Now the appointment of duties of the sons of Merari included the framework of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its bases, all its equipment, and all the service concerning them,
Parallel translations
- WEB The appointed duty of the sons of Merari shall be the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, all its instruments, all its service,
- KJV And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serveth thereto,
- BSB The 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,
- NKJV And the appointed duty of the children of Merari included the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, its utensils, all the work relating to them,
- NLT These two clans were responsible for the care of the frames supporting the Tabernacle, the crossbars, the pillars, the bases, and all the equipment related to their use.
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 Merarites cared for the tabernacle's boards, bars, pillars, and sockets. They handled the heavy structural framework of God's dwelling.
Overview
Their duty involved the load-bearing components, the boards, bars, pillars, and bases that held the tabernacle together. This labor-intensive work required strength and care to transport and assemble. The sturdy framework that upheld the sanctuary reminds us that God's dwelling among His people rested on a divinely designed structure.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Exod 26:37You shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia, and overlay them with gold: their hooks shall be of gold: and you shall cast five sockets of brass for them.
- Exod 26:32You shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold; their hooks shall be of gold, on four sockets of silver.
- Exod 26:15–29“You shall make the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing up.
- Exod 39:33They brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent, with all its furniture, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets,
- Exod 38:17–20The sockets for the pillars were of brass. The hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver; and the overlaying of their capitals, of silver; and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver.
- Exod 35:11the tabernacle, its outer covering, its roof, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets;
- Exod 36:36He made four pillars of acacia for it, and overlaid them with gold. Their hooks were of gold. He cast four sockets of silver for them.
- Exod 36:20–34He made the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing up.
- Num 7:8and he gave four wagons and eight oxen to the sons of Merari, according to their service, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
- Exod 35:18the pins of the tabernacle, the pins of the court, and their cords;
- Num 4:29–33“As for the sons of Merari, you shall count them by their families, by their fathers’ houses;
- Exod 27:9–19“You shall make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen one hundred cubits long for one side:
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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 3:36 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
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