“When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary, and all the furniture of the sanctuary, as the camp moves forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to carry it: but they shall not touch the sanctuary, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting.
Parallel translations
- KJV And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.
- BSB When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all their equipment, as soon as the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites shall come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy objects, or they will die. These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the Tent of Meeting.
- NKJV And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. “These are the things in the tabernacle of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.
- NASB When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is to set out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them by the poles, so that they will not touch the holy objects and die. These are the things in the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.
- NLT The camp will be ready to move when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the sacred articles. The Kohathites will come and carry these things to the next destination. But they must not touch the sacred objects, or they will die. So these are the things from the Tabernacle that the Kohathites must carry.
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
Only after the priests had covered the holy things could the Kohathites carry them, and they must not touch the sacred objects on pain of death. Reverence for God's holiness was a matter of life and death.
Overview
The warning that touching the holy things would bring death guards against treating God's presence carelessly (cf. 2 Samuel 6:6-7). The Kohathites bore great privilege but also great peril, separated from direct contact by the priests' mediation. This sober boundary magnifies the grace of the gospel, in which Christ's mediation lets sinners draw near to the holy God and live.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 2 Sam 6:6–7When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached for God’s ark, and took hold of it; for the cattle stumbled.
- Num 7:9But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because the service of the sanctuary belonged to them; they carried it on their shoulders.
- Deut 31:9Moses wrote this law, and delivered it to the priests the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, and to all the elders of Israel.
- 1 Chr 13:9–10When they came to Chidon’s threshing floor, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled.
- Num 10:21The Kohathites set forward, bearing the sanctuary. The others set up the tabernacle before they arrived.
- 1 Sam 6:19He struck of the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into Yahweh’s ark, he struck fifty thousand seventy of the men. Then the people mourned, because Yahweh had struck the people with a great slaughter.
- 1 Chr 15:2Then David said, “No one ought to carry God’s ark but the Levites. For Yahweh has chosen them to carry God’s ark, and to minister to him forever.”
- Heb 12:18–29For you have not come to a mountain that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and to blackness, darkness, storm,
- Num 3:38Those who encamp before the tabernacle eastward, in front of the Tent of Meeting toward the sunrise, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the requirements of the sanctuary for the duty of the children of Israel. The stranger who comes near shall be put to death.
- Josh 4:10For the priests who bore the ark stood in the middle of the Jordan, until everything was finished that Yahweh commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and passed over.
- 1 Chr 15:15The children of the Levites bore God’s ark on their shoulders with its poles, as Moses commanded according to Yahweh’s word.
- 2 Sam 6:13When those who bore Yahweh’s ark had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf.
- Exod 19:12You shall set bounds to the people all around, saying, ‘Be careful that you don’t go up onto the mountain, or touch its border. Whoever touches the mountain shall be surely put to death.
- Num 3:30–31The prince of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.
- Num 1:51When the tabernacle is to move, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall set it up. The stranger who comes near shall be put to death.
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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 4:15 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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