And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites.
Moses took the wagons and the oxen. The х haa`ªgaalot (H5699)] word seems to be fairly rendered by the word "wagons." Wheel carriages of some kind are certainly intended (cf. Genesis 45:19; 1 Samuel 6:7; 2 Samuel 6:3; Isaiah 5:18; Amos 2:13), and as they were covered, the best idea we can form of them is, that they bore some resemblance to our tilted wagons. х `aab (H5645) added to `ªgaalot (H5699) shows that they were litter-wagons. Septuagint hamaxai lampeenikai, from lampeenee, palanquin (1 Kin. 26:5).] That wheel carriages were anciently used in Egypt, and in what is now Asiatic Turkey, is attested, not only by history, but by existing sculptures and paintings. Some of these the Israelites might have brought with them at their departure; and others, the skillful artisans, who did the mechanical work of the tabernacle, could easily have constructed, according to models with which they had been familiar. Each wagon was drawn by two oxen, and a greater number does not seem to have been employed on any of the different occasions mentioned in Scripture. Oxen seem to have been generally used for draught in ancient times among other nations as well as the Hebrews; and they continue still to be employed in dragging the few carts which are in use in some parts of Western Asia (Kitto).
Gave them unto the Levites. The principle of distribution was natural and judicious-the Merarites having twice the number of wagons and oxen appropriated to them that the Gershonites had; obviously because, while the latter had charge only of the coverings and hangings-the light but precious and richly embroidered drapery-the former were appointed to transport all the heavy and bulky materials-the boards, bars, pillars, and sockets-in short, all the larger articles of furniture. Whoever thinks only of the enormous weight of metal, the gold, silver, brass, etc., that were on the bases, chapiters, and pillars, etc., will probably come to the conclusion that four wagons and eight oxen were not nearly sufficient for the conveyance of so vast a load. Besides, the Merarites were not very numerous, since they only amounted to 3,200 men from 30 years of age and upward; and, therefore, there is reason to suppose that a much greater number of wagons would afterward be found necessary, and be furnished than were given on this occasion (Calmet).
Others, who consider the full number of wagons and oxen to be stated in the sacred record, suppose that the Merarites may have carried many of the smaller things in their hands-the sockets, for instance, which being each a talent weight, was one man's burden (2 Kings 5:23). The Kohathites had neither wheeled vehicles nor beasts of burden assigned them, because, being charged with the transport of the furniture belonging to the holy place, the sacred worth and character of the vessels entrusted to them (see the note at Numbers 4:15), demanded a more honourable mode of conveyance. They were carried by those Levites shoulder-high. Even in this minute arrangement every reflecting reader will perceive the evidence of divine wisdom and holiness; and a deviation from the prescribed rule of duty led, in one recorded instance, to a manifestation of holy displeasure calculated to make a salutary and solemn impression (2 Samuel 6:6-13).