וַיִּקַּ֣ח מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶת־הָעֲגָלֹ֖ת וְאֶת־הַבָּקָ֑ר וַיִּתֵּ֥ן אוֹתָ֖ם אֶל־הַלְוִיִּֽם׃
Maka Musa menerima kereta-kereta dan lembu-lembu itu, lalu memberikannya kepada orang-orang Lewi.
Midrash Tanchuma Buber
(Numb. 22:2:) NOW BALAK <BEN ZIPPOR> SAW. He saw retribution which Israel inflicted against the Ammonites.3Tanh., 7:2; Numb. R. 20:2. It would have been better for the wicked if they had been blind,4Cf. Matthew 5:29; 18:9 // Mark 9:47. for their eyes bring a curse to the world. With reference to the generation of the flood, [it is written] (in Gen. 6:2): THE SONS OF GOD SAW <HOW BEAUTIFUL> THE HUMAN DAUGHTERS WERE <AND TOOK WHOMEVER THEY CHOSE AS THEIR WIVES>. [It is also written] (in Gen. 9:22): THEN HAM, THE FATHER OF CANAAN, SAW <THE NAKEDNESS OF HIS FATHER AND TOLD HIS TWO BROTHERS OUTSIDE>. [It is also written] (in Gen. 12:15): SO PHARAOH'S COURTIERS SAW HER (i.e., Abram's wife Sarah) <AND PRAISED HER TO PHARAOH, AND THE WOMAN WAS TAKEN TO PHARAOH'S HOUSE>. [It is also written] (in Gen. 34:1–2): <NOW LEAH'S DAUGHTER DINAH WENT OUT….> THEN SHECHEM BEN HAMOR <THE HIVITE, THE PRINCE OF THE LAND,> SAW HER…. So also <here> (in Numb. 22:2): NOW BALAK <BEN ZIPPOR> SAW. <The matter> is comparable to someone who appointed guards to guard from an invader; and he had confidence in them, because they were warriors. When the invader came over and killed them, he trembled with fear for himself. It was the same also with Balak. When he saw what happened with Sihon and Og to whom he had been sending payment to guard him, he was afraid for himself. And in addition to that, he had seen the miracles at the wadies of Arnon.5According to Numb. 21:26-31, Sihon defeated the King of Moab and captured his territory as far at the Arnon. See above, Numb. 6:47 // Numb. R. 19:25, for a description of the miracles. See also below, Numb. 7:6 // Numb. R. 20:7, according to which Sihon’s victory resulted from a curse by Balaam.
Bamidbar Rabbah
“Moses took the carts and the bulls, and gave them to the Levites” (Numbers 7:6).
“Moses took the carts and the bulls…” – Moses took them and allotted them in accordance with his judgment.
“Two of the carts and four of the bulls, he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to their service” (Numbers 7:7).
“Two of the carts…” – because the service of the sons of Gershon was only the sheets of the tent, the coverings, the screens, the hangings, and the cords with which they would support the sheets. One end of the cords was tied to the sheets, and their other end was tied to the pegs. They would imbed the peg into the ground so the wind would not furl the sheets. Because their service was not heavy, he gave them only two carts. However, for the sons of Merari whose service was arduous and heavy: boards, bars, pillars, sockets, and cords for all their vessels and all their service, he gave them four carts. That is what is written: “And four of the carts…[he gave to the sons of Merari]” (Numbers 7:8).
“Moses took the carts and the bulls…” – Moses took them and allotted them in accordance with his judgment.
“Two of the carts and four of the bulls, he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to their service” (Numbers 7:7).
“Two of the carts…” – because the service of the sons of Gershon was only the sheets of the tent, the coverings, the screens, the hangings, and the cords with which they would support the sheets. One end of the cords was tied to the sheets, and their other end was tied to the pegs. They would imbed the peg into the ground so the wind would not furl the sheets. Because their service was not heavy, he gave them only two carts. However, for the sons of Merari whose service was arduous and heavy: boards, bars, pillars, sockets, and cords for all their vessels and all their service, he gave them four carts. That is what is written: “And four of the carts…[he gave to the sons of Merari]” (Numbers 7:8).
Sifrei Bamidbar
(Bamidbar 7:6) "And Moses took the wagons and the oxen and he gave them to the Levites": Moses took them and distributed them as he saw fit: Two wagons and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon, and four wagons and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari. And thus do we find with David, that he distributed the heads of the watches among the Cohanim, viz. (I Chronicles 24:4-6) "And there were more chiefs found of the sons of Elazar than of the sons of Ithamar, and thus were they divided. Among the sons of Elazar there were sixteen chiefs of the house of their fathers, and eight among the sons of Ithamar according to the house of their fathers. And they were divided by lot, these with the others … and Shemayah the son of Nathanel, of the Levites, recorded them before the king and the princes, and Tzaddok the Cohein and Achimelech the son of Avyathar, etc."