Of the firstborn of the children of Israel took he the money; a thousand three hundred and threescore and five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:
He collected the money from the firstborn of the Israelites - 1,365 shekels, measured according to the sanctuary's standard weight.
This verse records the exact amount of money collected as redemption payment for the firstborn Israelites who weren't replaced by Levites.
📚 Historical Context
This verse concludes the census and redemption process described in Numbers 3, where God commanded that the Levites replace the firstborn of all Israel in sacred service. Since there were 273 more firstborn Israelites than Levites, those extra firstborn had to be 'redeemed' with a payment of 5 shekels each to the sanctuary. The 'shekel of the sanctuary' was a standardized weight used for religious transactions to ensure fairness.
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