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Numbers 7

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Dedication of the Tabernacle Begins 1–3

1
And it came to pass on the day that Moses had made an end of setting up the tabernacle, and had anointed it and sanctified it, and all the furniture thereof, and the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them and sanctified them; ​
2
that the princes of Israel, the heads of their fathers’ houses, offered. These were the princes of the tribes, these are they that were over them that were numbered: ​
3
and they brought their oblation before Jehovah, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for every two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they presented them before the tabernacle.

Gifts Allocated to the Levites 4–9

4
And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
5
Take it of them, that they may be used in doing the service of the tent of meeting; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service. ​
6
And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites.
7
Two wagons and four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon, according to their service:
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and four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
9
But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none, because the service of the sanctuary belonged unto them; they bare it upon their shoulders. ​

Dedication Offerings of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun 10–29

10
And the princes offered for the dedication of the altar in the day that it was anointed, even the princes offered their oblation before the altar. ​
11
And Jehovah said unto Moses, They shall offer their oblation, each prince on his day, for the dedication of the altar. ​
12
And he that offered his oblation the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah: ​
13
and his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering; ​
14
one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
15
one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
16
one male of the goats for a sin-offering; ​
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and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Nahshon the son of Amminadab.
18
On the second day Nethanel the son of Zuar, prince of Issachar, did offer: ​
19
he offered for his oblation one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
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one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
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one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
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one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
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and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Nethanel the son of Zuar.
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On the third day Eliab the son of Helon, prince of the children of Zebulun:
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his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
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one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
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one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
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one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
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and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Eliab the son of Helon.

Dedication Offerings of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad 30–47

30
On the fourth day Elizur the son of Shedeur, prince of the children of Reuben:
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his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
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one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
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one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
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one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
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and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Elizur the son of Shedeur.
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On the fifth day Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, prince of the children of Simeon:
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his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
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one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
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one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
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one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
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and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
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On the sixth day Eliasaph the son of Deuel, prince of the children of Gad:
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his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
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one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
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one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
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one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
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and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

Dedication Offerings of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin 48–65

48
On the seventh day Elishama the son of Ammihud, prince of the children of Ephraim:
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his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
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one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
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one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
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one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
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and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Elishama the son of Ammihud.
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On the eighth day Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, prince of the children of Manasseh:
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his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
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one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
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one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
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one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
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and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
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On the ninth day Abidan the son of Gideoni, prince of the children of Benjamin:
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his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
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one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
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one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
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one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
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and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Abidan the son of Gideoni.

Dedication Offerings of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali 66–83

66
On the tenth day Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, prince of the children of Dan:
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his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
68
one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
69
one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
70
one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
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and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
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On the eleventh day Pagiel the son of Ochran, prince of the children of Asher:
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his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
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one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
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one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
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one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
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and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Pagiel the son of Ochran.
78
On the twelfth day Ahira the son of Enan, prince of the children of Naphtali:
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his oblation was one silver platter, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
80
one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense;
81
one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for a burnt-offering;
82
one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
83
and for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the oblation of Ahira the son of Enan.

Summary of the Offerings and God Speaks from the Mercy Seat 84–89

84
This was the dedication of the altar, in the day when it was anointed, by the princes of Israel: twelve silver platters, twelve silver bowls, twelve golden spoons; ​
85
each silver platterweighinga hundred and thirtyshekels, and each bowl seventy; all the silver of the vessels two thousand and four hundredshekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; ​
86
the twelve golden spoons, full of incense, weighingtenshekelsapiece, after the shekel of the sanctuary; all the gold of the spoons a hundred and twentyshekels;
87
all the oxen for the burnt-offering twelve bullocks, the rams twelve, the he-lambs a year old twelve, and their meal-offering; and the males of the goats for a sin-offering twelve;
88
and all the oxen for the sacrifice of peace-offerings twenty and four bullocks, the rams sixty, the he-goats sixty, the he-lambs a year old sixty. This was the dedication of the altar, after that it was anointed. ​
89
And when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with him, then he heard the Voice speaking unto him from above the mercy-seat that was upon the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim: and he spake unto him. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Numbers 7

Verse 1

anointed it, and sanctified it — The two verbs are mashach, to anoint with oil, and qadash, to set apart as holy, as the LORD had commanded: 'anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it' (Ex 40:9). Moses' act is recorded in Lev 8:10–11. The offerings of this chapter begin on that day.

Verse 2

the princes of Israel — Nasi, an exalted one, a chief. They are 'heads of the house of their fathers', the same men appointed to stand with Moses at the numbering (Num 1:4) and called 'princes of the tribes of their fathers' (Num 1:16). 'Offered' is qarab, to bring near, the root of the word for an offering.

Verse 5

the service of the tabernacle — Abodah, work or service, the word used of the Levites' labour throughout Numbers. Moses is told to receive the gift and assign it 'to every man according to his service'; the wagons go to the Gershonites and Merarites in vv.7–8.

Verse 9

bear upon their shoulders — Nasa, to lift and carry. The Kohathites had charge of 'the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars' (Num 3:31), so they received no wagons. When the ark was later carried otherwise, David acknowledged the lapse: 'we sought him not after the due order' (1 Chr 15:13).

Verse 10

dedicating of the altar — Chanukkah, dedication or initiation. The altar had been anointed (Lev 8:11), and the princes now bring their gifts 'in the day that it was anointed'. The same event is summed up in vv.84 and 88: 'the dedication of the altar'.

Verse 11

each prince on his day — The LORD himself fixes the order, one prince on one day, for twelve days in all (vv.12–78). Each tribe thus has its own day of approach to the altar, and the gifts are identical. The summary at vv.84–88 adds them up.

Verse 12

Nahshon the son of Amminadab — Judah offers first, as it is placed first in the camp on the east (Num 2:3) and first on the march (Num 10:14). Nahshon stands in the royal line: 'Amminadab begat Nahshon' (Ruth 4:20), and he is named in Christ's genealogy as Naasson (Luke 3:32).

Verse 13

one silver charger — The qe'arah is a dish, and the mizraq ('bowl') is a vessel for sprinkling. Both are weighed 'after the shekel of the sanctuary', the standard of Ex 30:13. They are filled with 'fine flour mingled with oil', the grain offering (minchah) of Lev 2:1.

Verse 16

a sin offering — Chattath, the one Hebrew word for 'sin' and for the offering that deals with it. The 'kid of the goats' is the offering of a ruler, 'a kid of the goats, a male without blemish' (Lev 4:23). Even in a dedication the princes bring it beside the burnt and peace offerings.

Verse 18

Nethaneel the son of Zuar — The second day belongs to Issachar, whose tribe camped next to Judah (Num 2:5). The name Nethaneel is Nethan'el, meaning given of God. His offering repeats Nahshon's item for item, as every prince's does through v.83.

Verse 84

the dedication of the altar — The twelve days are summed up: twelve silver chargers, twelve silver bowls, twelve gold spoons, one of each from every prince. The summary says 'in the day when it was anointed', echoing v.10 ('in the day that it was anointed'), so the whole series is tied to the anointing of the altar.

Verse 85

two thousand and four hundred shekels — The sum checks: twelve chargers of 130 shekels make 1,560, twelve bowls of 70 make 840, and together 2,400, 'after the shekel of the sanctuary'. The gold of the twelve spoons, ten shekels each, is added in v.86 as 120 shekels.

Verse 88

the sacrifice of the peace offerings — Shelem, the fellowship offering whose law is in Lev 7:11. Twelve princes at two oxen, five rams, five he goats and five lambs each give 'twenty and four bullocks' and sixty of each other kind, 204 animals. The whole dedication is closed 'after that it was anointed'.

Verse 89

from off the mercy seat — Kapporeth, the lid of the ark, where the LORD had promised, 'there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims' (Ex 25:22). Moses hears 'the voice' (qol) there, the answer to all the gifts of the chapter.