We see hints of it in the way Moses was commanded to count the Levites. Think about it: for all the other tribes, only men fit for war, twenty years old and up, were numbered. But with Levi? Every male, from a month old and upward, was counted. Why the difference?
It suggests a special intimacy, a meticulous care taken only with this particular tribe. But it gets even wilder.
According to some accounts, God even counted the embryos among the Levites! Yes, you read that right. The unborn.
How's that even possible? Well, let's look at the story of Jacob entering Egypt. The Torah tells us that seventy souls made the journey. But some reckonings say they only counted sixty-nine! So how did they get to seventy? Jochebed, the mother of Moses, was counted, even though she was still in her mother's womb! She was a Levite.
Ginzberg, in his Legends of the Jews, brings this and other similar stories together to paint a picture of God’s unique relationship with the Levites.
And it happened again! This time with the return of the exiles from Babylon. We find that only twenty-three of the priestly sections returned. To complete the needed number, they had to include Bigvai, who, like Jochebed before him, was still in the womb.
What does it all mean? Perhaps it’s a way of emphasizing the sacred role the Levites played in the Temple service. Or maybe it’s a reminder that life, in all its stages, is precious in God's eyes. Maybe it's a lesson in how God sees potential, even before it's realized.
Whatever the reason, it's a powerful image: God’s love extending even into the hidden depths of the womb, numbering those not yet born, counting them as part of the sacred whole. Food for thought, right?