Numbers 8:5-7 meaning

In verses 5 – 22, the LORD described how Moses was to conduct the consecration (ordination) of the Levites into their service to the priests. It included inward and outward cleansing and a ceremony of commitment. Verses 5 – 8 describe outward cleansing. Verses 9 – 11 deal with inward cleansing. Verses 12 – 19 are concerned with the ceremony of commitment. Lastly, verses 20 – 22 speak of the obedience of the Israelites to the LORD’s instructions.

Before the Levites could assume their role as assisting the priests in the worship of the LORD, they needed to be cleansed. So, the Lord spoke to Moses (v. 5), telling him to take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and cleanse them (v. 6). The Hebrew word for cleanse (“tahar”) is used almost exclusively for ritual and moral purity. The idea here was that in order to serve the LORD, one had to be cleansed from all impurity, both external and internal.

There are other applications of consecration described in Scripture. At Mount Sinai, God prepared the people to be in His presence and hear from Him on the Mountain. He told Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments” (Exodus 19:10). Here in Numbers 8, the priests are being set aside to minister in the presence God, and also need to be cleansed.

Verse 7 lists what Moses needed to do to them for their cleansing (v. 7). First, he was instructed to sprinkle purifying water on them. The phrase “purifying water” is literally “water of sin” in the Hebrew text, and it referred to the purification from sin. Jewish tradition holds that this is the same water as the “water of purification” in Numbers 19:9. This water was mixed with the ashes of the red heifer sacrifice. The red heifer sacrifice was required to be done “outside the camp” (Numbers 19:3). The New Testament tells us that Jesus suffered “outside the gate” that He might “sanctify the people” (Hebrews 13:12). Thus the purifying water foreshadows Jesus.

Next, the Levites were to use a razor over their whole body. There is disagreement as to whether this meant that the Levites were to shave their whole bodies or simply trim their hair. It seems best to see this as shaving their bodies. To remove all hair was a symbol of a return to childlike innocence. Add to this the tendency of Semitic men to have beards and other body hair. So, to remove all bodily hair would be an act of extreme devotion to serving the LORD. Plus, hair tended to get dirty and needed to be washed often. To participate in this ceremonial removal of the hair would be to symbolically remove that which would attract physical impurity.

Finally, they were to wash their clothes. These were the priestly garments given to them in Leviticus 8:13, and being in the wilderness, they would have accumulated dust and dirt. Thus, their clothes needed to be cleansed as well.

Once these actions were taken, the Levites would be clean outwardly.

Biblical Text

⁵Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶“Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and cleanse them. ⁷Thus you shall do to them, for their cleansing: sprinkle purifying water on them, and let them use a razor over their whole body and wash their clothes, and they will be clean.

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Additional Resources

Book Theme

The book of Numbers is the fourth of the five books of Moses that comprise the Torah, which means “Law.” It gets its English name from the Greek Old Testament called the Septuagint (or LXX). The LXX named this book, “Arithmoi,” meaning “Numbers.” Its Hebrew name means “in the desert” or “in the wilderness.” Both names are appropriate. The Hebrew name is appropriate because Numbers covers the Israelites’ wanderings in the wilderness (or “desert”) from Sinai to the plains of Moab. The Greek name is also appropriate because of the many lists, and the numbers within those lists.

At the beginning of the book, the Israelites had been camped at Mount Sinai for about a year. The book of Exodus covered their escape from Egypt and their journey to Sinai. The LORD commanded Moses to organize the people in preparation to leave Sinai and go to the Promised Land. The book covers around 38 years of the Israelites’ journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, and describes many of Israel’s failures, including mutinies against Moses and outright disobedience to the word of the LORD. In Numbers, the LORD declares that the generation that left Egypt would die in the wilderness due to their disobedience. Only two, Joshua and Caleb, were allowed to enter the Promised Land, due to their faithfulness. Even Moses died without entering the Land due to disobedience.

The book of Numbers can be outlined in many ways. The most general outline involves the generation that leaves Egypt and the one after it, as seen below:
• Events Involving the Exodus Generation (Num. 1 – 25)
• Events Involving the Second Generation (Num. 26 – 36)

Another outline sees the book having three major divisions based on the major encampments of the Israelites:
• Israel at Sinai (Num. 1:1 – 10:10)
• Israel at Kadesh Barnea (Num. 10:11 – 19:22)
• Israel on the Plains of Moab (Num. 20:1 – 36:13)

Still another outline (the one followed here) is as follows:
• The Exodus Generation in the Wilderness (chaps. 1 – 25)
◦ The Israelites Prepare to Leave Mount Sinai (1:1 – 10:10)
◦ The Israelites Depart to Kadesh Barnea (10:11 – 14:45)
◦ The Israelites Journey to the Plains of Moab (15:1 – 22:1)
◦ The Israelites Are Confronted by Balaam the Prophet (22:2 – 25:18)
• The Second Generation Prepares to Enter the Promised Land (26:1 – 36:13)
◦ The Rules Concerning Inheritance (Num. 26:1 – 27:11)
◦ The Provision for Moses’ Successor (Num. 27:12 – 23)
◦ The Laws Concerning Offerings (Num. 28:1 – 29:40)
◦ The Laws Concerning Vows (Num. 30:1 –16)
◦ The LORD’s Judgment Against the Midianites (Num. 31:1 – 54)
◦ The Inheritance of the Eastern Tribes (Num. 32:1 – 42)
◦ The Review of the Journey to Canaan (Num. 33:1 – 56)
◦ The LORD’s Instructions Before Conquering Canaan (Num. 33:50 – 36:13)

There are two themes that flow from the book of Numbers. The first concerns the LORD’s infinite grace in light of the people’s many failures and transgressions. There is hardly a book in the Bible where the LORD had to exercise His grace to His people more often than this one. The book of Numbers contains a record of Israel’s failure after failure and the LORD’s gracious forgiveness after forgiveness. Even when He judged them, there was grace.

Second, and related to the first, the book stresses the importance of obedience. God chose the Israelites unconditionally; they were the LORD’s chosen people regardless of their behavior. However, He demanded obedience to show His people that their obedience results in blessing. God set forth a way of life for His people in the covenant He and the people entered into at Sinai (Exodus 19:5-8). The Ten Commandments made it clear that God would make the law, and that the pinnacle requirement of His law was for the people to respect and serve one another. The strong were to serve the weak. This was in stark contrast to the surrounding cultures, which centered around the strong exploiting the weak (Leviticus 18). God’s judgment brought discipline upon Israel in order to shepherd them toward living in harmony and service to one another.

Chapter Context

Now that the offerings of the tribal leaders have been made, the LORD then turned to tell Moses about another role of the priest in the tabernacle. In addition to their duties concerning sacrifices, they were also responsible for lighting the seven lamps that were in the tabernacle.

The LORD then commanded Moses to consecrate (or separate) the Levites for special service to the priests and the tabernacle. The ceremony involved inward and outward cleansing and sacrifices. Once these were done, the Levites went to the tabernacle to begin their service. Levites aged 25 to 50 were to be in service, then they were to retire.

Numbers 8 can be outlined as follows:

Lighting of the Seven Lamps (Numbers 8:1 – 4)
Consecration of the Levites (Numbers 8:5 – 26)
- The Outward Purification of the Levites (Numbers 8:5 – 7)
- The Inward Purification of the Levites (Numbers 8:8 – 11)
- The Commitment of the Levites (Numbers 8:12 – 19)
- The Work of the Levites (Numbers 8:20 – 26)

Numbers 8:5-7 meaning

Check out our other commentaries:

Numbers 7:60-65 meaning

Deuteronomy 28:7-14 meaning

Psalm 117:1-2 meaning

1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 meaning

Exodus 4:18-31 meaning

Additional Resources

Book Theme

Chapter Context

Maps and Charts

Videos

The Bible Project - Numbers Summary

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