Numbers 18:20

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

²⁰Then the LORD said to Aaron, "You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.²¹Behold, I have given to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the service of the Tent of Meeting. ²²No longer may the Israelites come near the Tent of Meeting, or they will incur guilt and die. ²³The Levites are to perform the work of the Tent of Meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites. ²⁴For I have given the Levites as their inheritance the tenth that the Israelites present to the LORD as a contribution. That is why I told them that they would not receive an inheritance among the Israelites." ²⁵And the LORD instructed Moses, ²⁶"Speak to the Levites and tell them: When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you as your inheritance, you must present part of it as an offering to the LORD-a tenth of the tenth. ²⁷Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress. ²⁸So you are to present an offering to the LORD from every tenth you receive from the Israelites, and from it give the LORD's offering to Aaron the priest. ²⁹You must present the offering due the LORD from all the best of every gift, the holiest part of it.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Thou shalt have: The principal part of what was offered to God was the portion of the priests; who had no inheritance of land in Israel. The Rabbins say, 24 gifts were given to the priests; all of which are expressed in the law.

Sacrificial Gifts Eaten only in the sanctuary 1. The flesh of the sin-offering Leviticus 6:25, Leviticus 6:26, 2. The flesh of the trespass-offering Leviticus 7:1, Leviticus 7:6, 3. The peace-offering of the congregation Leviticus 23:19, Leviticus 23:20, 4. The remainder of the sheaf Leviticus 23:10, 5. The remnants of the meat-offerings Leviticus 6:16, 6. The two loaves Leviticus 23:17, 7. The shew-bread Leviticus 24:9, 8. The log of oil offered by the leper Leviticus 14:10, Eaten only at Jerusalem 1. The breast and shoulder of the peace-offerings Leviticus 7:31-34, 2. The heave-offering of confession Leviticus 7:12-14, 3. The heave-offering of the Nazarite's ram Leviticus 6:17-20, 4. The firstling Leviticus 18:15, 5. The first-fruits Leviticus 18:13, Due only in the land of Israel 1. The heave-offering of first-fruits Leviticus 12:1-8, 2. Of the tithe Lev 28 3. The cake Leviticus 15:20, 4. The first of the fleece Deuteronomy 18:4, 5. The field of possession Lev 35 Due both within and without the land 1. The gifts of slain beasts Deuteronomy 18:3, 2. The redemption of the first-born Deuteronomy 18:15, 3. The lamb for a firstling ass Exodus 4:20, 4. That taken by violence from a stranger Leviticus 5:8, 5. All devoted things From the sanctuary 1. The skins, etc. Leviticus 7:8

no inheritance: Numbers 18:23, Numbers 18:24, Numbers 26:62, Deuteronomy 10:9, Deuteronomy 12:12, Deuteronomy 14:27, Deuteronomy 14:29, Joshua 14:3

I am thy part: Deuteronomy 18:1, Deuteronomy 18:2, Joshua 13:14, Joshua 13:33, Joshua 14:3, Joshua 18:7, Psalms 16:5, Psalms 73:26, Psalms 142:5, Lamentations 3:24, Ezekiel 44:28, 1 Corinthians 3:21-23, Revelation 21:3

Reciprocal: Leviticus 25:33 - for the houses Nehemiah 13:12 - brought

Cross-References

Genesis 4:10
"What have you done?" replied the LORD. "The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground.

Genesis 13:13
But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.

Genesis 19:13
because we are about to destroy this place. For the outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that He has sent us to destroy it."

Isaiah 3:9
The expression on their faces testifies against them, and like Sodom they flaunt their sin; they do not conceal it; woe to them, for they have brought disaster upon themselves.

Isaiah 5:7
For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice but saw injustice; for righteousness, but heard a cry of distress.

Jeremiah 14:7
Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for the sake of Your name. Indeed, our rebellions are many; we have sinned against You.

James 5:4
Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the Lord spake unto Aaron,.... What is said, being what concerned the tribe of Levi, at the head of which Aaron was, even concerning the maintenance of the Levites:

thou shalt have no inheritance in their land; in the land of Israel when they come to possess it, as the rest of the tribes had:

neither shalt thou have any part among them; any part of the land when it is divided by lot, as it was in the times of Joshua, when taken from the Canaanites; no tract of land was peculiarly assigned to them as were to the other tribes, as fields, nor vineyards; they had cities appointed them, and they had houses and fields devoted to the Lord which fell to them, and others they had by gift or legacy, or by purchase, as had Jeremiah the priest and Barnabas the Levite, Jeremiah 32:9 Acts 4:36; but they had no share in the distribution of the land of Canaan at the time of the division of it among the tribes; no, not even in the spoil of the cities of the land of Canaan, when they were conquered; this Maimonides n says they were warned not to take; and a son of Levi that took any part of the spoil was to be beaten; but the spoil of other lands, subdued by the kings of Israel, they might take, as other Israelites did: the reason of all this was, because they had a sufficient provision made for them in another way, and that they might not be entangled in worldly affairs, or spend their time in the culture of fields and vineyards, but wholly give themselves to the service of God in his house:

I [am] thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel; in things temporal, the offerings, tithes, firstfruits, c. which were given to the Lord, being bestowed upon them and in things spiritual, they being employed in the work and service of God, and having a peculiar nearness to him, and communion with him: so all that are made priests unto God, as all believers in Christ are, 1 Peter 2:5, have God for their portion and inheritance; God, in his persons and in all his perfections, and under every character, as the God of nature, providence, and grace, is the portion of his people; and a rich, large, and satisfying portion he is, and which is inexhaustible, and will endure for ever; he is their portion in life and at death, in time and to all eternity; see Psalms 73:26.

n Hilchot Shemittah Veyobel, c. 13. sect. 10, 11.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I am thy part and thine inheritance - Compare the marginal references.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Numbers 18:20. I am thy part and thine inheritance — The principal part of what was offered to God was the portion of the priests, therefore they had no inheritance of land in Israel; independently of that they had a very ample provision for their support. The rabbins say twenty-four gifts were given to the priests, and they are all expressed in the law. Eight of those gifts the priests ate nowhere but in the sanctuary: these eight are the following: -

1. The flesh of the SIN-OFFERING, whether of beasts or fowls, Leviticus 6:25-26.

2. The flesh of the TRESPASS-OFFERING, Leviticus 7:1; Leviticus 7:6.

3. The PEACE-OFFERINGS of the congregation, Leviticus 23:19-20.

4. The remainder of the OMER or SHEAF, Leviticus 23:10, c.

5. The remnants of the MEAT-OFFERINGS of the Israelites, Leviticus 6:16.

6. The two LOAVES, Leviticus 23:17.

7. The SHEW-BREAD, Leviticus 24:9.

8. The LOG of OIL offered by the leper, Leviticus 14:10, c.

Five of those gifts they ate only in Jerusalem: -

1. The breast and shoulder of the PEACE-OFFERINGS, Leviticus 7:31 Leviticus 7:34.

2. The HEAVE-OFFERING of the sacrifice of confession, Leviticus 7:12-14.

3. The HEAVE-OFFERING of the Nazarite's ram, Leviticus 6:17-20.

4. The FIRSTLING of the clean beast, Numbers 18:15; Deuteronomy 15:19-20.

5. The FIRST-FRUITS, Numbers 18:13.

FIVE gifts were not due unto them by the law, but in the land of Israel only: -

1. The heave-offering or FIRST-FRUITS, Numbers 18:12.

2. The heave-offering of the TITHE, Numbers 18:28.

3. The CAKE, Numbers 15:20.

These three were holy.

4. The first-fruits of the FLEECE, Deuteronomy 18:4.

5. The FIELD of POSSESSION, Numbers 35:2 c.

These two were common.

FIVE gifts were due unto them both within and without the land: -

1. The gifts of the BEASTS SLAIN, Deuteronomy 18:3.

2. The redemption of the FIRST-BORN SON, Numbers 18:15.

3. The LAMB for the firstling of an ass, Exodus 4:20; Numbers 18:15-16.

4. The restitution of that taken by violence from a stranger, Numbers 5:8.

5. All DEVOTED things, Numbers 18:14.

ONE gift was due unto them from the sanctuary: -

1. The skins of the burnt-offering, and all the skins of the other most holy things, Leviticus 7:8.

In all 24. See Ainsworth.

The gifts which the females of the priests' families had a part in were these: -

1. The heave-offering, or first-fruits.

2. The heave-offering of the tithe.

3. The cake.

4. The gifts of the beast, Deuteronomy 18:3.

5. The first of the fleece.

-See Mishna, Tract. Biccurim, and Ainsworth on the Pentateuch.

Besides all this the priests had the tribute money mentioned Numbers 31:28-29.