redeemed

Nombres 18:15
Tout premier-né de toute chair, qu'ils offriront à l'Eternel, tant des hommes que des animaux, sera pour toi. Seulement, tu feras racheter le premier-né de l'homme, et tu feras racheter le premier-né d'un animal impur.

Exode 13:13
Tu rachèteras avec un agneau tout premier-né de l'âne; et, si tu ne le rachètes pas, tu lui briseras la nuque. Tu rachèteras aussi tout premier-né de l'homme parmi tes fils.

the two hundred.

22,000, and the first-born males of the Israelites were

22,273, there were therefore

372 more of the latter than of the former, which are here ordered to be redeemed. The price of redemption is fixed at five shekels, or about

15s. each, in ver

Nombres 3:47
tu prendras cinq sicles par tête; tu les prendras selon le sicle du sanctuaire, qui est de vingt guéras.

. This money, amounting to

1365 shekels, equal to F204.

15s. English, was taken of the first-born. There is some difficulty, however, in determining which of the first-born should be redeemed by paying this sum, and which should be exchanged for the Levites; for every Israelite, no doubt, would rather have his first-born redeemed by a Levite, than pay five shekels; and yet some of them must have incurred this expense. Rabbi Solomon Jarchi says, to prevent contention, Moses took

22,000 slips of parchment, and wrote on each a son of Levi, and

273 more, on which he wrote five shekels; then putting them in an urn, and shaking them together, he ordered every one of the first-born to draw out a slip. If he drew out one with the first inscription, he said to him, a Levite hath redeemed thee; but if he drew out one of the latter, he said, pay the price. This is pronounced by Dr. A. Clarke to be a stupid, silly tale; but when we know that the determination by lot was used among the Israelites, it does not seem improbable that it was now resorted to, though we cannot vouch for the accuracy of the detail. This species of redeeming men is referred to by Peter in his

1st Epistle,

Nombres 1:18,19
et ils convoquèrent toute l'assemblée, le premier jour du second mois. On les enregistra selon leurs familles, selon les maisons de leurs pères, en comptant par tête les noms depuis l'âge de vingt ans et au-dessus.…

.

which are

Nombres 3:39-43
Tous les Lévites dont Moïse et Aaron firent le dénombrement sur l'ordre de l'Eternel, selon leurs familles, tous les mâles depuis l'âge d'un mois et au-dessus, furent vingt-deux mille.…