And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
The Lord spake unto Moses. The order of this charter suggests the idea that the following instructions were given to Moses while he was within the tabernacle of the congregation, after the princes had completed their offering. But from the tenor of the instructions, it is more likely that they were given immediately after the Levites had been assigned to the priests (see the notes at Numbers 3:1-51; Numbers 4:1-49), and that the record of these instructions had been postponed until the narrative of other transactions in the camp had been made (Patrick).