Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
God prescribes the placement of the lampstand and the lamps. Second, at verse 7, He gives the rite of the consecration of the Levites.
Vulgate Text: Numbers 8:1-26
1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2. Speak to Aaron, and you shall say to him: When you have set up the seven lamps, let the lampstand be erected on the south side. Command therefore that the lamps face toward the north, opposite the table of the showbread: they shall give light toward the side that the lampstand faces. 3. And Aaron did so, and placed the lamps upon the lampstand, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 4. Now this was the construction of the lampstand: it was of beaten gold, both the central shaft and all that grew from either side of the branches, according to the pattern that the Lord had shown Moses; so he made the lampstand. 5. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 6. Take the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and you shall purify them, 7. according to this rite: Let them be sprinkled with the water of purification, and let them shave all the hair of their flesh. And when they have washed their garments and been cleansed, 8. they shall take an ox from the herd, and its libation of fine flour mixed with oil: and you shall take another ox from the herd for sin: 9. and you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the covenant, having convoked the whole multitude of the sons of Israel. 10. And when the Levites are before the Lord, the sons of Israel shall lay their hands upon them. 11. And Aaron shall offer the Levites as an offering in the sight of the Lord from the sons of Israel, that they may serve in His ministry. 12. The Levites also shall lay their hands upon the heads of the oxen, of which you shall offer one for sin and the other as a holocaust to the Lord, to make atonement for them. 13. And you shall set the Levites in the sight of Aaron and his sons, and you shall consecrate them as offered to the Lord, 14. and you shall separate them from the midst of the children of Israel, that they may be Mine. 15. And afterward they shall enter the tabernacle of the covenant, to serve Me. And thus you shall purify and consecrate them as an offering to the Lord: because they have been given to Me as a gift by the children of Israel. 16. In place of the firstborn who open every womb in Israel, I have taken them. 17. For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are Mine, both of men and of animals. From the day I struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for Myself: 18. and I took the Levites in place of all the firstborn of the children of Israel: 19. and I gave them as a gift to Aaron and his sons from the midst of the people, to serve Me on behalf of Israel in the tabernacle of the covenant, and to pray for them, lest there be a plague among the people, if they should dare to approach the Sanctuary. 20. And Moses and Aaron and the whole multitude of the children of Israel did concerning the Levites what the Lord had commanded Moses: 21. and they were purified and washed their garments. And Aaron elevated them in the sight of the Lord, and prayed for them, 22. that once purified they might enter upon their duties in the tabernacle of the covenant before Aaron and his sons. As the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so it was done. 23. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 24. This is the law of the Levites: From twenty-five years old and above, they shall enter to minister in the tabernacle of the covenant. 25. And when they have completed the fiftieth year of age, they shall cease to serve: 26. and they shall be ministers of their brethren in the tabernacle of the covenant, to guard what has been entrusted to them, but they shall not do the work itself. Thus shall you arrange for the Levites in their duties.
Verse 2: When You Place the Seven Lamps
When you place the seven lamps, let the lampstand be set up in the southern part, — as if to say: upon the seven-branched lampstand place seven lamps, light them, and set the lampstand itself in the southern part of the tabernacle.
Note on the Hebrew Word Haalot
Note: For posueris (you shall place), the Hebrew has haalot, which word signifies both to raise up and put in place, and to light. Our Translator, however, following the Septuagint, more often renders it as to place, to set, to arrange. Hence it seems that these seven lamps or lights were not wrought as one piece with or continuous to the lampstand itself, but were separate from it, so that they could be placed upon it, that is, upon its seven branches, and in fact were placed upon them whenever they were lit by the priests. For it was more convenient that they could be removed, so that they could be better cleaned, refilled, and arranged.
The Lamps Face Toward the Table of Showbread
Therefore command that the lamps face northward, directly toward the table of the showbread. — All this is not in the Hebrew, but is supplied and added paraphrastically by our Translator from Exodus, for the sake of explanation. For in the Hebrew there is only what follows, namely: They shall shine toward the side that the lampstand faces, as if to say: set up the lampstand with its lamps in the southern part of the tabernacle, so that it casts its light toward the opposite northern side, where the table of the showbread is, to illuminate it. For this is the table at which God, as it were, feasts; but no one feasts in darkness, but in light: and the tabernacle, covered on all sides with curtains and having no window, was dark, and therefore the lampstand was placed in it to illuminate it: hence God here commands its seven lamps to face, not the Holy of Holies, but the table of the showbread, so that they shine toward that side which the lampstand faces, that is, the central shaft or trunk of the lampstand itself, so that both this trunk of the lampstand and each of its lamps equally face this table, the better and more abundantly to illuminate it.
Verse 3: Aaron Placed the Lamps on the Lampstand
And Aaron did so, and placed the lamps upon the lampstand. — Aaron placed and lit the lamps on the eighth day, when his consecration was now complete: for during the first seven days, Moses both placed and lit these lamps and burned incense and offered sacrifice, as I said in chapter 7.
The Hysteron Proteron of the Narrative
Hence it is clear that here too there is a hysteron proteron (reversal of chronological order); for these events are not recounted here in historical order, since according to that order they should have been placed in Leviticus 9. For there Aaron celebrates his first rites, of which this lighting and arrangement of the lamps was a part. But because that passage deals mostly with sacrifices, these matters were postponed to this place, after the offering of the princes, which occurred at nearly the same time.
Verse 4: The Lampstand of Beaten Gold
Of beaten gold (was) both the central shaft and all that grew from either side of the branches, — as if to say: the lampstand was not composed and fitted together from fragments and parts, but the whole was of beaten gold, that is, the whole was wrought by hammering from a single mass of gold; the whole, I say, that is, both the shaft and the three branches on each side, and what grew from the branches on each side, namely the flowers, cups, and knobs repeated three times and distributed in three rows — all these were drawn out from the same gold: it was otherwise with the lamps, as I said at verse 2.
Verse 6: Take the Levites and Purify Them
Take the Levites and purify them. — These things occurred together with the election and offering of the Levites in place of the firstborn of Israel, concerning which see chapter III, verse 45. For at that time the Levites were chosen by God, and at the same time were dedicated by Moses to God and to the worship of God; but there their election is described, here their consecration, which nevertheless took place at the same time.
Verse 7: The Rite of Consecration of the Levites
Let them be sprinkled with the water of purification, — which was mixed with the ashes of the red heifer, concerning which see chapter XIX; in Hebrew this water is called the water of sin, that is, expiatory water for sin, by metonymy.
Note: This was the rite of the consecration of the Levites, as is clear from the text: first, Moses sprinkled them with the water of purification; second, they themselves shaved all the hair of their flesh; third, they washed their garments; fourth, they offered two oxen, one to be sacrificed for sin, the other as a holocaust; fifth, Moses presented them before God in the tabernacle, before the whole people; sixth, the sons of Israel laid their hands upon them; seventh, Aaron, by the rite of the tenupha, concerning which see verse 15, offered the Levites, as a gift of the people, to God, for serving Him in the tabernacle; eighth, the Levites laid their hands on their two oxen, which Aaron then sacrificed, praying for the Levites.
Tropological Meaning: Shaving the Hair of the Flesh
Tropologically, St. Gregory, Book V of the Moralia, chapter XXIII, and from him Rupert: "The hairs of the flesh, he says, are all the superfluous things of human corruption. Therefore the Levites must shave the hairs of their flesh; because he who is taken up for divine service ought to appear clean before the eyes of God from all thoughts of the flesh. Hence the hairs of the Levites were commanded to be shaved, not plucked out: for when hairs are shaved, the roots remain in the flesh, and they grow again so that they may be cut again; because indeed superfluous thoughts must be cut away with great effort, but nevertheless they cannot be completely eradicated: for the flesh always generates superfluous things, which the sword of the spirit's solicitude must always cut back."
Verse 8: They Shall Take an Ox from the Herd
They shall take an ox from the herd, — so that they may offer it to you, O Moses, to be sacrificed as a holocaust, just as they will offer the other one, which you likewise shall receive from them, to be sacrificed for sin.
Verse 10: The Sons of Israel Shall Lay Their Hands upon Them
And when the Levites shall be before the Lord, the sons of Israel shall lay their hands upon them, — so that by this laying on of hands they may signify and testify that they give up their fellow tribesmen the Levites, and offer them to the Lord as a gift or sacrifice, and transfer them into His dominion and service. For the Levites were the gift and offering of the people, just as the ox was the victim. See what was said on Leviticus I, 4. Whence it follows:
Verse 11: Aaron Shall Offer the Levites
Aaron shall offer the Levites. — From this it is gathered that Aaron offered and consecrated the Levites, not Moses. The same is clear from verse 21. For this consecration of the Levites properly pertained to the high priest; and the high priest was Aaron. Therefore when it is said to Moses in verse 12, "you shall make," that is, you shall sacrifice, "an ox for sin," and in verse 14, "you shall consecrate," understand: you shall command them to be sacrificed and consecrated, namely through Aaron. Moses therefore presented the Levites to Aaron; but Aaron offered and consecrated them to God, with Moses nevertheless praying at the same time.
Verse 13: They Shall Enter the Tabernacle
Afterwards they shall enter the tabernacle of the covenant. — In Hebrew, let them enter to their ministry in the tabernacle of the covenant, namely to carry it, as was said in chapter IV: for there was no other office of the Levites; for to sacrifice, to light the lamps, to burn incense, to place the bread of proposition on the table — these, I say, were the duties of the priests alone.
Verse 15: You Shall Consecrate Them as an Offering
You shall consecrate them as an offering, — In Hebrew, you shall elevate, or wave them with a waving, or by the rite and ceremony of the tenupha, namely by waving and slightly elevating them toward the four regions of the world, in the form of a cross, to signify that they are offered to God, who is Lord of the whole world, concerning which rite I have spoken on Leviticus VII, 30. Here it is clear that the Levites were elevated by this certain rite, by which victims also were elevated. The same is more clearly indicated by our Interpreter in verse 21. Hence it is also probable that not all the Levites were consecrated at this time, but only those who were about to serve at the tabernacle in the immediate act: but the rest were consecrated later in Canaan. For Aaron could not conveniently offer so many thousands of Levites one by one to the Lord by this rite, since just as the consecration of new priests was proper and peculiar to each individual, as is clear from Exodus XXIX, 29, and II Paralipomenon XXIX, 34, so too it was peculiar to each individual Levite, as is clear from the same passage in Paralipomenon.
Except during the time of the wandering in the desert: for just as after the departure from Sinai, sacrifice was never again offered in the desert, so after this consecration of the Levites, there was no other in the desert; but the Levites succeeded to the burdens of carrying when they reached their thirtieth year, even without being consecrated, as the fifty-year-olds retired from service. So Abulensis.
Verse 19: Lest There Be a Plague
Lest there be a plague, — as if to say: The Levites will be in the ministry of the sanctuary, lest the people wish to take it upon themselves, and thus be struck by Me, because, being lay and profane, they have intruded themselves into a sacred office against My command.
Verse 21: Aaron Elevated Them
And Aaron elevated them. — In Hebrew it is, he waved them with a waving, or by the rite of the tenupha, concerning which I spoke at verse 15.
Verse 24: The Law of the Levites — Ages of Service
From twenty-five years and above, the Levites shall enter to minister in the tabernacle of the covenant. — Note: In chapter IV, verse 3, and I Paralipomenon XXIII, 3, those Levites who properly ministered at the tabernacle and carried it with its vessels were numbered from their thirtieth year; therefore when here they are commanded to enter from their 25th year to minister in the tabernacle, understand that they were consecrated at age 25 for this purpose, so that they might assist the senior Levites and prepare themselves, so that at age 30 they might properly minister in the tabernacle by carrying its vessels, and this up to age 50. For after age 50 they were retired from this military service of the tabernacle, and they did not carry the burdens, but only kept guard, as is said in the last verse.
Moreover, in the time of David, when the Hebrews were settled in Canaan, and the Levites no longer had to carry those heavy burdens of the tabernacle through the desert; and when more persons were needed for the offices of gatekeepers, singers, and similar roles which David established, then David commanded the Levites to be numbered from the twentieth year of age, and to minister in the tabernacle, as is clear from I Paralipomenon XXIII, 27.
Verse 26: Thus You Shall Arrange the Levites in Their Watches
Thus you shall arrange the Levites in their watches, — that is, so that they may guard the vessels of the tabernacle, at the age and in the manner which I have already prescribed. He calls them watches in the plural, because various things were given to the various families to guard, whence there were many watches. So the Franciscans in various provinces have various Custodies, as they themselves call them.