Bible Strands
Numbers 18:22
No longer may the Israelites come near to the Tent of Meeting, or they will incur guilt and die.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God addresses the Israelites and Levites at the establishment of the Tabernacle system to delineate sacred responsibilities and boundaries.
The words — יִקְרְב֥וּ (yik.re.Vu) means "they will draw near," paired with ע֛וֹד (od) meaning "again" or "longer," forming the active prohibition against approaching the Tent.
The thread — The text warns that unauthorized approach brings guilt and death, a pattern repeated in Leviticus 22:9 regarding profaning holy things and echoed in Numbers 1:51 regarding Levitical handling of the tabernacle. This restriction operates alongside the permanent statute that Levites bear iniquity for this service while receiving no land inheritance (Numbers 18:23).
Why it lands — It requires readers to recognize that sacred space and duties are strictly bounded by divine command, and that crossing those boundaries without appointment results in fatal consequences.
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
Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die.
Cross-references
- Leviticus 22:9 The priests must keep My charge, lest they bear the guilt and die because they profane it. I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
- Leviticus 20:20 If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered the nakedness of his uncle. They will bear their sin; they shall die childless.
- Numbers 1:51 Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever it is to be pitched, the Levites are to set it up. Any outsider who goes near it must be put to death.
- Numbers 3:10 So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood; but any outsider who approaches the tabernacle must be put to death.”
- Numbers 3:38 Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons were to camp to the east of the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, before the Tent of Meeting. They were to perform the duties of the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Israelites; but any outsider who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death.
- Numbers 18:7 But only you and your sons shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and what is inside the veil, and you are to perform that service. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but any outsider who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”