Numbers Chapter 1 verse 48 Holy Bible
For Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
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For the Lord said to Moses,
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For Jehovah had spoken to Moses, saying,
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For the LORD had spoken unto Moses, saying,
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For the LORD had spoken to Moses, saying,
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For Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
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seeing Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
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Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 48. - Had spoken. Rather, "spake," and so Septuagint. This was the formal command to separate, although it had been anticipated to a considerable extent. The Levites had been marked out from the others (1) as the tribesmen of Moses and Aaron, (2) as the champions of Jehovah in the matter of the golden calf (Exodus 32:26, sq.); they had been already employed, or at least designated, for religious services; and the peculiarity of their future position in Israel had been recognized in the Divine legislation (Leviticus 25:32, sq.), and in their not being called upon to contribute to the capitation for the sanctuary. In a word, this ordinance, like so many others, did little more than give a formal and direct sanction to a state of things which had already come into play, partly through natural causes, partly through providential directions.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(48) For the Lord had spoken . . . --Better, And the Lord spake . . . (Numbers 3:1; Numbers 3:5-6; Numbers 3:14-15). It is true that the Levites were not included in the earlier numbering, and consequently that they must have been exempted by divine direction. It does not appear, however, that there is a reference to any previous command respecting the Levites, or that the specific destination of the Levites had been previously declared.
