Day 2: Numbers 4:38-49 (Study Notes)
Parsha Nasso: Day #2 (Numbers 4:38-49) (Study Notes)
At the end of Day #1 of Parsha Nasso, we learned that after Moshe Rabbeiu, Aaron, and the chieftains of the Levites completed the 3 census' of the Levitical sons, the total tallies were given for the number of men aged 30-50 years old.
The total number of Kohathites aged 30-50 = 2,750 souls
(Numbers 4:38-41)
The total number of Gershonites aged 30-50 years old = 2,630 souls
This means that out of the 7,500 Gershonites counted (aged one month and older), a little over 1/3 were subject to the service for work relating to the Tent of Meeting.
We learned in our previous study that the Gershonites were responsible for packing up and carrying the cloths of the Tent of Meeting and the encircling boundary wall as well as for carrying the altar and its accessories.
(Numbers 4:42-45)
The total number of Merarites aged 30-50 years old = 3,200 souls
This means that out of the 6,200 Merarites counted (aged one month and older), a little over 1/2 of them were subject to the service for the work relating to the Tent of Meeting.
We learned in our previous study that the Merarites were responsible for packing up and carrying the parts essential to all the framework of the Tent of Meeting and the encircling boundary wall of the Tent of Meeting and the courtyard.
(Numbers 4:46-49)
After providing the tally for each ancestral house of the Levites, Moshe Rabbeinu provides a grand total of the total number of Levites aged 30-50 years old. The grand total = 8,580.
This means that out of the 22,000 total Levites (aged one month and older) counted in a previous census, 00.39 (or above 1/3 but less than 1/2) of them were subjected to the service for the work in the Tent of Meeting.
NOTE: We learned previously that the true number of those counted was more like 22,304-22,306, yet no real reason was provided for the lower final number given.
Each of the 8,580 individual souls was given a responsibility for his given service depending on the particular clan and ancestral house from which he was born into. These tasks were not interchangeable. Each clan and each ancestral house had their specified duties.
Thus, just as Hashem set the bounds for the sea saying, "you can go this far and no farther," so Hashem set bounds for each clan and ancestral house with regards to their duties. This division of duties worked to divide the burden and created order, especially when the camp of the Israelites was moving to a new location.
Marching Out:
We learned previously that when the Israelite camp was moving, the 12 Tribes were prescribed a specific order in which to move out. So too, the Levites are given a specific order in which to pack up and move The Tent of Meeting and the Courtyard. This order was arranged by dwelling place as well. As a reminder, the Order was:
Aaron and his sons dwelled on the East Side of the camp. They packed up all of the sacred objects FIRST, just as the Eastern Front of Judah was to move out first.
The Kohathites dwelled in the South Side. They came to move the sacred objects SECOND, only after Aaron and his sons finished packing and covering them. This second order movement follows the command that the Tribes dwelling on the South Side were to move out Second.
After all of the most sacred objects were packed up and moved out of the sacred spaces, the Gershonites moved THIRD to pack up and move out the coverings and cloths of the most sacred spaces. By waiting until the first two tasks were completed, the Gershonites ensured that they would not "uncover the nakedness" of the inner courts until everything sacred was reoved. The Gershonites dwelled on the West side and moved THIRD, just as the Tribes who dwelled on the West Side moved third. These Tribes could not move out until all of the Levitical Tribes moved out. The Tribes of the West Side started the REAR GUARD of the sacred objects.
Finally, when the Gershonites had packed up the outer coverings, only then did the Merarites move in to pack up and move the objects pertaining to the structural frameworks of the Tent and the encircling enclosure wall. The Merarites dwelled on the North Side and moved FOURTH, just as the Tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali moved out fourth as commanded by Hashem (The Holy One, blessed be He).
While we do not get the sense of the Levitical movement on the road, one must assume that that they moved out in reverse order to how they deconstructed the Tent of Meeting and the Tabernacle. Meaning, it is most likely that the Levitical Sects moved out in the opposite to how they deconstructed the sacred space so that when the Israelites arrived in the new location, the sacred spaces could be reconstructed in the proper order.
We gain a sense of the proper construction order by looking at Exodus 40, when the Tabernacle was first set up. There we learn that the Tent was set up, THEN the Ark was placed inside, THEN the curtain of the Holy of Holies was put up, THEN the table moved in, and the lampstand.
In order for this construction to occur:
The Merarites would move out FIRST, though they packed up LAST. This would ensure they reached the new site first, allowing time for them to set up the framework of the Tent of Meeting and the enclosure.
The Gershonites would move out SECOND, though they packed up THIRD. This would ensure they arrived to the new site after the structures were reestablished, upon which they would then place the cloths and coverings which they carried. This would allow the boundary to be set up around the altar courtyard as well.
The Kohathites would move out THIRD, though they packed up SECOND. This would ensure that when they arrived to the new location with the most sacred objects, the Tent of Meeting and the enclosures would be in place. These boundaries would provide the necessary separation that would keep the general population from entering into, nearing, or touching the most Holy objects.
Aaron and his sons would move out LAST, though they packed up FIRST. This would ensure that when they arrived at the new location, everything was in place (still covered). Then, Aaron and his sons would set up the curtain of the Holy of Holies and work to uncover the most sacred objects. All protected and guarded by the necessary structures and boundaries as decreed by Hashem.
To understand this, we can also thing of Solomon who did not move the Ark of the Pact from the camp of David into the First Temple until everything was structurally complete. (1 Kings 8).
The Most Likely Marching Order:
Connecting the above facts with the information we learned in our study of Parsha Bemidbar (specifically Day #3), we can glean some understanding to the possible marching order of the Israelites as they moved from location to location in the wilderness.
Eastern Front: Judah, Issachar, Zebulun. (186,400 souls total) (FRONT GUARD)
Southern Front: Ruben, Simeon, Gad. (154,450 souls total) (FRONT GUARD)
(Levite) Merarites: with the frameworks. (6,200 souls)
(Levite) Gershonites: with the cloths and coverings. (7,500 souls)
(Levite) Kohathites: with the most sacred objects (covered). (8,600 souls)
(Levite) Aaron and his sons + Moshe Rabbeinu. (4 souls)
The Western Front: Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin (108,100 souls) (REAR GUARD)
The Northern Front: Dan, Asher, Naphtali (157,600 souls) (REAR GUARD)
Am Yisrael Chai!
Kimberly Davis
Notes for 5/25/2026