TORAH
NEVI'IM
KETUVIM
I - Chapter 23
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1When David reached a ripe old age, he made his son Shlomo king over Yisrael.
אוְדָוִיד זָקֵן וְשָׂבַע יָמִים וַיַּמְלֵךְ אֶת־שְׁלֹמֹה בְנוֹ עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל׃
2Then David assembled all the officers of Yisrael and the Kohanim and the Leviim.
בוַיֶּאֱסֹף אֶת־כָּל־שָׂרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְהַכֹּהֲנִים וְהַלְוִיִּם׃
3The Leviim, from the age of thirty and upward, were counted; the head-count of their males was 38,000:
גוַיִּסָּפְרוּ הַלְוִיִּם מִבֶּן שְׁלֹשִׁים שָׁנָה וָמָעְלָה וַיְהִי מִסְפָּרָם לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָם לִגְבָרִים שְׁלֹשִׁים וּשְׁמוֹנָה אָלֶף׃
4of these there were 24,000 in charge of the work of the House of Hashem, 6,000 officers and magistrates,
דמֵאֵלֶּה לְנַצֵּחַ עַל־מְלֶאכֶת בֵּית־יְהֹוָה עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבָּעָה אָלֶף וְשֹׁטְרִים וְשֹׁפְטִים שֵׁשֶׁת אֲלָפִים׃
54,000 gatekeepers, and 4,000 for praising Hashem “with instruments I devised for singing praises.”
הוְאַרְבַּעַת אֲלָפִים שֹׁעֲרִים וְאַרְבַּעַת אֲלָפִים מְהַלְלִים לַיהֹוָה בַּכֵּלִים אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתִי לְהַלֵּל׃
6David formed them into divisions: The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kehat, and Merari.
ווַיֶּחָלְקֵם דָּוִיד מַחְלְקוֹת לִבְנֵי לֵוִי לְגֵרְשׁוֹן קְהָת וּמְרָרִי׃
7The Gershonites: Ladan and Shim'i.
זלַגֵּרְשֻׁנִּי לַעְדָּן וְשִׁמְעִי׃
8The sons of Ladan: Yechiel the chief, Zetham, and Yoel—3.
חבְּנֵי לַעְדָּן הָרֹאשׁ יְחִיאֵל וְזֵתָם וְיוֹאֵל שְׁלֹשָׁה׃
9The sons of Shim'i: Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran—3. These were the chiefs of the clans of the Ladanites.
טבְּנֵי שִׁמְעִי שלמות [שְׁלוֹמִית] וַחֲזִיאֵל וְהָרָן שְׁלֹשָׁה אֵלֶּה רָאשֵׁי הָאָבוֹת לְלַעְדָּן׃
10And the sons of Shim'i: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah; these were the sons of Shim'i—4.
יוּבְנֵי שִׁמְעִי יַחַת זִינָא וִיעוּשׁ וּבְרִיעָה אֵלֶּה בְנֵי־שִׁמְעִי אַרְבָּעָה׃
11Jahath was the chief and Zizah the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many children, so they were enrolled together as a single clan.
יאוַיְהִי־יַחַת הָרֹאשׁ וְזִיזָה הַשֵּׁנִי וִיעוּשׁ וּבְרִיעָה לֹא־הִרְבּוּ בָנִים וַיִּהְיוּ לְבֵית אָב לִפְקֻדָּה אֶחָת׃
12The sons of Kehat: Amram, Izhar, Chevron, and Uzziel—4.
יבבְּנֵי קְהָת עַמְרָם יִצְהָר חֶבְרוֹן וְעֻזִּיאֵל אַרְבָּעָה׃
13The sons of Amram: Aharon and Moshe. Aharon was set apart, he and his sons, forever, to be consecrated as most holy, to make burnt offerings to Hashem and serve Him and pronounce blessings in His name forever.
יגבְּנֵי עַמְרָם אַהֲרֹן וּמֹשֶׁה וַיִּבָּדֵל אַהֲרֹן לְהַקְדִּישׁוֹ קֹדֶשׁ קָדָשִׁים הוּא־וּבָנָיו עַד־עוֹלָם לְהַקְטִיר לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה לְשָׁרְתוֹ וּלְבָרֵךְ בִּשְׁמוֹ עַד־עוֹלָם׃
14As for Moshe, the man of Hashem, his sons were named after the tribe of Levi.
ידוּמֹשֶׁה אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים בָּנָיו יִקָּרְאוּ עַל־שֵׁבֶט הַלֵּוִי׃
15The sons of Moshe: Gershom and Eliezer.
טובְּנֵי מֹשֶׁה גֵּרְשֹׁם וֶאֱלִיעֶזֶר׃
16The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the chief.
טזבְּנֵי גֵרְשׁוֹם שְׁבוּאֵל הָרֹאשׁ׃
17And the sons of Eliezer were: Rehabiah the chief. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.
יזוַיִּהְיוּ בְנֵי־אֱלִיעֶזֶר רְחַבְיָה הָרֹאשׁ וְלֹא־הָיָה לֶאֱלִיעֶזֶר בָּנִים אֲחֵרִים וּבְנֵי רְחַבְיָה רָבוּ לְמָעְלָה׃
18The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief.
יחבְּנֵי יִצְהָר שְׁלֹמִית הָרֹאשׁ׃
19The sons of Chevron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Yachaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
יטבְּנֵי חֶבְרוֹן יְרִיָּהוּ הָרֹאשׁ אֲמַרְיָה הַשֵּׁנִי יַחֲזִיאֵל הַשְּׁלִישִׁי וִיקַמְעָם הָרְבִיעִי׃
20The sons of Uzziel: Micha the chief and Isshiah the second.
כבְּנֵי עֻזִּיאֵל מִיכָה הָרֹאשׁ וְיִשִּׁיָּה הַשֵּׁנִי׃
21The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Elazar and Keesh.
כאבְּנֵי מְרָרִי מַחְלִי וּמוּשִׁי בְּנֵי מַחְלִי אֶלְעָזָר וְקִישׁ׃
22Elazar died having no sons but only daughters; the sons of Keesh, their kinsmen, married them.
כבוַיָּמָת אֶלְעָזָר וְלֹא־הָיוּ לוֹ בָּנִים כִּי אִם־בָּנוֹת וַיִּשָּׂאוּם בְּנֵי־קִישׁ אֲחֵיהֶם׃
23The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—3.
כגבְּנֵי מוּשִׁי מַחְלִי וְעֵדֶר וִירֵמוֹת שְׁלֹשָׁה׃
24These are the sons of Levi by clans, with their clan chiefs as they were enrolled, with a list of their names by heads, who did the work of the service of the House of Hashem from the age of twenty and upward.
כדאֵלֶּה בְנֵי־לֵוִי לְבֵית אֲבֹתֵיהֶם רָאשֵׁי הָאָבוֹת לִפְקוּדֵיהֶם בְּמִסְפַּר שֵׁמוֹת לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָם עֹשֵׂה הַמְּלָאכָה לַעֲבֹדַת בֵּית יְהֹוָה מִבֶּן עֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וָמָעְלָה׃
25For David said, “God of Yisrael has given rest to His people and made His dwelling in Yerushalayim forever.
כהכִּי אָמַר דָּוִיד הֵנִיחַ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל לְעַמּוֹ וַיִּשְׁכֹּן בִּירוּשָׁלַ ִם עַד־לְעוֹלָם׃
26Therefore the Leviim need not carry the Mishkan and all its various service vessels.”
v'-GAM lal-vi-YIM ayn la-SAYT et ha-mish-KAN v'-et kol kay-LAV la-a-vo-da-TO
כווְגַם לַלְוִיִּם אֵין־לָשֵׂאת אֶת־הַמִּשְׁכָּן וְאֶת־כָּל־כֵּלָיו לַעֲבֹדָתוֹ׃
23:26 Therefore the Leviim need not carry the Mishkan
In anticipation of the construction of the Beit Hamikdash in Yerushalayim, David counts the Leviim and assigns them a new role. Now that the house of God will find its permanent resting place in Yerushalayim, the job of carrying the Mishkan and the holy vessels, which had been assigned to the Leviim in the desert, is no longer relevant. They are therefore assigned other tasks; they are to assist the priests in the Temple service, serve as the gatekeepers for the Temple, and sing daily praises to the Lord. However, each Levi is to serve in the Beit Hamikdash for only one week out of every twenty-four (see chapter 25). The rest of their time, the members of the tribe of Levi have another highly significant job. They are to become the spiritual leaders of the Children of Israel by serving as officers, judges and teachers. As Moshe had blessed the tribe of Levi before his death, “They shall teach Your laws to Yaakov And Your instructions to Yisrael” (Deuteronomy 33:10). It is for this reason that they are not given their own portion in the Land of Israel, but instead are scattered among all the other tribes (see Joshua chapter 21). In this way, they are able to have an impact on the entire nation, providing the spiritual guidance essential for the Children of Israel to accurately represent God to the rest of the world.
27Among the last acts of David was the counting of the Leviim from the age of twenty and upward.
כזכִּי בְדִבְרֵי דָוִיד הָאַחֲרֹנִים הֵמָּה מִסְפַּר בְּנֵי־לֵוִי מִבֶּן עֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וּלְמָעְלָה׃
28For their appointment was alongside the Aaronites for the service of the House of Hashem, to look after the courts and the chambers, and the purity of all the holy things, and the performance of the service of the House of Hashem,
כחכִּי מַעֲמָדָם לְיַד־בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן לַעֲבֹדַת בֵּית יְהֹוָה עַל־הַחֲצֵרוֹת וְעַל־הַלְּשָׁכוֹת וְעַל־טָהֳרַת לְכָל־קֹדֶשׁ וּמַעֲשֵׂה עֲבֹדַת בֵּית הָאֱלֹהִים׃
29and the rows of bread, and the fine flour for the meal offering, and the unleavened wafers, and the cakes made on the griddle and soaked, and every measure of capacity and length;
כטוּלְלֶחֶם הַמַּעֲרֶכֶת וּלְסֹלֶת לְמִנְחָה וְלִרְקִיקֵי הַמַּצּוֹת וְלַמַּחֲבַת וְלַמֻּרְבָּכֶת וּלְכָל־מְשׂוּרָה וּמִדָּה׃
30and to be present every morning to praise and extol Hashem, and at evening too,
לוְלַעֲמֹד בַּבֹּקֶר בַּבֹּקֶר לְהֹדוֹת וּלְהַלֵּל לַיהֹוָה וְכֵן לָעָרֶב׃
31and whenever offerings were made to Hashem, according to the quantities prescribed for them, on Shabbatot, new moons and holidays, regularly, before Hashem;
לאוּלְכֹל הַעֲלוֹת עֹלוֹת לַיהֹוָה לַשַּׁבָּתוֹת לֶחֳדָשִׁים וְלַמֹּעֲדִים בְּמִסְפָּר כְּמִשְׁפָּט עֲלֵיהֶם תָּמִיד לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה׃
32and so to keep watch over the Tent of Meeting, over the holy things, and over the Aaronites their kinsmen, for the service of the House of Hashem.
לבוְשָׁמְרוּ אֶת־מִשְׁמֶרֶת אֹהֶל־מוֹעֵד וְאֵת מִשְׁמֶרֶת הַקֹּדֶשׁ וּמִשְׁמֶרֶת בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן אֲחֵיהֶם לַעֲבֹדַת בֵּית יְהֹוָה׃