민수기 18:16 주석

Aaron being now fully established in the priesthood abundantly to his own satisfaction, and to the satisfaction of the people (which was the good that God brought out of the evil opposition made to him), in this chapter God gives him full instructions concerning his office or rather repeats those which he had before given him. He tells him, I. What must be his work and the care and charge committed to him, and what assistance he should have the Levites in that work (Num 18:1-7). II. What should be his and the Levites' wages for this work. 1. The perquisites or fees peculiar to the priests (Num 18:8-19). 2. The settled maintenance of the Levites (Num 18:20-24). III. The portion which must be paid to the priests out of the Levites' maintenance (Num 18:25-32). Thus every one knew what he had to do, and what he had to live upon.

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 18 This chapter gives an account of the distinct work and service of the priests and Levites, Num 18:1; and of several things given to the priests for their maintenance, Num 18:8; and of the tithes the Levites should have to live upon, since they were to have no inheritance in the land of Israel, Num 18:20; and of the tenth out of those tithes they were to give to the high priest, Num 18:25.

But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem,.... That is, shalt not take the redemption price for them, but the creatures themselves; which they, the priests, were to take for their own use: they are holy; separated to the Lord, and therefore not to be used in common by men, but were sacred to the Lord, or became the property of his priests; see Deu 15:19; how they were to be made use of follows: thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar; for they were to be sacrificed, and their blood used as in other sacrifices: and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire; for a sweet savour unto the Lord; as the fat of other sacrifices was, and particularly of the peace offerings, which were wholly eaten otherwise, Lev 7:31.

The priests and Levites to have no inheritance, Deu 18:1, Deu 18:2. What is the priest's due, Deu 18:3-5. Of the Levites that come from any of the other cities, Deu 18:6-8. The Israelites must not copy the abominations of the former inhabitants, Deu 18:9. None to cause his son or daughter to pass through the fire, or use any kind of divination or enchantment, as the former inhabitants did, Deu 18:10-14. The great prophet which God promised to raise up, Deu 18:15-19. Of false prophets, Deu 18:20; and how to discern them, Deu 18:21, Deu 18:22.

Shalt thou redeem - for the money of five shekels - Redemption of the first-born is one of the rites which is still practiced among the Jews. According to Leo of Modena, it is performed in the following manner: - When the child is thirty days old, the father sends for one of the descendants of Aaron: several persons being assembled on the occasion, the father brings a cup containing several pieces of gold and silver coin. The priest then takes the child into his arms, and addressing himself to the mother, says: Is this thy son? Mother. Yes. Priest. Hast thou never had another child, male or female, a miscarriage or untimely birth? Mother. No. Priest. This being the case, this child, as first-born, belongs to me. Then, turning to the father, he says: If it be thy desire to have this child, thou must redeem it. Father. I present thee with this gold and silver for this purpose. Priest. Thou dost wish, therefore, to redeem the child? Father. I do wish so to do. The priest then, turning himself to the assembly, says: Very well; this child, as first-born, is mine, as it is written in Bemidbar, (Num 18:16), Thou shalt redeem the first-born of a month old for five shekels, but I shall content myself with this in exchange. He then takes two gold crowns, or thereabouts, and returns the child to his parents.

THE CHARGE OF THE PRIESTS AND LEVITES. (Num 18:1-7) the Lord said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father's house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary--Security is here given to the people from the fears expressed (Num 17:12), by the responsibility of attending to all sacred things being devolved upon the priesthood, together with the penalties incurred through neglect; and thus the solemn responsibilities annexed to their high dignity, of having to answer not only for their own sins, but also for the sins of the people, were calculated in a great measure to remove all feeling of envy at the elevation of Aaron's family, when the honor was weighed in the balance with its burdens and dangers.

Service and Revenues of the Priests and Levites - Numbers 18 The practical confirmation of the priesthood of Aaron and his family, on the part of God, is very appropriately followed by the legal regulations concerning the official duties of the priest and Levites (Num 18:1-7), and the revenues to be assigned them for their services (vv. 8-32), as the laws hitherto given upon this subject, although they contain many isolated stipulations, have not laid down any complete and comprehensive arrangement. The instructions relating to this subject were addressed by Jehovah directly to Aaron (see Num 18:1 and Num 18:8), up to the law, that out of the tenths which the Levites were to collect from the people, they were to pay a tenth again to the priests; and this was addressed to Moses (Num 18:25), as the head of all Israel.