EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)
(37)
And the pillars of the court round about . . . —See Notes on
Exodus 27:9-19.
3:14-39 The Levites were in three classes, according to the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; and these were subdivided into families. The posterity of Moses were not at all honoured or privileged, but stood upon the level with other Levites; thus it was plain, that Moses did not seek the advancement of his own family, or to secure any honours to it. The tribe of Levi was by much the least of all the tribes. God's chosen are but a little flock in comparison with the world.
Of the Levites, the Kohathites, the kinsmen of Moses and Aaron, and the most numerous, have the most important charge confided to them, namely, that of the ark, the altars, and the more especially sacred furniture generally.
32. chief—rather, "chiefs" of the Levites. Three persons are mentioned as chiefs of these respective divisions [Nu 3:24, 30, 35]. And Eleazar presided over them; whence he is called "the second priest" (2Ki 25:18); and in the case of the high priest's absence from illness or other necessary occasions, he performed the duties (1Ki 4:4).
Therefore these were for another use than those mentioned
Numbers 3:26.
And the pillars of the court round about,.... Of the great court which went round the tabernacle, on which pillars the hangings were hung:
and their sockets; into which the, pillars were put; of both which seeExodus 27:9,
and their pins, and their cords, the pins were fixed in the ground, and the cords fastened the hangings of the court to them, whereby they were kept tight and unmoved by the winds; seeExodus 27:19.
And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.
