Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 18:1
The Levitical priests—indeed the whole tribe of Levi—shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They are to eat the food offerings to the LORD; that is their inheritance.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites on the plains of Moab, concluding the covenant stipulations before they cross the Jordan.
The words — חֵלֶק (Che.lek) means "a portion" or land allotment, and לֹֽא (lo'-) negates יִ֠הְיֶה (Yih.yeh), "it will belong," directly denying the Levitical priests a territorial share.
The thread — The text states the priests lack a land portion and will instead eat the food offerings to the LORD, a provision detailed in Numbers 18:8, while the specific declaration that "the LORD is his inheritance" appears in Deuteronomy 10:9 and 18:2, and Paul applies the principle of altar workers sharing in offerings in 1 Corinthians 9:13.
Why it lands — The passage demands that readers accept the stated reality that priestly sustenance comes directly from sacred offerings rather than land, requiring a practical reliance on divine provision instead of territorial security.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and his inheritance.
Cross-references
- Numbers 18:8 Then the LORD said to Aaron, “Behold, I have put you in charge of My offerings. As for all the sacred offerings of the Israelites, I have given them to you and your sons as a portion and a permanent statute.
- Deuteronomy 10:9 That is why Levi has no portion or inheritance among his brothers; the LORD is his inheritance, as the LORD your God promised him.
- 1 Corinthians 9:13 Do you not know that those who work in the temple eat of its food, and those who serve at the altar partake of its offerings?
- Deuteronomy 12:19 and be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.
- Numbers 18:20 Then the LORD said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.
- Numbers 26:62 The registration of the Levites totaled 23,000, every male a month old or more; they were not numbered among the other Israelites, because no inheritance was given to them among the Israelites.
- Joshua 13:14 To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance. The food offerings to the LORD, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, just as He had promised them.
- Joshua 13:33 To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance. The LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, just as He had promised them.
- 1 Peter 5:2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed, but out of eagerness;
- Joshua 18:7 The Levites, however, have no portion among you, because their inheritance is the priesthood of the LORD. And Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have already received the inheritance that Moses the servant of the LORD gave them beyond the Jordan to the east.”