Bible Strands
Numbers 3:36
The duties assigned to the sons of Merari were the tabernacle’s frames, crossbars, posts, bases, and all its equipment—all the service for these items,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrative records the division of Levitical responsibilities during the Israelite wilderness encampment, specifying the Merari clan’s assigned location and tasks.
The words — The Hebrew מִשְׁמֶרֶת (mishmeret) denotes a fixed duty or watch, while קַרְשֵׁי (karshéi) refers to the wooden frames of the tabernacle.
The thread — The physical components listed here correspond to the tabernacle construction details in Exodus 26:15, 26:32, and 26:37. The surrounding narrative in Numbers 3:35 and 37 frames these items within the Merarites’ northward encampment and transport duties.
Why it lands — The verse establishes that sacred worship requires designated labor and structural order. It demands recognition that handling holy objects is a regulated responsibility, not a voluntary activity.
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 under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serveth thereto,
Cross-references
- Exodus 26:15 You are to construct upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle.
- Exodus 26:32 Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood, overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases.
- Exodus 26:37 Make five posts of acacia wood for the curtain, overlay them with gold, use hooks of gold, and cast five bronze bases for them.
- Exodus 27:9 You are also to make a courtyard for the tabernacle. On the south side of the courtyard make curtains of finely spun linen, a hundred cubits long on one side,
- Exodus 35:11 the tabernacle with its tent and covering, its clasps and frames, its crossbars, posts, and bases;
- Exodus 35:18 the tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, along with their ropes;
- Exodus 36:20 Next, he constructed upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle.
- Exodus 36:36 He also made four posts of acacia wood for it and overlaid them with gold, along with gold hooks; and he cast four silver bases for the posts.
- Exodus 38:17 The bases for the posts were bronze, the hooks and bands were silver, and the plating for the tops of the posts was silver. So all the posts of the courtyard were banded with silver.
- Exodus 39:33 Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses: the tent with all its furnishings, its clasps, its frames, its crossbars, and its posts and bases;