and I assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons, as a gift from the Israelites, to work in the Tent for the people of Israel and to protect the Israelites from the disaster that would strike them if they came too near the Holy Place.”
The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes, and Aaron dedicated them as a special gift to the Lord. He also performed the ritual of purification for them.
Instead, put the Levites in charge of the Tent of my presence and all its equipment. They shall carry it and its equipment, serve in it, and set up their camp around it.
and on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month they did so in the Sinai Desert. The people did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Whether it was two days, a month, a year, or longer, as long as the cloud remained over the Tent, they did not move on; but when it lifted, they moved.