelites deal with the Levites, carrying out exactly the command which the LORD had given Moses concerning them.
21 When the Levites had cleansed themselves of sin and washed their clothes, Aaron offered them as a wave offering before the LORD, and made atonement for them to purify them.
22 Only then did they enter upon their service in the meeting tent under the supervision of Aaron and his sons. The command which the LORD had given Moses concerning the Levites was carried out.
23 The LORD said to Moses:
24 "This is the rule for the Levites. Each from his twenty-fifth year onward shall perform the required service in the meeting tent.
25 When he is fifty years old, he shall retire from the required service and work no longer.
26 His service with his fellow Levites shall consist in sharing their responsibilities in the meeting tent, but he shall not do the work. This, then, is how you are to regulate the duties of the Levites."
Versículos relacionados com Numbers, 8:
Numbers 8 deals with the process of consecration of the Levites for the tabernacle service. The chapter begins with the instruction that the lamps of the chandelier must be lit to illuminate the area around the altar. Then God commands the Levites to be purified and consecrated for the service from the age of 25. They are presented before the priest for the consecration ceremony, where their heads are shaved and sacrifices are offered. After that, they start working on the tabernacle under the supervision of the priests.
Exodus 27:20: "You will order the children of Israel to bring you pure olive oil from olive trees to the lamp to light the lamps continuously." This verse talks about the use of pure olive oil to light the lamps of the chandelier, which is one of the aspects addressed in numbers 8. Leviticus 8:6: "Then Moses has come to Aaron and his children, and washed them with water." This verse describes one of the rituals of purification performed by the priests, something similar to what is done with the Levites in numbers 8. 1 Chronicles 23:24: "These were the children of Levi according to their families, the heads of families according to the record of their names, according to their heads, those who did the work of the ministry of the Lord's house , from the age of twenty upwards. " This verse mentions the age from which the Levites began to work on the temple service, something that is approached in numbers 8. Numbers 4:3: "From the age of thirty years up to the age of fifty, all who enter the congregation to do the work in the tent of the congregation." This verse refers to a specific age group for the tabernacle service, something that is mentioned in numbers 8. 2 Chronicles 29:34: "But the priests were in small numbers and could not skin all the burnt offering; so their brothers, the Levites, helped them, until the work was finished, and until the other priests sanctified themselves; The Levites were more straight in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests. " This verse highlights the role of the Levites in assisting the priests and performing the temple tasks, something that is treated in numbers 8.
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