Both this verse and 3.32 mention Eleazar, Aaron’s son, in connection with the clans of Kohath and their central task. But this verse specifies Eleazar’s responsibilities in more detail.

And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of …: The conjunction And simply begins a new paragraph in the list of instructions. In most languages it is better to omit it (so Good News Translation). For Eleazar the son of Aaron, see 3.32; for priest see at 3.3.

The oil for the light: New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh is more literal with “the lighting oil.” The Hebrew does not specify lights or “lamps” (Good News Translation) here. But some languages may have to specify them along with their location by saying “the oil for the lamps in the Tent of Meeting.” Oil refers to “olive oil,” as in verse 9 (see the comments there).

The fragrant incense refers to a sweet-smelling aromatic substance that was burned in the fire of a sacrifice. In a number of languages fragrant incense will be expressed as “fragrant spices for burning.”

The continual cereal offering: A cereal offering was an offering of grain mixed with incense and olive oil. This offering could be raw grain, finely ground grain, or grain made into cakes and then baked or fried. Instructions for the cereal offering are found in Lev 2.1-16 and 6.14-23. Good News Translation omits the Hebrew word for continual by saying simply “the grain offerings.” But this word expresses the regularity of this type of offering, so better models for this phrase are “the regular grain offering” (New Revised Standard Version) and “the regular meal offering” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). No specific grain is mentioned or implied, so a generic word for grain should be used. Bible en français courant says “the daily vegetational offerings.”

The anointing oil refers to the olive oil that was poured on the priests to appoint them to their task (see the comments on 3.3), so Contemporary English Version says “the olive oil used for dedications and ordinations.”

With the oversight of all the tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels: For the Hebrew word rendered oversight, see 3.32. Tabernacle renders the Hebrew word mishkan, which is literally “dwelling-place” (see 1.50). This word may be rendered “tent” or “holy tent” because it refers to the Tent of Meeting in 1.1. Good News Translation renders all the tabernacle as “the whole Tent.” The phrase the sanctuary and its vessels may seem repetitive and unnecessary. NET Bible believes it is parallel to the phrase all the tabernacle and all that is in it by rendering these two phrases as “over all the tabernacle with all that is in it, over the sanctuary and over all its furnishings.” But the prepositions in the Hebrew phrase rendered the sanctuary and its vessels suggest that more is involved than just repetition of the preceding phrase. Also, the Hebrew word for sanctuary (qodesh) probably refers to sacred objects as in the previous verse. Bijbel: Vertaling in opdracht van het Nederlandsch Bijbelgenootschap expresses the meaning of the last half of this verse well by saying “he oversees the entire tabernacle and everything in it, what is holy as well as its utensils.” Bible en français courant is clearer with “he will watch over the holy dwelling-place and everything that it contains, as much the sacred objects as the utensils” (similarly New Jerusalem Bible, La Bible de Jérusalem Nouvelle). The last half of this verse actually underlines that Eleazar was responsible for much more than just the utensils that are mentioned in the first half of the verse. New Living Translation (1996) makes this clear by saying “In fact, the supervision of the entire Tabernacle and everything in it will be Eleazar’s responsibility.”

A model for this whole verse is:

• “Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has the responsibility for the lighting oil, the fragrant incense, the daily grain/agricultural offerings, and the anointing oil. In fact, he has the responsibility for the whole Tabernacle and everything that is in it, as much the sacred objects as their utensils.”

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .