You are to present the Levites before the LORD and have the Israelites lay their hands upon them.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall present the Levites before Yahweh. The children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites,
- KJV And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites:
- NKJV So you shall bring the Levites before the Lord, and the children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites;
- NASB and present the Levites before the Lord; and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites.
- NLT When you present the Levites before the Lord, the people of Israel must lay their hands on them.
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
Israel lays hands on the Levites before the LORD. This identifies the Levites as the nation's offering and substitutes.
Overview
The laying on of hands signified the people designating the Levites as their representatives, given to God in place of the firstborn. It transferred the nation's claim and identified the Levites with those they served. This act anticipates the deeper substitution accomplished by Christ on his people's behalf (Isaiah 53:6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Acts 6:6They presented these seven to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
- Lev 1:4He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.
- Num 3:45“Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock. The Levites belong to Me; I am the LORD.
- Acts 13:2–3While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
- 1 Tim 5:22Do not be too quick in the laying on of hands and thereby share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
- 1 Tim 4:14Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given you through the prophecy spoken over you at the laying on of the hands of the elders.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 8:10 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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