Numbers 4:15
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When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all their equipment, as soon as the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites shall come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy objects, or they will die. These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the Tent of Meeting.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
After the priests had completed the wrapping up of all these things, the Kohathites were to come up to carry them; but they were not to touch "the holy" (the holy things), lest they should die (see Num 1:53; Num 18:3, and comp. Sa2 6:6-7).
Open source ↗In the former chapter an account was taken of the whole tribe of Levi, in this we have an account of those of that tribe who were in the prime of their time for service, betwixt thirty and fifty years old. I. The serviceable men of the Kohathites are ordered to be numbered, and their charges are given them (v. 2-20). II. Of the Gershonites (Num 4:24-28). III. Of the Merarites (Num 4:29-33). IV. The numbers of each, and the sum total at last, are recorded (Num 4:34, etc.).
Open source ↗4:15 Aaron and his surviving sons Eleazar and Ithamar had to cover the sanctuary and all the sacred articles completely before the camp was ready to move, with the groups of non-Levitical tribes marching before and behind the Levites who carried the Tabernacle. The royalty of these objects is seen in the symbolic colors of the coverings, and their sacredness underlies the stern warning that even though the Kohathites were the designated handlers, they must not touch the sacred objects, or they would die. Such respect marked the holiness of Israel’s Lord. The dangers of disregarding these instructions are apparent in 1 Sam 6:19-20 and 2 Sam 6:6-7.
Open source ↗Cross-references
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But he did not give any to the Kohathites, since they were to carry on their shoulders the holy objects for which they were responsible.
So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel.
Then the Kohathites set out, transporting the holy objects; the tabernacle was to be set up before their arrival.
Then David said, “No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the LORD has chosen them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister before Him forever.”
But God struck down some of the people of Beth-shemesh because they looked inside the ark of the LORD. He struck down seventy men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck them with a great slaughter.
And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded in accordance with the word of the LORD.
Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons were to camp to the east of the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, before the Tent of Meeting. They were to perform the duties of the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Israelites; but any outsider who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death.
Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until the people had completed everything the LORD had commanded Joshua to tell them, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried across,
Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever it is to be pitched, the Levites are to set it up. Any outsider who goes near it must be put to death.
When those carrying the ark of the LORD had advanced six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf.