What number verse is Numbers 28:22 in the Bible?

Numbers 28:22 is the 4,600th verse of the Bible. Counting straight through the King James canon — all 31,102 verses from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 — Numbers 28:22 sits at position 4,600.

28:2128:21

Numbers 28:22

Q: How does the Old Testament concept of "atonement" (_kâphar_) relate to forgiveness in the New Testament?

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word kâphar (translated "atonement") primarily means "to cover," "to purge," or "to make reconciliation." It refers to a ritual act that cleansed from impurity and restored a right relationship with God, often in a corporate or ceremonial sense. While it provided a means for the people to remain in covenant with God despite their sins, it did not fully remove the guilt or consciousness of sin in the ultimate sense, nor did it provide for a permanent transformation of the heart. The New Testament concept of forgiveness, as provided through Jesus Christ, goes beyond ritual covering. It signifies a complete pardon, a cleansing of the conscience, and a radical transformation that addresses the root of sin, offering eternal redemption and direct access to God, as articulated in passages like Hebrews 10:1-4 and Hebrews 9:13-14. The Old Testament atonement was a type; the New Testament forgiveness is the anti-type and fulfillment.

28:2328:23

Translation

King James Version

And one goat for a sin offering, to make an atonement for you.

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KJV (with Strong's)

And one ^H259 goat ^H8163 for a sin offering ^H2403, to make an atonement ^H3722 for you.

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Complete Jewish Bible

also a male goat as a sin offering, to make atonement for you.

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Berean Standard Bible

Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you.

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American Standard Version

and one he-goat for a sin-offering, to make atonement for you.

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World English Bible Messianic

and one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you.

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Geneva Bible (1599)

And an hee goate for a sinne offering, to make an atonement for you.

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Young's Literal Translation

and one goat, a sin-offering, to make atonement for you.

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Study This Verse

SUMMARY

Numbers 28:22 precisely mandates the offering of a single goat as a sin offering during the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread. This seemingly small detail within the extensive Mosaic sacrificial calendar is profoundly significant, highlighting Israel's constant need for purification and reconciliation with their holy God. It underscores the pervasive reality of human sin, even amidst times of national celebration, and simultaneously reveals God's meticulous provision for maintaining the covenant relationship through divinely ordained atonement.

CONTEXT

Literary Context: Numbers 28:22 is situated within a detailed exposition of Israel's annual sacrificial calendar, meticulously laid out in Numbers 28 and Numbers 29. These chapters provide comprehensive instructions for the daily offerings, as well as the specific sacrifices required for the Sabbath, New Moons, and the major annual festivals. Specifically, this verse falls within the regulations for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which immediately follows Passover, as detailed in Numbers 28:16-25. The inclusion of a sin offering alongside numerous burnt offerings and grain offerings for each day of this festival underscores the pervasive need for purification, even during a joyful commemorative period, emphasizing the structured and precise nature of Israel's covenant worship.
Historical & Cultural Context: The instructions in the book of Numbers were delivered to the Israelites during their wilderness wanderings, preparing them for their life as a holy nation once they entered the Promised Land. The sacrificial system was the cornerstone of Israelite religious practice, serving as God's ordained means for His people to approach Him, deal with sin, and maintain ritual purity. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, celebrated in the early spring, was an agricultural festival commemorating Israel's hasty exodus from Egypt, where they left with unleavened dough (Exodus 12:34). The removal of leaven symbolized purity and the casting out of sin. The requirement of a sin offering, even within this celebratory and purifying festival, highlights the ever-present reality of human imperfection and the constant need for divine provision to cleanse the community from unintentional sins and ritual defilements, ensuring their continued acceptance before a holy God.
Key Themes: This verse, along with the broader sacrificial laws in Numbers 28, contributes significantly to several foundational biblical themes. First, it powerfully asserts the holiness and transcendence of God, emphasizing that sinful humanity can only approach Him on His divinely prescribed terms. Second, it highlights the pervasiveness of human sinfulness, demonstrating that even unintentional errors or ritual impurities required a specific act of atonement to maintain covenant fellowship. The constant need for such offerings, even during joyous feasts, underscored that sin was a persistent reality for the community. Third, the meticulous provision of the sin offering showcases God's gracious provision for reconciliation, offering a pathway for His people to be cleansed and restored to a right relationship with Him despite their imperfections. Finally, the precise and detailed nature of these laws emphasizes the meticulousness of divine command and the corporate responsibility of the community in worship, as the offering was "for you," signifying the collective need for atonement and purity before God.

EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

Key Word Analysis

Goat (Hebrew, sâʻîyr', H8163): From the root meaning "shaggy," referring to a he-goat. In the Old Testament sacrificial system, specific animals were designated for particular offerings. The goat was a common animal for sin offerings, notably featured in the annual Day of Atonement rituals (Leviticus 16:7-10). Its selection here for the Feast of Unleavened Bread underscores its specific role in purification and expiation for the community, symbolizing a substitute bearing the community's impurities.
Sin Offering (Hebrew, chaṭṭâʼâh', H2403): From the root meaning "to miss the mark" or "to sin." In the context of sacrifice, chaṭṭâʼâh refers to a specific offering made to purify from ritual impurity or unintentional sins, and sometimes its penalty or expiation. It was primarily for inadvertent transgressions or defilements that rendered one unclean and unable to approach God. The purpose was to cleanse and restore the worshiper or community to a state of ritual purity, allowing renewed access to the divine presence. It addresses the consequences of sin that break fellowship.
Atonement (Hebrew, kâphar', H3722): A primitive root meaning "to cover" (specifically with bitumen), but figuratively, "to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel." In the context of the sacrificial system, it describes the divine act of covering or purging sin and impurity, thereby allowing for the restoration of the relationship between God and His people. It signifies a divine provision that addresses the barrier of sin and makes fellowship possible, appeasing divine wrath and reconciling the worshiper.

Verse Breakdown

"And one goat": This opening phrase emphasizes the specific nature and quantity of the required sacrifice. The divine command was precise, stipulating a singular animal of a particular type. This specificity highlights God's meticulousness in setting the terms of worship and the importance of exact obedience in Israel's approach to Him, ensuring no deviation from the prescribed ritual.
"[for] a sin offering": This clause explicitly states the purpose and category of the goat: it is designated as a chaṭṭâʼâh, an offering intended for purification and expiation. It underscores that even during a joyful festival, the pervasive reality of human sin and ritual impurity necessitated a specific means of cleansing to maintain the community's holy standing before God. It addresses the need for removal of defilement.
"to make an atonement for you": This final clause reveals the ultimate goal and effect of the sin offering. The sacrifice of the goat was intended to perform kâphar – to cover, purge, or reconcile – for the entire Israelite community ("for you"). This act of atonement was crucial for maintaining the covenant relationship, ensuring that the people remained acceptable in the sight of their holy God, allowing His presence to remain among them despite their imperfections.

Literary Devices

The passage employs several literary devices to convey its message. Repetition is a prominent feature throughout Numbers 28 and Numbers 29, as the detailed instructions for each festival's offerings are meticulously laid out. This serves to emphasize the regularity, importance, and unchanging nature of God's commands regarding worship, underscoring the perpetual need for atonement. The very act of the sin offering itself functions as Symbolism, where the goat represents a substitute, bearing the impurity or unintentional sin of the community, and through its sacrifice, a covering or purging is achieved. Furthermore, the entire sacrificial system, including this specific sin offering, serves as Foreshadowing, pointing forward to a greater, ultimate sacrifice that would truly and permanently deal with sin, a profound theological theme fully developed in the New Testament.

THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS

Numbers 28:22, with its emphasis on the sin offering for atonement, resonates deeply with the broader Old Testament understanding of a holy God and a sinful humanity. The constant, repeated need for such offerings throughout the Israelite calendar underscored the temporary and incomplete nature of animal sacrifices. While they ritually cleansed and allowed for continued fellowship with God under the Old Covenant, they could not fundamentally change the human heart or permanently remove the guilt of sin. This perpetual cycle of sacrifice highlighted humanity's persistent need for a more perfect, once-for-all solution to the problem of sin and separation from God. The meticulousness of the law, while revealing God's holiness, also exposed the inadequacy of human effort to perfectly fulfill its demands, thus creating a longing for a definitive act of redemption that would bring true and lasting reconciliation.

REFLECTION AND APPLICATION

Numbers 28:22, though rooted in an ancient sacrificial system, speaks profoundly to our contemporary understanding of sin, holiness, and divine grace. The requirement for a sin offering, even during a joyful festival, reminds us that sin is not merely a moral failing but a pervasive condition that separates us from a holy God. It underscores that our access to God is never automatic or based on our own merit, but always on His gracious provision for atonement. For believers today, this verse should evoke a deep gratitude for the complete and final atonement provided by Jesus Christ. We no longer need to offer goats or other animals, for Christ's "once for all" sacrifice has perfectly and eternally reconciled us to God. This understanding should lead us to live lives of humble dependence on His finished work, continually acknowledging our need for His grace and striving to live in a manner worthy of such a profound salvation. It also reminds us that even in our celebrations and times of joy, we must remain mindful of our human frailty and the ever-present need for God's cleansing grace, recognizing that true joy is rooted in reconciled fellowship with Him.

Questions for Reflection

How does the repeated need for sin offerings in the Old Testament deepen your appreciation for the "once for all" sacrifice of Jesus Christ?
In what ways do you, even in times of celebration or spiritual high points, recognize your ongoing need for God's cleansing and atonement?
What does the meticulous detail of God's commands regarding sacrifice teach you about His character and His expectations for our worship?

FAQ

Why was a sin offering needed during a joyful festival like the Feast of Unleavened Bread?

Answer: The inclusion of a sin offering during a joyful festival like the Feast of Unleavened Bread highlights the pervasive nature of sin and ritual impurity in the Israelite community. Even amidst celebration and national remembrance, the people were still prone to unintentional sins or defilements that could hinder their access to a holy God. The sin offering served as a constant reminder that maintaining a right relationship with God required continuous purification and atonement, ensuring that their worship remained acceptable and their fellowship with Him unbroken. It underscored that God's holiness demanded a consistent provision for dealing with human imperfection, even in times of joy, as seen in the broader context of offerings for this festival in Numbers 28:17-25.

How does the Old Testament concept of "atonement" (kâphar) relate to forgiveness in the New Testament?

Answer: In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word kâphar (translated "atonement") primarily means "to cover," "to purge," or "to make reconciliation." It refers to a ritual act that cleansed from impurity and restored a right relationship with God, often in a corporate or ceremonial sense. While it provided a means for the people to remain in covenant with God despite their sins, it did not fully remove the guilt or consciousness of sin in the ultimate sense, nor did it provide for a permanent transformation of the heart. The New Testament concept of forgiveness, as provided through Jesus Christ, goes beyond ritual covering. It signifies a complete pardon, a cleansing of the conscience, and a radical transformation that addresses the root of sin, offering eternal redemption and direct access to God, as articulated in passages like Hebrews 10:1-4 and Hebrews 9:13-14. The Old Testament atonement was a type; the New Testament forgiveness is the anti-type and fulfillment.

CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT

Numbers 28:22, with its command for a sin offering "to make an atonement for you," finds its ultimate and perfect fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The repeated sacrifices of goats and other animals under the Old Covenant, though divinely ordained, were inherently temporary and could never truly take away sin (as highlighted in Hebrews 10:1-4). They served as a shadow, continually pointing forward to the perfect sacrifice to come. Jesus, as the true Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, entered human history to offer Himself as the definitive and eternal sin offering. His death on the cross was a "once for all" sacrifice (as detailed in Hebrews 9:26-28), providing not just a ritual covering, but a complete and permanent cleansing for sin and a perfect reconciliation with God. Through His shed blood, believers are truly forgiven, their consciences cleansed, and they are granted bold access into the very presence of God (as proclaimed in Hebrews 10:19-22). Thus, the meticulous instructions for the goat in Numbers 28:22 underscore the profound grace and efficacy of Christ's singular, all-sufficient sacrifice, which perfectly accomplished what the Old Testament sacrifices could only foreshadow.

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Commentary on Numbers 28 verses 16–31

16 ¶ And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the passover of the LORD.

17 And in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten.

18 In the first day shall be an holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work therein:

19 But ye shall offer a sacrifice made by fire for a burnt offering unto the LORD; two young bullocks, and one ram, and seven lambs of the first year: they shall be unto you without blemish:

20 And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil: three tenth deals shall ye offer for a bullock, and two tenth deals for a ram;

21 A several tenth deal shalt thou offer for every lamb, throughout the seven lambs:

22 And one goat for a sin offering, to make an atonement for you.

23 Ye shall offer these beside the burnt offering in the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering.

24 After this manner ye shall offer daily, throughout the seven days, the meat of the sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD: it shall be offered beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering.

25 And on the seventh day ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work.

26 Also in the day of the firstfruits, when ye bring a new meat offering unto the LORD, after your weeks be out, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work:

27 But ye shall offer the burnt offering for a sweet savour unto the LORD; two young bullocks, one ram, seven lambs of the first year;

28 And their meat offering of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals unto one bullock, two tenth deals unto one ram,

29 A several tenth deal unto one lamb, throughout the seven lambs;

30 And one kid of the goats, to make an atonement for you.

31 Ye shall offer them beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, (they shall be unto you without blemish) and their drink offerings.

Here is, I. The appointment of the pass-over sacrifices; not that which was the chief, the paschal lamb (sufficient instructions had formerly been given concerning that), but those which were to be offered upon the seven days of unleavened bread, which followed it, Num 28:17-25. The first and last of those seven days were to be sanctified as sabbaths, by a holy rest and a holy convocation, and on each of the seven days they were to be liberal in their sacrifices, in token of their great and constant thankfulness for their deliverance out of Egypt: Two bullocks, a ram, and seven lambs. A gospel conversation, in gratitude for Christ our passover who was sacrificed, is called the keeping of this feast (Co1 5:8); for it is not enough that we purge out the leavened bread of malice and wickedness, but we must offer the bread of our God, even the sacrifice of praise, continually, and continue herein unto the end. 2. The sacrifices are likewise appointed which were to be offered at the feast of pentecost, here called the day of the first-fruits, Num 28:26. In the feast of unleavened bread they offered a sheaf of their first-fruits of barley (which with them was first ripe) to the priest (Lev 23:10), as an introduction to the harvest; but now, about seven weeks after, they were to bring a new meat-offering to the Lord, at the end of harvest, in thankfulness to God, who had not only given, but preserved to their use, the kindly fruits of the earth, so as that in due time they did enjoy them. It was at this feast that the Spirit was poured out (Act 2:1, etc.), and thousands were converted by the preaching of the apostles, and were presented to Christ, to be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures. The sacrifice that was to be offered with the loaves of the first-fruits was appointed, Lev 23:18. But over and above, besides that and besides the daily offerings, they were to offer two bullocks, one ram, and seven lambs, with a kid for a sin-offering, Num 28:27-30. When God sows plentifully upon us he expects to reap accordingly from us. Bishop Patrick observes that no peace-offerings are appointed in this chapter, which were chiefly for the benefit of the offerers, and therefore in them they were left more to themselves; but burnt-offerings were purely for the honour of God, were confessions of his dominion, and typified evangelical piety and devotion, by which the soul is wholly offered up to God in the flames of holy love; and sin-offerings were typical of Christ's sacrifice of himself, by which we and our services are perfected and sanctified.

Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 16–31. Public domain.

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Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.

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