Then the tabernacle was taken down, and the Gershonites and the Merarites set out, transporting it.
Parallel translations
- WEB The tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who bore the tabernacle, went forward.
- KJV And the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set forward, bearing the tabernacle.
- NKJV Then the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set out, carrying the tabernacle.
- NASB Then the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who were carrying the tabernacle, set out.
- NLT Then the Tabernacle was taken down, and the Gershonite and Merarite divisions of the Levites were next in the line of march, carrying the Tabernacle with them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The tabernacle was taken down and carried forward by the sons of Gershon and Merari. The dwelling of God moved with the people.
Overview
After the lead tribes set out, the Levite families responsible for the tabernacle's structure carried it forward. Placing God's dwelling within the march shows that the Lord's presence traveled at the heart of His people, the central reality of their identity and hope.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Num 1:51Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever it is to be pitched, the Levites are to set it up. Any outsider who goes near it must be put to death.
- Num 7:6–8So Moses took the carts and oxen and gave them to the Levites.
- Num 3:25–26The duties of the Gershonites at the Tent of Meeting were the tabernacle and tent, its covering, the curtain for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting,
- Num 3:36–37The duties assigned to the sons of Merari were the tabernacle’s frames, crossbars, posts, bases, and all its equipment—all the service for these items,
- 2 Pet 1:14because I know that this tent will soon be laid aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.
- Num 4:21–33And the LORD said to Moses,
- Heb 9:11But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by hands and is not a part of this creation.
- Heb 12:28Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 10:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.