Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific
Biblical commentator. Numbers 4 straddles two Torah portions: Bamidbar and Naso. A single thread
crisscrosses both sections. That is, the respective roles of Levi’s three sons: Gershon, Kohath, and
Merari feature front and center.
“And God spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron saying. Do not cut off the
tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites.”
Abravanel notes an important discrepancy with the way each Levite clan or family is discussed. And this
variance is informative, he states.
Counterintuitively, writes Abravanel, the Torah broaches the subject of Levi’s three sons out of birth
order. Levi’s oldest was, in fact, Gershon. Kohath followed and was the middle son; Merari the youngest.
Yet, the Torah speaks about Kohath first, next Gershon, and Merari last.
Moreover, Abravanel questions, when it comes to Kohath, God communicates through Moses and
Aaron. In contrast, the Creator does not convene His prophets when issuing commandments concerning
Gershon or Merari.
Here are Abravanel’s answers, and approach to the topic of Levi’s three sons. “And God spoke unto
Moses and unto Aaron saying. Do not cut the families of the Kohathites…” As mentioned in the previous
blog, Kohath had been entrusted to carry the Tabernacle’s most sacred vessels. Aaron and his sons
worked closely together with Kohath in this delicate and sensitive task. That is, when it came to the
Hebrews decamping and traveling to the next leg of their desert journey, priests prepared the ark. Thus,
before they beckoned Kohath to pick up and convey the ark, Aaron and his sons respectfully and
thoroughly covered it.
“Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites” is a stern warning to the priests and
Kohathites. Should priests be lax in properly covering the ark, and should the Kohathites disrespectfully
gawk at the uncovered ark, severe punishment would ensue, or in Torah parlance – be “cut off.”
Put differently or to reiterate, Kohath’s task was fraught with extreme danger owing to the delicacy of
carrying the ark. Peril is underscored by God’s communication via both Moses and Aaron – “Do not cut
off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites…But they shall not go in to see the holy things as they are
being covered, lest they die.”
In contrast, when it comes to Gershon’s and Merari’s respective jobs, God does not appear to either
Moses or Aaron for purposes of cautioning them. Because those Tabernacle vessels (Gershon bore the
curtains of the Tabernacle etc. and Merari handled the boards of the Tabernacle etc.) lacked the
holiness of the ark, Aaron did not have to cover them first before calling on Gershon or Merari.
In sum, Abravanel’s close read of Numbers 4 provides Bible students with important insights into
Gershon, Kohath, and Merari – the three sons of Levi, explaining why the Torah deals with them
differently.
