Numbers 3:27

Study note

Setting — The narrator records the census and organizational details of the Levitical families following Mosaic instructions for tabernacle service. This enumeration occurs during the structured division of priestly duties before the clans assume their assigned sanctuary responsibilities.

The words — The text repeatedly employs מִשְׁפָּחָה (mishpaḥah), literally "clan" or "family group," to designate the four divisions descending from Kohath. The phrase לִקְהָת (liqehat) translates literally as "to Kohath," establishing his name as the ancestral source of these family lines.

The thread — The identical list of Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites, and Uzzielites appears in Numbers 3:19 and 1 Chronicles 23:12 as the foundational sons of Kohath. A later administrative register in 1 Chronicles 26:23 also preserves these exact clan names for temple service assignments.

Why it lands — The text establishes that specific, named family groups are assigned concrete responsibilities for handling sanctuary objects. A reader must recognize that the structure of Israel's worship relies on precise lineage and documented accountability rather than abstract devotion.

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.