The seven lamps are placed on the golden candlestick, to shine towards the loaves of proposition: the ordination of the Levites: and to what age they shall serve in the tabernacle.

¹ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

² “Speak to Aaron, and you shall say to him: When you place the seven lamps, let the lampstand be set up on the south side. Therefore, give this instruction: that the lamps should look out from the region opposite the north, toward the table of the bread of the presence; they shall give light opposite that area, toward the area that the lampstand faces.”

³ And Aaron did so, and he placed the lamps on the lampstand, just as the Lord had instructed Moses.

⁴ Now this was the workmanship of the lampstand: it was of ductile gold, both the main shaft and all that originated from both sides of the branches. According to the example that the Lord revealed to Moses, so did he make the lampstand.

⁵ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

⁶ “Take the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and you shall purify them

⁷ according to this ritual: Let them be sprinkled with the water of illumination, and let them shave off all the hairs of their body. And when they have washed their garments and have been cleansed,¹

1. 8:7Let them be sprinkled with the water of purification: This was the holy water mixed with the ashes of the red cow, Num. 19., appointed for purifying all that were unclean. It was a figure of the blood of Christ, applied to our souls by his holy sacraments.(Challoner)

⁸ they shall take an ox from the herd, with its libation of fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil; then you shall receive another ox from the herd for sin.

⁹ And you shall bring forward the Levites before the tabernacle of the covenant, calling together all the multitude of the sons of Israel.

¹⁰ And when the Levites are before the Lord, the sons of Israel shall place their hands upon them.

¹¹ And Aaron shall offer the Levites as a gift in the sight of the Lord, from the sons of Israel, so that they may serve in his ministry.

¹² Likewise, the Levites shall place their hands upon the heads of the oxen; you shall make use of one of these for sin, and the other as a holocaust to the Lord, so that you may intercede for them.

¹³ And you shall set the Levites in the sight of Aaron and his sons, and you shall consecrate those being offered to the Lord,

¹⁴ and you shall separate them from the midst of the sons of Israel, so that they may be for me.

¹⁵ And after this, they shall enter the tabernacle of the covenant, in order to serve me. And so shall you purify and consecrate them as an oblation to the Lord. For they were given to me as a gift from the sons of Israel.

¹⁶ I have accepted them in place of the firstborn which open every womb in Israel.

¹⁷ For all the firstborn of the sons of Israel, as much from men as from beasts, are mine. From the day when I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I have sanctified them to myself.

¹⁸ And I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn of the sons of Israel.

¹⁹ And I have delivered them as a gift to Aaron and his sons, from the midst of the people, in order to serve me, for Israel, in the tabernacle of the covenant, and in order to pray for them, lest there be a scourge among the people, if they were to dare to approach to my Sanctuary.”

²⁰ And Moses and Aaron, and all the multitude of the sons of Israel, accomplished all that the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites.

²¹ And they were purified, and they washed their garments. And Aaron lifted them up in the sight of the Lord, and he prayed for them,

²² so that, having been purified, they might enter to their duties in the tabernacle of the covenant before Aaron and his sons. Just as the Lord had instructed Moses about the Levites, so was it done.

²³ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

²⁴ “This is the law of the Levites: From twenty-five years and above, they shall enter to minister in the tabernacle of the covenant.

²⁵ And when they will have completed the fiftieth year of age, they shall cease to serve.

²⁶ And they shall be the ministers of their brothers in the tabernacle of the covenant, in order to care for the things that have been commended to them, but not to perform the works themselves. So shall you assign the Levites in their duties.”¹

1. 8:26This distinction between the roles of Levites and those of Aaron and his sons, the priests, is a similar distinction between the religious and the ordained. God cautions the people of Israel, and their leaders, not to permit Levites to act as if they were priests, lest a great tribulation come upon the people. Similarly, today, some religious and some lay persons are taking roles only fitting for the ordained. So this is a sign that the tribulation is near.(Conte)