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This is the account of Aaron and Moses at the time the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.
Numbers 3:1 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Now this is the history of the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that Yahweh spoke with Moses in Mount Sinai.
  • KJV These also are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spake with Moses in mount Sinai.
  • NKJV Now these are the records of Aaron and Moses when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.
  • NASB Now these are the records of the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.
  • NLT This is the family line of Aaron and Moses as it was recorded when the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai:

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

This introduces the family record of Aaron and Moses at Sinai. It begins the account of the priestly line set apart for God's service.

Overview

The phrase 'the history of the generations' marks a new section focusing on the priesthood. By naming Aaron before Moses here, the text signals the chapter's concern with priestly succession. Rooted at Sinai where the covenant was given, this record establishes the divinely ordained line through whom Israel would approach God, anticipating the perfect High Priest, Jesus Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Exod 6:20And Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.
  • Lev 25:1Then the LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai,
  • Lev 27:34These are the commandments that the LORD gave to Moses for the Israelites on Mount Sinai.
  • Gen 5:1This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in His own likeness.
  • Gen 2:4This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made them.
  • Gen 10:1This is the account of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, who also had sons after the flood.
  • Exod 6:16These were the names of the sons of Levi according to their records: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived 137 years.
  • Matt 1:1This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
  • Exod 6:27Moses and Aaron were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt in order to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Numbers videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Numbers 3:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on NumbersMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 3:1 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.