Deuteronomy 18:1-8

Deuteronomy 18:1-8

[1] The priests  the Levites,  and all the tribe  of Levi,  shall have no part  nor inheritance  with Israel:  they shall eat  of the LORD  made by fire,  and his inheritance.  [2] Therefore shall they have no inheritance  among  their brethren:  the LORD  is their inheritance,  as he hath said  unto them. [3] And this shall be the priest's  due  from the people,  from them that offer  a sacrifice,  whether it be ox  or sheep;  and they shall give  unto the priest  the shoulder,  and the two cheeks,  and the maw.  [4] The firstfruit  also of thy corn,  of thy wine,  and of thine oil,  and the first  of the fleece  of thy sheep,  shalt thou give  him. [5] For the LORD  thy God  hath chosen  him out of all thy tribes,  to stand  to minister  in the name  of the LORD,  him and his sons  for ever.  [6] And if a Levite  come  from any  of thy gates  out of all Israel,  where he sojourned,  and come  with all the desire  of his mind  unto the place  which the LORD  shall choose;  [7] Then he shall minister  in the name  of the LORD  his God,  as all his brethren  the Levites  do, which stand  there before  the LORD.  [8] They shall have like portions  to eat,  beside that which cometh of the sale  of his patrimony. 

What does Deuteronomy 18:1-8 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The Levites lived as sojourners among the other Israelites. While they had their own cities, they did not possess land and territorial inheritances as the other Israelites did. However the privilege of serving God as they alone could was compensation much greater than their loss of physical benefits. They could eat the produce of the land. In addition to the tithes, the Levites also received the parts of the sacrifices allotted to them that included meat of various kinds, wine, oil, and wool ( Deuteronomy 18:3-4).
Evidently not all the Levites served at the tabernacle. Some simply lived in their assigned cities. Participation in sanctuary services was apparently voluntary to some extent ( Deuteronomy 18:6-8). God did not preserve in Scripture the plan whereby individual Levites served in carrying out various duties at this period in Israel"s history (cf. Numbers 18). This passage refutes the Wellhausian view that all Levites could be priests. [1]
One writer argued that Deuteronomy 18:8 permitted the Levites to sell the remains of a sacrificed animal. [2] Most translators believed this verse allowed them to sell their family possessions.