Numbers 3

Aaron and his four sons were annointed priests by God, with Aaron as the first high priest in Israel. But Nadab, the firstborn and Abihu offered strange fire before the Lord and were killed. And so, the remaining sons of Aaron, namely, Eleazar and Ithamar served as priest in the lifetime of Aaron.

To assist and support Aaron and his sons, God appointed the tribe of the Levi for the work in the tabernacle. Aaron and his sons were of the tribe of Levi but only Aaron and his sons were appointed to serve as priests from that tribe.

Actually, the Levites substituted all the firstborn in Israel. When God delivered all the firstborn of Israel at the Passover judgment in Egypt, He claimed for Himself all the firstborn as His special possession. But God made a provision that instead of the firstborn in all Israel, He would take for Himself the tribe of Levi instead.


God commanded Moses to count the tribe of Levi starting from male babies a month old upwards. Levi had three sons: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

From the families of Gershon, the count reached 7,500. The Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle to the west. Their job was to look after the curtains and hangings in the tabernacle.

From the families of Kohath, the count reached 8,600. The Kohathties were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. Their job was to look after the furnitures, the vessels and the veil of the tabernacle.

From the families of Merari, the count reached 6,200. The Merarites were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. Their job was to look after the timber, the metal parts, the framework and the fence that surround the tabernacle.

Moses, Aaron and his sons were to camp in front of the tabernacle on the east side.

All in all, the Levites were 22,000 in population. But when Moses was commanded to total the number of firstborn sons in Israel from a month old upwards, the total exceeded that of the Levites---there were 22,273 firstborn sons in Israel.

Again, the Levites were the substitutes of the firstborn sons in Israel on a one to one basis. This means that 273 firstborn sons had no substitutes and were still therefore under obligation to serve God in the tabernacle service. To deal with the situation, the 273 had to be redeemed, ransom money was given, thereby redeeming the unsubstituted firstborn sons.