Numbers 18:2

Summary

The verse instructs Aaron to bring the Levites — his kinsmen — near to himself, so that they may join him and assist him in his duties, while Aaron himself, together with his sons, remains before the Tent of the Testimony. The sentence uses a chain of purpose clauses to describe the relationship between the Levites and Aaron's own family.

Key words

• hakrev ("bring near", H7126) — Hiphil imperative, causative "make approach"; it is Aaron who is commanded to actively bring the Levites near, not a passive summons.
• yillavu ("they may join themselves", H3867) — Niphal imperfect with vav; the passive/reflexive stem shows the Levites' joining as something that happens to/for them in relation to Aaron, following from his action of bringing them near.
• yesharetu ("they may serve", H8334) — Piel imperfect with vav; the intensive stem marks sustained or dedicated service, distinct from ordinary action verbs.
• matteh ("tribe of", H4294) and shevet ("tribe of", H7626) — both masculine singular construct nouns naming the same group (Levi) with two different words for "tribe," each governing what follows in a construct chain ("tribe of Levi," "tribe of your father").
• lifnei ("before", H6440, construct plural of "face") — literally "in the presence/face of," used with ohel ha'edut ("tent of the testimony", H0168/H5715) to mark spatial proximity to the sanctuary rather than a verb of service.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with ve-gam et-acheikha ("and also your brothers"), marked by the object marker 'et (H0853), showing that "brothers" is the direct object of the imperative hakrev. Two construct phrases in apposition — matteh Levi ("tribe of Levi") and shevet avikha ("tribe of your father") — both describe the same group, giving two synonymous designations for the same collective. The imperative hakrev is followed by two purpose/result clauses built on vav-consecutive imperfects, ve-yillavu and vi-yesharetu, both governed by the initial command: bringing them near results in their joining and serving. The final clause, ve-attah u-vaneikha itakh lifnei ohel ha-edut, has no verb of its own in the Hebrew — it is a nominal clause stating simply that Aaron and his sons are "with him" and "before the tent of the testimony," a spatial designation rather than an assertion of a specific action.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate supplies an explicit verb, ministrabitis ("you will minister"), for Aaron and his sons in the final clause, where the Hebrew and the LXX (Swete) leave this clause verbless, stating only their presence "before the Tent of the Testimony." The LXX renders shevet avikha as dēmon tou patros sou ("the people/clan of your father"), using a different Greek term than phylē used earlier for matteh, though the Hebrew uses two near-synonyms (matteh, shevet) for "tribe" in both cases.