וְשֵׁרֵ֨ת אֶת־אֶחָ֜יו בְּאֹ֤הֶל מוֹעֵד֙ לִשְׁמֹ֣ר מִשְׁמֶ֔רֶת וַעֲבֹדָ֖ה לֹ֣א יַעֲבֹ֑ד כָּ֛כָה תַּעֲשֶׂ֥ה לַלְוִיִּ֖ם בְּמִשְׁמְרֹתָֽם׃ (פ)
Er soll dann nur aufwarten seinen Brüdern beim Stiftszelte, Obhut zu halten, aber den Dienst verrichte er nicht. Also sollst du es mit den Leviten halten bei ihren Amtsverrichtungen.
That the Worse is wont to Attack the Better
(α) The word “keeper” in Cain’s insolent question leads to ‘guardianship’: this to Levites, guardians of the oracles of God. Their active service from the age of twenty-five to that of fifty, when they become guardians, leads to Memory, guarding what it has learned, and assisted in the high task of teaching by Utterance (“His brother shall minister,” Numb. 8:26) (62–68).
That the Worse is wont to Attack the Better
[66] At an earlier stage, when he was in training, this man was a pupil with another to teach him, but when he became capable of watching and guarding, he obtained the power and position of a teacher, and appointed for the subordinate duties under the teacher his own brother, the word of utterance: for it is said “his brother shall minister” (Numb. 8:26). Accordingly the mind of the truly noble man will be guardian and steward of the teachings of virtue, while his brother, utterance, will minister to those who are seeking education, going over with them the doctrines and principles of wisdom.