numbered 8,580.
Parallel translations
- WEB even those who were counted of them, were eight thousand five hundred eighty.
- KJV Even those that were numbered of them, were eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore.
- BSB And the number of men was 8,580.
- NKJV those who were numbered were eight thousand five hundred and eighty.
- NASB their numbered men were 8,580.
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 total of serving Levites was 8,580 men. This summed the workforce for the tabernacle's transport and ministry.
Overview
The grand total combines the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites into one figure. Such precise accounting reflects the orderliness of God's arrangements for worship. The substantial number shows the significant human investment required to maintain the dwelling of God among His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Num 3:39All who were counted of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the commandment of Yahweh, by their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty-two thousand.
- Matt 22:15Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how they might entrap him in his talk.
- Matt 7:14How narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life! Few are those who find it.
- Matt 20:16So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 4:48 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.