Numbers 8:15

After you have cleansed them and presented them as a wave offering, they may come to serve at the Tent of Meeting.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — God instructs Moses to direct Aaron regarding the consecration of the Levites, following their separation from the rest of Israel. This directive occurs during the tabernacle's establishment and the Levites' formal induction into sacred service.

The words — יָבֹאוּ (ya.Vo.'u) translates as "they will come" and לַ/עֲבֹד (la./'a.Vod) as "to serve." These verbs link the Levites' movement directly to their designated function at the Tent of Meeting.

The thread — The requirement for presentation as a wave offering appears in Numbers 8:11 and 8:13, where Aaron brings the Levites before the LORD. Exodus 29:24 similarly commands waving offerings before the LORD as part of priestly consecration.

Why it lands — The text states that service at the Tent of Meeting is permitted only after cleansing and presentation as a wave offering. It establishes that access to sacred duty requires prior consecration.

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

וְאַֽחֲרֵי־ve./'a.cha.rei-and/ after כֵן֙khenthus יָבֹ֣אוּya.Vo.'uthey will go הַלְוִיִּ֔םha/l.vi.Yimthe/ Levites לַעֲבֹ֖דla./'a.Vodto/ serve אֶת־'et-<obj.>אֹ֣הֶל'O.hel[the] tent of מוֹעֵ֑דmo.'Edmeeting וְטִֽהַרְתָּ֣ve./ti.har.Taand/ you will purify אֹתָ֔ם'o.Ta/m<obj.>/ them וְהֵנַפְתָּ֥ve./he.naf.Taand/ you will wave אֹתָ֖ם'o.Ta/m<obj.>/ them תְּנוּפָֽה׃te.nu.Faha wave-offering

King James Version

And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering.

Cross-references

Numbers 8:11 Aaron is to present the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the sons of Israel, so that they may perform the service of the LORD.
Numbers 8:13 You are to have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons and then present them before the LORD as a wave offering.
Exodus 29:24 Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and wave them before the LORD as a wave offering.
Numbers 3:12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb. The Levites belong to Me,
Numbers 3:23 The Gershonite clans were to camp on the west, behind the tabernacle,
Numbers 4:3 men from thirty to fifty years old—everyone who is qualified to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.
1 Chronicles 23:1 When David was old and full of years, he installed his son Solomon as king over Israel.
1 Chronicles 25:1 Additionally, David and the commanders of the army set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to prophesy with the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. The following is the list of the men who performed this service: