The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi: Jochebed is mentioned only here and in Exo 6.20. Jochebed was the daughter of Levi, which means she was a sister of Kohath, Amram’s father. Exo 6.20 states this explicitly by saying “Amram took to wife Jochebed his father’s sister.” As A Handbook on Exodus points out there, such a marriage was later forbidden for Israelites (see Lev 18.12; 20.19), but it was evidently culturally accepted when Amram and Jochebed were married. The point here seems to be that this close familial relationship ensured the purity of the priestly line.

Who was born to Levi in Egypt: Like many other translations, Revised Standard Version follows the Vulgate and the Peshitta here. (Good News Bible also follows this reading, but omits to Levi.) The Hebrew text says literally “whom she [Jochebed’s mother] bore to Levi in Egypt”. Following this reading, NBV translates “whose wife had borne her in Egypt” (similarly NFB), and WV has “Her mother had borne her to Levi in Egypt.” New International Version and TNIV mention the reading followed by Revised Standard Version as an alternative in a footnote, but in the text itself they begin this verse with “the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, a descendant of Levi, who was born to the Levites in Egypt.” New Living Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch also follow this reading, presumably because these four translations want to allow for a number of generations between Levi on the one hand and Aaron and Moses on the other. However, the problem with this reading is that “to the Levites” seems artificial and does not follow the Hebrew.

And she bore to Amram Aaron and Moses and Miriam their sister: See 1 Chr 6.3. Aaron is listed before Moses and Miriam, because he was the oldest child, but also because the purpose of the list at this point is to show the primacy of the priestly line of descent through Aaron.

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 .