Deuteronomy 10:9

Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, according as the LORD thy God promised him.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(9) The Lord is his inheritance.—As He was the inheritance of Aaron, Moses’ brother, whom he had recently taken to Himself, and to whose death Moses had just referred.

Benson Commentary

Deuteronomy 10:9. Levi hath no inheritance with his brethren — That they might attend only on the duties of their sacred office, provision was made for their maintenance, without their being obliged to plough, or sow, or entangle themselves in other worldly affairs. And is not provision made for the clergy of this and other countries professing Christianity, for a similar reason, namely, that, being under no necessity of entangling themselves in the affairs of this life, they may war a good warfare, and please Him that hath chosen them to be his soldiers? 2 Timothy 2:4. The Lord is his inheritance — They are to be maintained out of such tithes and revenues as are appropriated to them by the special appointment of God.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

10:1-11 Moses reminded the Israelites of God's great mercy to them, notwithstanding their provocations. There were four things in and by which the Lord showed himself reconciled to Israel. God gave them his law. Thus God has intrusted us with Bibles, sabbaths, and sacraments, as tokens of his presence and favour. God led them forward toward Canaan. He appointed a standing ministry among them for holy things. And now, under the gospel, when the pouring forth of the Spirit is more plentiful and powerful, the succession is kept up by the Spirit's work on men's hearts, qualifying and making some willing for that work in every age. God accepted Moses as an advocate or intercessor for them, and therefore appointed him to be their prince and leader. Moses was a type of Christ, who ever lives, pleading for us, and has all power in heaven and in earth.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

At that time - i. e., that of the encampment at Sinai, as the words also import in Deuteronomy 10:1. Throughout the passage the time of the important events at Sinai is kept in view; it is reverted to as each incident is brought forward by Moses, alluded to sufficiently for his purpose, and dismissed.

Moses is evidently here speaking of the election by God of the tribe of Levi at large, priests and others also, for His own service.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

6-9. the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera—So sudden a change from a spoken discourse to a historical narrative has greatly puzzled the most eminent biblical scholars, some of whom reject the parenthesis as a manifest interpolation. But it is found in the most ancient Hebrew manuscripts, and, believing that all contained in this book was given by inspiration and is entitled to profound respect, we must receive it as it stands, although acknowledging our inability to explain the insertion of these encampment details in this place. There is another difficulty in the narrative itself. The stations which the Israelites are said successively to have occupied are enumerated here in a different order from Nu 33:31. That the names of the stations in both passages are the same there can be no doubt; but, in Numbers, they are probably mentioned in reference to the first visit of the Hebrews during the long wandering southwards, before their return to Kadesh the second time; while here they have a reference to the second passage of the Israelites, when they again marched south, in order to compass the land of Edom. It is easy to conceive that Mosera (Hor) and the wells of Jaakan might lie in such a direction that a nomadic horde might, in different years, at one time take the former first in their way, and at another time the latter [Robinson].

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The Lord is his inheritance, i.e. the Lord’s portion, to wit, tithes and offerings, which belong to God, are given by him to the Levites for their subsistence from generation to generation, as inheritances run.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren,.... In the division of the land of Canaan, because being separated to the service of the sanctuary, he had no leisure to plough and sow, as Jarchi observes:

the Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord thy God promised him; not in a spiritual sense, for so the Lord was an inheritance and portion of other Israelites; though these being taken off of worldly employments, and devoted to sanctuary service, might have more communion with God than others; but in a temporal sense, provision being made particularly by tithes, which were the Lord's, for their maintenance; and so the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan paraphrase the words;"gifts which the Lord gave him are his inheritance;''see Numbers 18:20.

Geneva Study Bible

Wherefore Levi hath no part nor {e} inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, according as the LORD thy God promised him.

(e) So God turned the curse of Jacob to a blessing Ge 49:7.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

9. Wherefore] i.e. because of God’s separation of the tribe to Himself.

Levi hath no portion nor inheritance] Deuteronomy 12:12, Deuteronomy 14:27; Deuteronomy 14:29, Deuteronomy 18:1 f. In P of Aaron Numbers 18:20.

the Lord is his inheritance] What this means is defined in Deuteronomy 18:1, they shall eat the offerings of Jehovah made by fire, and his inheritance; details follow in 3 f.

according as … spake unto him] This is not recorded in the Pent., but may have been found in the original form of JE; see on Deuteronomy 10:8. LXX om. the Lord thy God, and so relieves the text from one of the two instances of the Sg. address in this section.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 9. - (Cf. Numbers 18:20-24.) Deuteronomy 10:9

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

In Deuteronomy 10:8, Moses returns to the form of an address again, and refers to the separation of the tribe of Levi for the holy service, as a manifestation of mercy on the part of the Lord towards Israel. The expression "at that time" is not to be understood as relating to the time of Aaron's death in the fortieth year of the march, in which Knobel finds a contradiction to the other books. It refers quite generally, as in Deuteronomy 9:20 and Deuteronomy 10:1, to the time of which Moses is speaking here, viz., the time when the covenant was restored at Sinai. The appointment of the tribe of Levi for service at the sanctuary took place in connection with the election of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood (Exodus 28 and 29), although their call to this service, instead of the first-born of Israel, was not carried out till the numbering and mustering of the people (Numbers 1:49., Deuteronomy 4:17., Deuteronomy 8:6.). Moses is speaking here of the election of the whole of the tribe of Levi, including the priests (Aaron and his sons), as is very evident from the account of their service. It is true that the carrying of the ark upon the march through the desert was the business of the (non-priestly) Levites, viz., the Kohathites (Numbers 4:4.); but on solemn occasions the priests had to carry it (cf. Joshua 3:3, Joshua 3:6, Joshua 3:8; Joshua 6:6; 1 Kings 8:3.). "Standing before the Lord, to serve Him, and to bless in His name," was exclusively the business of the priests (cf. Deuteronomy 18:5; Deuteronomy 21:5, and Numbers 6:23.), whereas the Levites were only assistants of the priests in their service (see at Deuteronomy 18:7). This tribe therefore received no share and possession with the other tribes, as was already laid down in Numbers 18:20 with reference to the priests, and in Numbers 18:24 with regard to all the Levites; to which passages the words "as the Lord thy God promised him" refer. - Lastly, in Deuteronomy 10:10, Deuteronomy 10:11, Moses sums up the result of his intercession in the words, "And I stood upon the mount as the first days, forty days (a resumption of Deuteronomy 9:18 and Deuteronomy 9:25); and the Lord hearkened to me this time also (word for word, as in Deuteronomy 9:19). "Jehovah would not destroy thee (Israel)." Therefore He commanded Moses to arise to depart before the people, i.e., as leader of the people to command and superintend their removal and march. In form, this command is connected with Exodus 34:1; but Moses refers here not only to that word of the Lord with the limitation added there in Exodus 34:2, but to the ultimate, full, and unconditional assurance of God, in which the Lord Himself promised to go with His people and bring them to Canaan (Exodus 34:14.).