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2 Chronicles 31 · a question people ask

Why did the priests and Levites depend on what the people brought?

In the text

The LORD said to Aaron, "You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel" (Numbers 18:20). The tithe was given to the Levites "in return for their service which they serve" (Numbers 18:21), and Moses told Israel, "You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no portion nor inheritance with you" (Deuteronomy 14:27). 2 Chronicles 31:4 gives the purpose in Hezekiah's day: "that they might give themselves to the LORD’s law". Later, Nehemiah found what happened when it wasn't given: "the portions of the Levites had not been given them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had each fled to his field" (Nehemiah 13:10).

The verses

“The LORD said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel. “To the children of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, even the service of the Tent of Meeting.”
Numbers 18:20-21 · World English Bible
“You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no portion nor inheritance with you.”
Deuteronomy 14:27 · World English Bible
“Moreover he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might give themselves to the LORD’s law.”
2 Chronicles 31:4 · World English Bible
“I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had each fled to his field.”
Nehemiah 13:10 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of 2 Chronicles 31

2 Chronicles 31: Plenty left over

The heaps grew from the third month to the seventh, and the chief priest's report was, "we have eaten and had enough, and have plenty left over, for the LORD has blessed his people" (31:10). And the verse that calls Hezekiah "faithful" (31:20) is followed by "After these things and this faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came" (32:1).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions