The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying:
Record the Levites by ancestral house and by clan; record every male among them from the age of one month up. So Moses recorded them at the command of the Lord, as he was bidden. These were the sons of Levi by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. These were the names of the sons of Gershon by clan: Libni and Shimei. The sons of Kohath by clan: Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. The sons of Merari by clan: Mahli and Mushi.
These were the clans of the Levites within their ancestral houses:
To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; those were the clans of the Gershonites. The recorded entries of all their males from the age of one month up, as recorded, came to 7,500. The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the Tabernacle, to the west. The chieftain of the ancestral house of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael. The duties of the Gershonites in the Tent of Meeting comprised: the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, and the screen for the entrance of the Tent of Meeting; the hangings of the enclosure, the screen for the entrance of the enclosure which surrounds the Tabernacle, the cords thereof, and the altar–all the service connected with these.
To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites, the clan of the Izharites, the clan of the Hebronites, and the clan of the Uzzielites; those were the clans of the Kohathites. All the listed males from the age of one month up came to 8,600, attending to the duties of the sanctuary. The clans of the Kohathites were to camp along the south side of the Tabernacle. The chieftain of the ancestral house of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. Their duties comprised: the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, and the sacred utensils that were used with them, and the screen–all the service connected with these. The head chieftain of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, in charge of those attending to the duties of the sanctuary.
To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites; those were the clans of Merari. The recorded entries of all their males from the age of one month up came to 6,200. The chieftain of the ancestral house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel son of Abihail. They were to camp along the north side of the Tabernacle. The assigned duties of the Merarites comprised: the planks of the Tabernacle, its bars, posts, and sockets, and all its furnishings–all the service connected with these; also the posts around the enclosure and their sockets, pegs, and cords.
Those who were to camp before the Tabernacle, in front–before the Tent of Meeting, on the east–were Moses and Aaron and his sons, attending to the duties of the sanctuary, as a duty on behalf of the Israelites; and any outsider who encroached was to be put to death. All the Levites who were recorded, whom at the Lord’s command Moses and Aaron recorded by their clans, all the males from the age of one month up, came to 22,000.
From Parshat Bamidbar. From THE TANAKH: The New JPS Translation According to the Traditional Hebrew Text. Copyright 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society. Used by permission.