Numbers 3:17

Bible in Basic English (1941)

These were the sons of Levi by name: Gershon and Kohath and Merari.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וַיִּֽהְיוּ־אֵ֥לֶּה בְנֵֽי־לֵוִ֖י בִּשְׁמֹתָ֑ם גֵּרְשׁ֕וֹן וּקְהָ֖ת וּמְרָרִֽי׃

Transliteration

wa-yihyû-ʾēlleh bənê-Lēwî bi-šmōtām Gēršôn û-Qəhāt û-Mərārî

Grammar Details

• *wa-yihyû*: conjunction + verb, Qal imperfect consecutive, 3rd common plural - and were
• *ʾēlleh*: demonstrative pronoun, masculine plural - these
• *bənê*: noun, masculine plural construct - sons of
• *Lēwî*: proper noun - Levi
• *bi-šmōtām*: preposition + noun, feminine plural + 3rd masculine plural suffix - by their names
• *Gēršôn*: proper noun, masculine singular - Gershon
• *û-Qəhāt*: conjunction + proper noun, masculine singular - and Kohath
• *û-Mərārî*: conjunction + proper noun, masculine singular - and Merari

Word Meanings

• *bi-šmōtām*: by their names/according to their names/as named

Referenced Verses

• Gen 46:11 : 11 And the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari;
• Exod 6:16-19 : 16 And these are the names of the sons of Levi in the order of their generations: Gershon and Kohath and Merari: and the years of Levi's life were a hundred and thirty-seven. 17 The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, in the order of their families. 18 And the sons of Kohath: Amram and Izhar and Hebron and Uzziel: and the years of Kohath's life were a hundred and thirty-three. 19 And the sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi: these are the families of the Levites, in the order of their generations.
• Num 15:5-9 : 5 And for the drink offering, you are to give with the burned offering or other offering, the fourth part of a hin of wine for every lamb. 6 Or for a male sheep, give as a meal offering two tenth parts of a measure of the best meal mixed with a third part of a hin of oil: 7 And for the drink offering give a third part of a hin of wine, for a sweet smell to the Lord. 8 And when you make ready a young ox for a burned or other offering, or for the effecting of an oath, or for peace-offerings to the Lord: 9 Then with the ox give a meal offering of three tenth parts of a measure of the best meal mixed with half a hin of oil. 10 And for the drink offering: give half a hin of wine, for an offering made by fire for a sweet smell to the Lord. 11 This is to be done for every young ox and for every male sheep or he-lamb or young goat. 12 Whatever number you make ready, so you are to do for every one. 13 All those who are Israelites by birth are to do these things in this way, when giving an offering made by fire of a sweet smell to the Lord. 14 And if a man from another country or any other person living among you, through all your generations, has the desire to give an offering made by fire of a sweet smell to the Lord, let him do as you do. 15 There is to be one law for you and for the man of another country living with you, one law for ever from generation to generation; as you are, so is he to be before the Lord. 16 The law and the rule are to be the same for you and for those from other lands living with you. 17 And the Lord said to Moses, 18 Say to the children of Israel, When you come into the land where I am guiding you, 19 Then, when you take for your food the produce of the land, you are to give an offering lifted up before the Lord. 20 Of the first of your rough meal you are to give a cake for a lifted offering, lifting it up before the Lord as the offering of the grain-floor is lifted up. 21 From generation to generation you are to give to the Lord a lifted offering from the first of your rough meal. 22 And if in error you go against any of these laws which the Lord has given to Moses, 23 All the laws which the Lord has given you by the hand of Moses, from the day when the Lord gave them, and ever after from generation to generation;
• Num 23:6-9 : 6 So he went back to him where he was waiting by his burned offering with all the chiefs of Moab. 7 And in the words which the Lord had given him he said, From Aram Balak has sent for me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East: come, put curses on Jacob for me and be angry with Israel. 8 How may I put curses on him who is not cursed by God? how may I be angry with him with whom the Lord is not angry? 9 From the top of the rocks I see him, looking down on him from the hills: it is a people made separate, not to be numbered among the nations. 10 Who is able to take the measure of the dust of Jacob or the number of the thousands of Israel? May my death be the death of the upright and my last end like his! 11 Then Balak said to Balaam, What have you done to me? I sent for you so that my haters might be cursed, and see, you have given them a blessing. 12 And in answer he said, Am I not ordered to say only what the Lord puts into my mouth? 13 And Balak said to him, Come with me now into another place from which you will not be able to see them all, but only the outskirts of them; and you will send curses on them from there. 14 So he took him into the country of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and there they made seven altars, offering an ox and a male sheep on every altar. 15 Then he said to Balak, Take your place here by your burned offering, while I go over there to the Lord. 16 And the Lord came to Balaam, and put words in his mouth, and said, Go back to Balak, and this is what you are to say. 17 So he came to him where he was waiting by his burned offering with the chiefs of Moab by his side. And Balak said to him, What has the Lord said? 18 And in the words which the Lord had given him he said, Up! Balak, and give ear; give attention to me, O son of Zippor: 19 God is not a man, to say what is false; or the son of man, that his purpose may be changed: what he has said, will he not do? and will he not give effect to the words of his mouth? 20 See, I have had orders to give blessing: and he has given a blessing which I have no power to take away. 21 He has seen no evil in Jacob or wrongdoing in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the glad cry of a king is among them. 22 It is God who has taken them out of Egypt; his horns are like those of the mountain ox. 23 No evil power has effect against Jacob, no secret arts against Israel; at the right time it will be said of Jacob and of Israel, See what God has done!
• Num 24:1-9 : 1 Now when Balaam saw that it was the Lord's pleasure to give his blessing to Israel, he did not, as at other times, make use of secret arts, but turning his face to the waste land, 2 And lifting up his eyes, he saw Israel there, with their tents in the order of their tribes: and the spirit of God came on him. 3 And moved by the spirit, he said, These are the words of Balaam, son of Beor, the words of the man whose eyes are open: 4 He says, whose ears are open to the words of God, who has seen the vision of the Ruler of all, falling down, but having his eyes open: 5 How fair are your tents, O Jacob, your houses, O Israel! 6 They are stretched out like valleys, like gardens by the riverside, like flowering trees planted by the Lord, like cedar-trees by the waters. 7 Peoples will be in fear before his strength, his arm will be on great nations: his king will be higher than Agag, and his kingdom made great in honour. 8 It is God who has taken him out of Egypt; his horns are like those of the mountain ox; the nations warring against him will be his food, their bones will be broken, they will be wounded with his arrows. 9 He took his sleep stretched out like a lion, and like a she-lion: by whom will his rest be broken? May a blessing be on everyone who gives you blessing, and a curse on everyone by whom you are cursed. 10 Then Balak was full of wrath against Balaam, and angrily waving his hands he said to Balaam, I sent for you so that those who are against me might be cursed, but now, see, three times you have given them a blessing. 11 Go back quickly to the place you came from: it was my purpose to give you a place of honour, but now the Lord has kept you back from honour. 12 Then Balaam said to Balak, Did I not say to the men you sent to me, 13 Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, it would not be possible for me to go outside the orders of the Lord, doing good or evil at the impulse of my mind; whatever the Lord says I will say? 14 So now I will go back to my people: but first let me make clear to you what this people will do to your people in days to come. 15 Then he went on with his story and said, These are the words of Balaam, the son of Beor, the words of him whose eyes are open: 16 He says, whose ear is open to the words of God, who has knowledge of the Most High, who has seen the vision of the Ruler of all, falling down and having his eyes open: 17 I see him, but not now: looking on him, but not near: a star will come out of Jacob, and a rod of authority out of Israel, sending destruction to the farthest limits of Moab and on the head of all the sons of Sheth. 18 Edom will be his heritage, and he will put an end to the last of the people of Seir. 19 And Israel will go on in strength, and Jacob will have rule over his haters. 20 Then, turning his eyes to Amalek, he went on with his story and said, Amalek was the first of the nations, but his part will be destruction for ever. 21 And looking on the Kenites he went on with his story and said, Strong is your living-place, and your secret place is safe in the rock. 22 But still the Kenites will be wasted, till Asshur takes you away prisoner. 23 Then he went on with his story and said, But who may keep his life when God does this? 24 But ships will come from the direction of Kittim, troubling Asshur and troubling Eber, and like the others their fate will be destruction. 25 Then Balaam got up and went back to his place: and Balak went away.
• Num 26:57-58 : 57 These were those of the Levites who were numbered by their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites: of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites: of Merari, the family of the Merarites. 58 These are the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korahites. And Kohath was the father of Amram.
• Josh 21:1-9 : 1 Then the heads of the families of the Levites came to Eleazar the priest and Joshua, the son of Nun, and to the heads of families of the tribes of the children of Israel; 2 And said to them in Shiloh in the land of Canaan, The Lord gave orders by Moses that we were to have towns for living in, with their grass-lands for our cattle. 3 And the children of Israel out of their heritage gave to the Levites these towns with their grass-lands, by the order of the Lord. 4 And the heritage came out for the families of the Kohathites: the children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, were given thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5 The rest of the children of Kohath by their families were given ten towns from the tribes of Ephraim and Dan and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 6 The children of Gershon by their families were given thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar and Asher and Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh which was in Bashan. 7 The children of Merari by their families were given twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben and Gad and Zebulun. 8 All these towns with their grass-lands the children of Israel gave by the decision of the Lord to the Levites, as the Lord had given orders by Moses. 9 From the tribes of the children of Judah and the children of Simeon they gave these towns, listed here by name: 10 These were for the children of Aaron among the families of the Kohathites, of the children of Levi: for they came first in the distribution. 11 They gave them Kiriath-arba, the town of Arba, the father of Anak, (which is Hebron) in the hill-country of Judah, with its grass-lands. 12 But the open country round the town, and its unwalled places, they gave to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, as his property. 13 And to the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its grass-lands, the town where the taker of life might be safe, and Libnah with its grass-lands; 14 And Jattir with its grass-lands, and Eshtemoa with its grass-lands; 15 And Holon with its grass-lands, and Debir with its grass-lands; 16 And Ain, and Juttah, and Beth-shemesh, with their grass-lands; nine towns from those two tribes. 17 And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave Gibeon and Geba with their grass-lands; 18 Anathoth and Almon with their grass-lands, four towns. 19 Thirteen towns with their grass-lands were given to the children of Aaron, the priests. 20 The rest of the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites, were given towns from the tribe of Ephraim. 21 And they gave them Shechem with its grass-lands in the hill-country of Ephraim, the town where the taker of life might be safe, and Gezer with its grass-lands; 22 And Kibzaim and Beth-horon with their grass-lands, four towns. 23 And from the tribe of Dan, Elteke and Gibbethon with their grass-lands; 24 Aijalon and Gath-rimmon with their grass-lands, four towns. 25 And from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach and Gath-rimmon with their grass-lands, two towns. 26 All the towns of the rest of the families of the children of Kohath were ten with their grass-lands. 27 And to the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, they gave from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with its grass-lands, the town where the taker of life might be safe, and Ashtaroth with its grass-lands, two towns. 28 And from the tribe of Issachar, Kishion and Daberath with their grass-lands; 29 Jarmuth and En-gannim with their grass-lands, four towns. 30 And from the tribe of Asher, Mishal and Abdon, with their grass-lands: 31 Helkath and Rehob with their grass-lands, four towns. 32 And from the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its grass-lands, the town where the taker of life might be safe, and Hammoth-dor and Kartan with their grass-lands, three towns. 33 All the towns of the Gershonites with their families were thirteen with their grass-lands. 34 And to the rest of the Levites, that is, the families of the children of Merari, they gave from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam and Kartah with their grass-lands; 35 Dimnah and Nahalal with their grass-lands, four towns. 36 And from the tribe of Reuben, Bezer and Jahaz with their grass-lands; 37 Kedemoth and Mephaath with their grass-lands, four towns. 38 And from the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead, the town where the taker of life might be safe, and Mahanaim with their grass-lands; 39 Heshbon and Jazer with their grass-lands, four towns. 40 All these towns were given to the children of Merari by their families, that is, the rest of the families of the Levites; and their heritage was twelve towns. 41 All the towns of the Levites, among the heritage of the children of Israel, were forty-eight towns with their grass-lands. 42 Every one of these towns had grass-lands round it. 43 So the Lord gave to Israel all the land which he gave by oath to their fathers; so it became their heritage and their living-place. 44 And the Lord gave them peace on every side, as he had said to their fathers: all those who were against them gave way before them, for the Lord gave them all up into their hands. 45 The Lord kept faith with the house of Israel about all the good which he said he would do for them, and all his words came true.
• 1 Chr 6:1-2 : 1 The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 2 And the sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
• 1 Chr 6:16-19 : 16 The sons of Levi; Gershom, Kohath, and Merari. 17 And these are the names of the sons of Gershom: Libni and Shimei. 18 And the sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 19 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. And these are the families of the Levites listed by the names of their fathers.
• Neh 11:1-9 : 1 And the rulers of the people were living in Jerusalem: the rest of the people made selection, by the decision of chance, of one out of every ten to be living in Jerusalem, the holy town; the other nine to go to the other towns. 2 And the people gave a blessing to all the men who were freely offering to take up their places in Jerusalem. 3 Now these are the chiefs of the divisions of the country who were living in Jerusalem: but in the towns of Judah everyone was living on his heritage in the towns, that is, Israel, the priests, the Levites, the Nethinim, and the children of Solomon's servants. 4 And in Jerusalem there were living certain of the children of Judah and of Benjamin. Of the children of Judah: Athaiah, the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, of the children of Perez; 5 And Maaseiah, the son of Baruch, the son of Col-hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of the Shilonite. 6 All the sons of Perez living in Jerusalem were four hundred and sixty-eight men of good position. 7 And these are the sons of Benjamin: Sallu, the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jeshaiah. 8 And after him Gabbai, Sallai, nine hundred and twenty-eight. 9 And Joel, the son of Zichri, was their overseer; and Judah, the son of Hassenuah, was second over the town. 10 Of the priests: Jedaiah, the son of Joiarib, Jachin, 11 Seraiah, the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of God, 12 And their brothers who did the work of the house, eight hundred and twenty-two; and Adaiah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah,