וּפְקֻדַּ֣ת מִשְׁמֶרֶת֮ בְּנֵ֣י מְרָרִי֒ קַרְשֵׁי֙ הַמִּשְׁכָּ֔ן וּבְרִיחָ֖יו וְעַמֻּדָ֣יו וַאֲדָנָ֑יו וְכָל־כֵּלָ֔יו וְכֹ֖ל עֲבֹדָתֽוֹ׃
Dépôt confié à la garde des Merarites: les solives du tabernacle, ses traverses, ses piliers et ses socles, toutes ses pièces et toute sa dépendance;
Rabbeinu Bahya
A Midrashic approach based on Bamidbar Rabbah 12,17-21: “The six covered wagons corresponded to six of the heavens. You may ask that after all, there are seven heavens! Rabbi Avin answered that the seventh heaven is reserved as a residence for the “king” (G’d Himself) and is not included in the regular count of heavens. Moses reportedly said to G’d: “supposing one of the animals will die or one of the wheels will fall off one of the wagons, is not the entire offering of the princes going to be disqualified and the entire Tabernacle discredited?” [I suppose this is based on only the combined total number of all the princes’ offerings making up the number required to complete the symbolism involved. Ed.]
In response to this G’d said to Moses: קח מאתם והיו לעבודת וגו', “take it from them so they can be used in the service of the Tabernacle” (verse 5). The word והיו in this verse which is not really necessary means that these animals and wagons will have an enduring existence (the normal meaning of the word in connection with the story of creation, for instance). This raises the question for how long did these animals live and these wagons remain functional? Answer: until the building of Solomon’s Temple some 480 years later. These oxen were slaughtered and sacrificed on the Altar of the Temple at the inauguration. We read in Chronicles II 7,5 ויזבח המלך שלמה את זבח הבקר עשרים ושנים אלף, "King Solomon slaughtered there as sacrifices 22,000 oxen, etc. We would have expected to read the words זבח בקר instead of the expression זבח הבקר. The latter expression suggests that we have heard about these oxen previously. When did we hear about them? In our passage here. This led Rabbi Meir to state that the animals donated by the princes at this time survived until the inauguration of Solomon’s Temple. During all these years these animals had sustained neither blemish nor developed signs of old age (which would have disqualified them as suitable for the Altar).
In fact there is logic in all this: if the oxen whose function in connection with the Tabernacle was merely peripheral, i.e. they served as beasts of burden transporting parts of the Tabernacle, and as a result G’d endowed them with such longevity and enduring youthful vigour, how much more so must the Tabernacle exert this kind of influence on the Israelites who made the Tabernacle the centre of their existence! This is testified to by Moses in his final address to the Jewish people in Deut. 4,4 when he points out to them that the reason they were alive and well on the day he spoke to them was that ואתם הדבקים בה' “you who have been cleaving to the Lord.” Thus far the Midrash.
There is another Midrash Shir Hashirim Rabbah (6,10) on Song of Songs 6,4 on the words יפה את רעיתי כתרצה, “You are beautiful My love when your deeds are pleasing.” The Midrash there also implies that the reason these animals lived so long was because the owners who donated them for the purpose were possessed of purity of thought in doing so. It appears that this Midrash too is based on the wording of a verse on the same procedure but in Kings I 8,63 which prompted the Midrash Rabbah in Nasso. The Midrash in Shir Hashirim uses a different nuance of the verse in Kings I 8,63 where the same offering is described. In that verse in Kings the word בקר appears immediately next to the word לה'. The wording we would have expected there was עשרים ושנים אלף בקר. The association of the word בקר and ה' then are the background to the longevity of these animals. It may well have been a long-standing tradition the sages had on the matter.
Rabbi Meir’s additional contribution to this tradition was merely to establish a conceptual link why the Israelites themselves who were devoted to the Tabernacle should be blessed with long life. There were a total of eighteen wagons and animals drawing them, the number eighteen, i.e. חי, i.e. an allusion to the life-sustaining power of the Tabernacle and those connected with its functions.
Two of the wagons were given to the sons of Gershon in accordance with the demands of their work. The other four wagons were given to the sons of Merari in accordance with the demands of the work assigned to them. The work-load of the sons of Merari was much heavier than that of the sons of Gershon. This is why the wagons were not evenly divided between the Levites who had not been commanded to carry the furnishings of the Tabernacle on their shoulders, i.e. the Kehatites. Details of who carried what have been discussed at the beginning of the Parshah.
In response to this G’d said to Moses: קח מאתם והיו לעבודת וגו', “take it from them so they can be used in the service of the Tabernacle” (verse 5). The word והיו in this verse which is not really necessary means that these animals and wagons will have an enduring existence (the normal meaning of the word in connection with the story of creation, for instance). This raises the question for how long did these animals live and these wagons remain functional? Answer: until the building of Solomon’s Temple some 480 years later. These oxen were slaughtered and sacrificed on the Altar of the Temple at the inauguration. We read in Chronicles II 7,5 ויזבח המלך שלמה את זבח הבקר עשרים ושנים אלף, "King Solomon slaughtered there as sacrifices 22,000 oxen, etc. We would have expected to read the words זבח בקר instead of the expression זבח הבקר. The latter expression suggests that we have heard about these oxen previously. When did we hear about them? In our passage here. This led Rabbi Meir to state that the animals donated by the princes at this time survived until the inauguration of Solomon’s Temple. During all these years these animals had sustained neither blemish nor developed signs of old age (which would have disqualified them as suitable for the Altar).
In fact there is logic in all this: if the oxen whose function in connection with the Tabernacle was merely peripheral, i.e. they served as beasts of burden transporting parts of the Tabernacle, and as a result G’d endowed them with such longevity and enduring youthful vigour, how much more so must the Tabernacle exert this kind of influence on the Israelites who made the Tabernacle the centre of their existence! This is testified to by Moses in his final address to the Jewish people in Deut. 4,4 when he points out to them that the reason they were alive and well on the day he spoke to them was that ואתם הדבקים בה' “you who have been cleaving to the Lord.” Thus far the Midrash.
There is another Midrash Shir Hashirim Rabbah (6,10) on Song of Songs 6,4 on the words יפה את רעיתי כתרצה, “You are beautiful My love when your deeds are pleasing.” The Midrash there also implies that the reason these animals lived so long was because the owners who donated them for the purpose were possessed of purity of thought in doing so. It appears that this Midrash too is based on the wording of a verse on the same procedure but in Kings I 8,63 which prompted the Midrash Rabbah in Nasso. The Midrash in Shir Hashirim uses a different nuance of the verse in Kings I 8,63 where the same offering is described. In that verse in Kings the word בקר appears immediately next to the word לה'. The wording we would have expected there was עשרים ושנים אלף בקר. The association of the word בקר and ה' then are the background to the longevity of these animals. It may well have been a long-standing tradition the sages had on the matter.
Rabbi Meir’s additional contribution to this tradition was merely to establish a conceptual link why the Israelites themselves who were devoted to the Tabernacle should be blessed with long life. There were a total of eighteen wagons and animals drawing them, the number eighteen, i.e. חי, i.e. an allusion to the life-sustaining power of the Tabernacle and those connected with its functions.
Two of the wagons were given to the sons of Gershon in accordance with the demands of their work. The other four wagons were given to the sons of Merari in accordance with the demands of the work assigned to them. The work-load of the sons of Merari was much heavier than that of the sons of Gershon. This is why the wagons were not evenly divided between the Levites who had not been commanded to carry the furnishings of the Tabernacle on their shoulders, i.e. the Kehatites. Details of who carried what have been discussed at the beginning of the Parshah.
Ramban
THE FAMILIES OF THE GERSHONITES WERE TO PITCH BEHIND THE TABERNACLE WESTWARD. Scripture did not begin from the east in [explaining] the charge of the [various families of the] Levites as it did in the case of the standards [of the other tribes],173Above, 2:3. because the Levites had no charge there, except for Aaron and his sons the priests and Moses174Further, Verse 38. the priest of the priests.175See Zebachim 101-102. During the seven days of installation when the Tabernacle was first erected, Moses acted as the priest, and showed the future priests how to do the Service. He was thus “priest of the priests.” Therefore it began from the west, which was the position opposite the east. But He put the sons of Kohath who were the most honored of the Levites in the south [of the Tabernacle], which is the most distinguished direction [after the east],176Tur. and He gave them [the charge of carrying] the ark and [all] holy vessels;177Further, Verse 31. and in the west [of the Tabernacle] He placed the sons of Gershon, since he was the firstborn [of Levi],178Exodus 6:16. and gave them [the charge of carrying] the Tabernacle and the Tent,179Above, Verse 25. “The Tabernacle” refers to the lower ten curtains which formed the ceiling, and were visible inside the Tabernacle. “The Tent” refers to the upper layer of curtains made of goat’s hair, which were visible on top of the Tabernacle (Rashi). and in the north, which is the last of the [four] directions, He put the sons of Merari, and gave them [the charge of] the implements of the sacred things.180Verses 36-37.
Ramban
AND THE PILLARS OF THE COURT ROUND ABOUT, AND THEIR SOCKETS, AND THEIR PINS, AND THEIR CORDS. “[These sockets, pins and cords refer only to] those of the pillars, because the pins and cords of the hangings were part of the burden of the Gershonites [as stated above in Verse 26, and here Scripture is speaking of the work of the sons of Merari]. For there were pins and cords for the curtains and hangings on their lower edges, so that the wind should not raise them, and there were [also] pins and cords round about the pillars, in order to suspend the hangings on them at their upper edges with poles and rails, as we have been taught in [the Beraitha] on the work of the Tabernacle.” This is Rashi’s language. But I do not understand what pins have to do with the pillars!8The pins were made of brass (Exodus 27:19) and their purpose was to secure the hangings to the ground so that the wind would not blow them from side to side. The poles and rods to which the upper end of the hangings was fixed, however, were made of wood, not of brass, and are not included in the Hebrew word for pins. Therefore Ramban asks what do the pins [made of brass] have to do with the pillars? (Kur Zahav). Moreover, [even if the pillars did have pins], why were the pins of the pillars different from the other pins, in that [the other pins were given] to the sons of Gershon, and those [of the pillars were given] to the sons of Merari? Nor have I found in the Mishnah9See further in the following text, and also in Ramban on Exodus 26: 17, from which it is clear that Ramban when referring to the “Mishnah”, is in fact referring to the Beraitha on the construction of the Tabernacle. For the nature of this book, see Vol. II, p. 448, Note 108. on the work of the Tabernacle that there were pins to the pillars! Instead, the Rabbis taught there the following:10M’lecheth Hamishkan, Chapter 5 (p. 33, in Ish Shalom’s edition). “He [Moses] joined the rails by means of cords to the pillars, and attached them to the pins of the Tent. And just as there were pins to the Tabernacle, so were there pins to the court, as it is said, All the instruments of the Tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, round about, shall be of brass. ”11Exodus 27:19. The expression “round about” is found ibid., 38:20. This is the language of the Beraitha. And it does not teach there that there were pins to the pillars.
But we must rather explain that the pins and cords of the hangings of the court12Above, Verse 26. were in the hands of the sons of Merari [not, as Rashi understands, that they were in the charge of the Gershonites]; whereas it is the cords and pins of the Tabernacle and Tent13See Note 179 in Seder Bamidbar. that were in the hands of the Gershonites, for [the prepositions] and ‘their’ cords, and all the instruments of ‘their’ service12Above, Verse 26. [mentioned in connection with the charge of the Gershonites] are a reference to the curtains of the Tabernacle and the Tent of Meeting14Ibid., Verse 25. mentioned in [the beginning of] the previous verse [relating to the work to be done by the Gershonite], and do not refer to [the hangings of] the court [as Rashi wrote]. Similarly, when He said above [with reference to the charge of the Gershonites], and the cords ‘of it’15Ibid., 3:26. [the preposition “it”] alludes to the Tabernacle mentioned there [in the preceding verse],16Ibid., Verse 25: And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting, the Tabernacle and the Tent etc. — Ramban is thus, interpreting the preposition “it” [and the cords of ‘it’] — in 3:26 — as referring back to Verse 25 which mentions the Tabernacle and Tent and does not refer to the hangings of the court mentioned in the selfsame Verse 26. To prove this method of exegesis, Ramban proceeds to bring examples from other places in Scripture where this principle perforce applies. and not to the hangings of the court [mentioned in the same verse]. A similar case [of a Scriptural reference to a prior subject] is [G-d’s command addressed to Aaron]: only ‘they’ shall not come nigh unto the vessels of holiness and unto the altar17Further, 18:3. [where the pronoun “they”] refers back to the more distant [phrase, namely: thy brethren, the tribe of Levi] the tribe of thy father18Ibid., Verse 2. [mentioned] in the preceding verse, and does not refer to the nearer [phrase] thy sons. So also the verse, And ‘their’ redemption-money — from a month old shalt thou redeem them19Ibid., Verse 16. [where the word “their”] refers back to the firstborn of man20Ibid., Verse 15. [mentioned in the earlier part of the preceding verse], and not to the firstling of unclean beasts [stated at the end of the preceding verse]. There are many cases like this.
However, it appears to me that according to the text of the Beraitha [mentioned further on] the Gershonites only carried cloths, but [did] not [carry] any brass and wood at all. This is the Beraitha wherein we are taught:21M’lecheth Hamishkan, Chapter 13 (p. 80, in Ish Shalom’s edition). “The sons of Gershon were assigned [to pitch] on the west22Above, 3:23. [of the Tabernacle], and they were in charge of all woven materials.” If so, the meaning of the term and their pins [mentioned in the verse before us dealing with the charge of the sons of Merari] is: “[the pins] of the Tabernacle and of the pillars of the court,” while [the term] and their cords refers only to those of the pillars of the court [since the cords of the Tabernacle itself were in the hands of the Gershonites]. Similarly He said above [with reference to the burden of the sons of Merari]: the boards of the Tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the instruments thereof, and all that pertaineth to the service thereof,23Ibid., Verse 36. including [in general terms] the pins thereof [i.e., of both the Tabernacle and the pillars of the court]. Therefore He mentioned the cords [in speaking of] both [the burdens of the sons of Gershon24Verse 26. and those of Merari,25In this verse. because the cords of the Tabernacle were carried by the sons of Gershon, and those of the pillars of the court by the sons of Merari], but the pins He mentioned only [in the verse before us] with reference to the sons of Merari [because the Gershonites carried no objects of brass or wood at all, but which instead were carried by the sons of Merari].
But we must rather explain that the pins and cords of the hangings of the court12Above, Verse 26. were in the hands of the sons of Merari [not, as Rashi understands, that they were in the charge of the Gershonites]; whereas it is the cords and pins of the Tabernacle and Tent13See Note 179 in Seder Bamidbar. that were in the hands of the Gershonites, for [the prepositions] and ‘their’ cords, and all the instruments of ‘their’ service12Above, Verse 26. [mentioned in connection with the charge of the Gershonites] are a reference to the curtains of the Tabernacle and the Tent of Meeting14Ibid., Verse 25. mentioned in [the beginning of] the previous verse [relating to the work to be done by the Gershonite], and do not refer to [the hangings of] the court [as Rashi wrote]. Similarly, when He said above [with reference to the charge of the Gershonites], and the cords ‘of it’15Ibid., 3:26. [the preposition “it”] alludes to the Tabernacle mentioned there [in the preceding verse],16Ibid., Verse 25: And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting, the Tabernacle and the Tent etc. — Ramban is thus, interpreting the preposition “it” [and the cords of ‘it’] — in 3:26 — as referring back to Verse 25 which mentions the Tabernacle and Tent and does not refer to the hangings of the court mentioned in the selfsame Verse 26. To prove this method of exegesis, Ramban proceeds to bring examples from other places in Scripture where this principle perforce applies. and not to the hangings of the court [mentioned in the same verse]. A similar case [of a Scriptural reference to a prior subject] is [G-d’s command addressed to Aaron]: only ‘they’ shall not come nigh unto the vessels of holiness and unto the altar17Further, 18:3. [where the pronoun “they”] refers back to the more distant [phrase, namely: thy brethren, the tribe of Levi] the tribe of thy father18Ibid., Verse 2. [mentioned] in the preceding verse, and does not refer to the nearer [phrase] thy sons. So also the verse, And ‘their’ redemption-money — from a month old shalt thou redeem them19Ibid., Verse 16. [where the word “their”] refers back to the firstborn of man20Ibid., Verse 15. [mentioned in the earlier part of the preceding verse], and not to the firstling of unclean beasts [stated at the end of the preceding verse]. There are many cases like this.
However, it appears to me that according to the text of the Beraitha [mentioned further on] the Gershonites only carried cloths, but [did] not [carry] any brass and wood at all. This is the Beraitha wherein we are taught:21M’lecheth Hamishkan, Chapter 13 (p. 80, in Ish Shalom’s edition). “The sons of Gershon were assigned [to pitch] on the west22Above, 3:23. [of the Tabernacle], and they were in charge of all woven materials.” If so, the meaning of the term and their pins [mentioned in the verse before us dealing with the charge of the sons of Merari] is: “[the pins] of the Tabernacle and of the pillars of the court,” while [the term] and their cords refers only to those of the pillars of the court [since the cords of the Tabernacle itself were in the hands of the Gershonites]. Similarly He said above [with reference to the burden of the sons of Merari]: the boards of the Tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the instruments thereof, and all that pertaineth to the service thereof,23Ibid., Verse 36. including [in general terms] the pins thereof [i.e., of both the Tabernacle and the pillars of the court]. Therefore He mentioned the cords [in speaking of] both [the burdens of the sons of Gershon24Verse 26. and those of Merari,25In this verse. because the cords of the Tabernacle were carried by the sons of Gershon, and those of the pillars of the court by the sons of Merari], but the pins He mentioned only [in the verse before us] with reference to the sons of Merari [because the Gershonites carried no objects of brass or wood at all, but which instead were carried by the sons of Merari].