Bible Strands
Numbers 3:16
So Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he had been commanded.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Moses executing a divine directive to conduct a census of the Levite tribes. This action occurs immediately after the command to count every male Levite from one month old upward and before the enumeration of Levi’s three sons.
The words — The verb וַ/יִּפְקֹ֥ד (va/yiffqod) literally means “he enrolled” or “he numbered,” indicating an official administrative count. The phrase עַל\־ פִּי (‘al pi) translates to “according to the mouth of,” a Hebrew idiom denoting strict adherence to spoken instruction.
The thread — This administrative obedience recurs in Numbers 3:39, where Moses and Aaron complete the Levite count, and in Numbers 4:37, where Kohathite servants are similarly numbered. Numbers 3:51 connects this same census framework to the redemption money delivered to Aaron’s sons.
Why it lands — The text states that Moses counted the Levites precisely because the LORD commanded it, not by his own initiative. It requires the reader to treat exact compliance with explicit instruction as the non-negotiable standard for religious administration.
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
And Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded.
Cross-references
- Numbers 3:39 The total number of Levites that Moses and Aaron counted by their clans at the LORD’s command, including all the males a month old or more, was 22,000.
- Numbers 4:37 These were counted from the Kohathite clans, everyone who could serve at the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron numbered them according to the command of the LORD through Moses.
- Numbers 3:51 And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the word of the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him.
- Numbers 4:27 All the service of the Gershonites—all their transport duties and other work—is to be done at the direction of Aaron and his sons; you are to assign to them all that they are responsible to carry.
- Numbers 4:41 These were counted from the Gershonite clans who served at the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the LORD’s command.
- Numbers 4:45 These were counted from the Merarite clans, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the LORD’s command through Moses.
- Numbers 4:49 At the LORD’s command through Moses they were numbered, and each one was assigned his work and burden, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
- Deuteronomy 21:5 And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve Him and pronounce blessings in His name and to give a ruling in every dispute and case of assault.
- Genesis 45:21 So the sons of Israel did as they were told. Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had instructed, and he also gave them provisions for their journey.