Bemidbar (Part 3) - Numbers 1:1-4:20

The last 4 lines of the Torah portion are rather...odd.

In 4:17-19, YHVH warns Moses to instruct the priesthood that while the special Levite family, Kohathite, is to perform some activities for them, such as carrying the sanctuary when they are on the move, that the priesthood has to keep an eye on them to make sure that they don't overstep their bounds and dies, because, as YHVH reminded Moses (3:4), he did just that with 2 of Aaron's sons.

But it is the last line that I want to focus on. Because this is part of the description of how they are to carry the sanctuary (4:19) as they are being monitored by the priesthood - "Do this with them so that they will live and they will not die when they approach the holy of holies; Aaron and his sons will enter and put them, each one, to his service and to his burden".

The holy of holies is also mentioned in verse 4:4. While this name is typically reserved for the place where Yahweh resides, Rashi wants to have it also include all of the vessels that are mentioned after this verse. Even so, the presence of God is also there, in/upon/over the ark, and if one of them takes a peek, he will be killed. So while all of these things are their burden to carry, they must never look inside.

And here is the last verse (4:20): "But they will not enter to see the holy of holies kevalah (כבלע) or they will die."

Kevala literally means "it is likened to swallowing". It also makes no sense in the sentence, so various commentators try to force a meaning that will make more sense, based on the context. Onkelos, Rashi, and Yoma 54a say that it means "when it is covered". But it makes better sense to just toss the word away altogether in that case. Pseudo-Jonathan likes "when it is concealed", which is too close to "covered". The Rashbam like "when it is taken apart". Ibn Ezra and the Ramban like "when it is revealed". The Midrash Numbers Rabbah as well as the LXX use "with a stolen glance", as if such a quick glance is akin to a quick swallow. It is important to note that the LXX often fixes such problems as rewriting terms to make the text more understandable.

There are other interpretations as well.

Here's one that none of them will like: what if the word is a scribal error? What if instead of כבלע it's כבעל? As in "But they will not enter to see the holy of holies like one who owns it, or they will die?"

I'm sure we could come up with a number of other typos that will work equally well. But that messes up the "Torah is the perfect word of God" narrative.

Clearly, the spirit of the text is that these guys have to carry all of this stuff, but, like Pandora, they cannot look in at God (or His stuff), or disaster will strike. I refer you to 2 Samuel 6:7, when God killed Uzzah who put his hand on the ark to steady it, which angered Yahweh, so He killed Uzzah, which caused everyone to panic.

Apparently, Yahweh is very picky when it comes to who gets to touch His stuff, and who gets to look at Him (or His stuff). And this view is very different from the view given in the stories in the Book of Exodus, where God doesn't mind being seen, and everyone got to see His stuff.