But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders.
Parallel translations
- WEB But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because the service of the sanctuary belonged to them; they carried it on their shoulders.
- BSB But he did not give any to the Kohathites, since they were to carry on their shoulders the holy objects for which they were responsible.
- NKJV But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because theirs was the service of the holy things, which they carried on their shoulders.
- NASB But he did not give any to the sons of Kohath, because theirs was the service of the holy objects, which they carried on the shoulder.
- NLT But he gave none of the wagons or oxen to the Kohathite division, since they were required to carry the sacred objects of the Tabernacle on their shoulders.
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 sons of Kohath receive no wagons, because they carried the holy objects on their shoulders.
Overview
The Kohathites bore the ark and the most sacred furnishings, which were to be carried by hand, not on carts (Num 4:15). The most holy things demanded the most personal, reverent handling. Later, neglect of this very rule cost Uzzah his life (2 Sam 6:6-7), underscoring the seriousness of approaching holy things God's way.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Num 3:31And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the hanging, and all the service thereof.
- Num 4:4–16This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things:
- 2 Sam 6:13And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.
- 1 Chr 15:13For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.
- 2 Sam 6:6And when they came to Nachon’s threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it.
- 1 Chr 23:26And also unto the Levites; they shall no more carry the tabernacle, nor any vessels of it for the service thereof.
- 1 Chr 15:3And David gathered all Israel together to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD unto his place, which he had prepared for it.
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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 7:9 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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