Theology of
the Old Testament, Gustav Friedrich Oehler, p 206.
The service of the Levites…is designated as
military service [zaba, Num. 4.3, 30;
8.24 (in the camp of Jehovah, 1 Chron. 9.19)], and at a later period it was
still organized entirely in a military manner.
Dictionary of
the Bible: Pleroma-Zuzim, Hastings, Selbie, Davidson, Driver, Swete, p 85.
There appears to be a special reference to the
escorting of the sacred ark, which accompanied Israel in their journeyings and
campaigns, in the remarkable term, likewise used very occasionally of the
Levites’ service, zaba, ‘to render
military service’ [Num. 4.23 al.].
The ‘tribe of Levi,’ i.e. probably the Levites and
also the Aaronites, is exempted from being numbered amongst the children of
Israel [Num. 1.49; 2.33], i.e. from military service.
Ellicott's
Commentary for English Readers, Num. 4.3:
All that
enter into the host.—Or, every one
who enters upon the service. The word zaba,
commonly rendered host, and used
elsewhere to denote military service, is here used to denote the service of the
sanctuary.
Cambridge
Bible for Schools and Colleges, Num. 4.3:
[the service]
This unusual meaning of the word which generally denotes ‘warfare’ or ‘host’
(R.V. marg.) is found again five times in this chapter (Numbers 4:23; Numbers
4:30; Numbers 4:35; Numbers 4:39; Numbers 4:43), and elsewhere only in Numbers
8:24 f., and of women in two very late passages, Exodus 38:8, 1 Samuel 2:22. It
perhaps implies that the Levites formed an organized body appointed for God’s
work under the command of superior officials, as were the rest of Israel who
were numbered for war.
Greg Boyd, Gods’
Way of War:
"Yahweh forbade those who served as temple priests
to engage in violence. When the New Testament later refers to the body of
Christ as a royal priesthood, this is at least part of what it has in mind.
While non-followers of Jesus may consider the use of violence in certain
“justified” circumstances to be necessary, if not praiseworthy, the royal
priesthood of Jesus followers are called and empowered to bear witness to God’s
non-violent ideal by altogether abstaining from it."
http://reknew.org/2015/10/gods-way-of-war/#sthash.G4oiAPiE.dpuf
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