And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his descendants to do the service of the tent of meeting, and to make atonement for the Israelites, so that there may be no plague among the Israelites when the Israelites approach the sanctuary — the Levites are given to Aaron's line as a gift, yet their ultimate purpose is Israel's protective mediation. The atonement the Levites facilitate through their sanctuary service prevents plague (nega) that would strike Israelites who approach holy objects without proper mediation. The threat of plague establishes that proximity to the holy requires protective barriers.

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