KJV ORIGINAL
And Moses took the redemption money of them that were over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites:
Close to the original. Clear modern English.
✦ MADE SIMPLE
So Moses collected the redemption money for those firstborn sons who exceeded the number of Levites available to take their place.
⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE
Moses collected payment money for the extra firstborn sons who couldn't be replaced by Levites in God's service.
📚 Historical Context
God had claimed all firstborn sons in Israel as His own after sparing them during the Passover in Egypt. However, He allowed the Levite tribe to serve in the temple instead of the firstborn from every family. When the census showed there were more firstborn sons (22,273) than Levites (22,000), the extra 273 families had to pay redemption money of five shekels each to buy back their sons from temple service.
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