Bible Strands
Numbers 3:25
The duties of the Gershonites at the Tent of Meeting were the tabernacle and tent, its covering, the curtain for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses conveys divine instructions to the Israelite camp regarding the organizational structure of the Levitical tribes. The passage specifies the Gershonites' assigned responsibilities at the Tent of Meeting.
The words — מִשְׁמֶרֶת (mishmeret) denotes a fixed duty or guard, and גֵרְשׁוֹן (Gershon) identifies the patriarch whose descendants bear this specific load. מִכְסֵהוּ (mikhsehhu) literally means "its covering," referring to the protective layer over the tabernacle structure.
The thread — The tabernacle's curtains and coverings appear in Exodus 25:9, Exodus 26:1, and Exodus 26:36 as construction specifications, while Numbers 3:24 and Numbers 3:26 bracket this verse by naming their leader and listing their remaining duties. The material components are consistently tied to ritual care rather than architectural display.
Why it lands — The verse assigns concrete physical labor to a specific family line for the maintenance of sacred objects. It requires the reader to recognize that worship involves structured, tribal responsibility for tangible items.
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 the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, the covering thereof, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,
Cross-references
- Exodus 25:9 You must make the tabernacle and design all its furnishings according to the pattern I show you.
- Exodus 26:1 “You are to construct the tabernacle itself with ten curtains of finely spun linen, each with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and cherubim skillfully worked into them.
- Exodus 26:36 For the entrance to the tent, you are to make a curtain embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen.
- Exodus 36:8 All the skilled craftsmen among the workmen made the ten curtains for the tabernacle. They were made of finely spun linen, as well as blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, with cherubim skillfully worked into them.
- Exodus 36:37 For the entrance to the tent, he made a curtain embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen,
- Exodus 40:19 Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering over the tent, just as the LORD had commanded him.
- Exodus 40:28 Then he put up the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.
- Numbers 3:7 They are to perform duties for him and for the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, attending to the service of the tabernacle.
- Numbers 4:24 This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transport:
- Numbers 7:7 He gave the Gershonites two carts and four oxen, as their service required,