What number verse is Numbers 29:28 in the Bible?

Numbers 29:28 is the 4,637th verse of the Bible. Counting straight through the King James canon — all 31,102 verses from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 — Numbers 29:28 sits at position 4,637.

29:2729:27

Numbers 29:28

Q: What is the "continual burnt offering" mentioned in this verse?

The "continual burnt offering" (עֹלַת הַתָּמִיד, ʻôlath ha-tâmîyd) refers to the daily morning and evening sacrifices of a lamb, as precisely prescribed in Numbers 28:3-8. This offering was the foundational and most frequent sacrifice in the Israelite cultic system, symbolizing constant devotion, propitiation, and the ongoing atonement for the nation. Numbers 29:28 specifies that the festival offerings, including the sin offering for Sukkot, were to be made "beside" or "in addition to" this continual offering. This indicates that the special festival sacrifices did not replace the daily, ongoing commitment to God but rather augmented it, demonstrating an even greater measure of worship, dedication, and a heightened awareness of the need for atonement during these significant times in the Israelite calendar.

29:2929:29

Translation

King James Version

And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering.

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KJV (with Strong's)

And one ^H259 goat ^H8163 for a sin offering ^H2403; beside the continual ^H8548 burnt offering ^H5930, and his meat offering ^H4503, and his drink offering ^H5262.

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Complete Jewish Bible

also one male goat as a sin offering; in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.

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Berean Standard Bible

Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

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American Standard Version

and one he-goat for a sin-offering; besides the continual burnt-offering, and the meal-offering thereof, and the drink-offering thereof.

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World English Bible Messianic

and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, and its meal offering, and its drink offering.

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Geneva Bible (1599)

And an hee goat for a sinne offring, beside the continuall burnt offring, and his meat offring and his drinke offering.

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Young's Literal Translation

and one goat, a sin-offering; apart from the continual burnt-offering, and its present, and its libation.

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In the KJVVerse 4,637 of 31,102

Study This Verse

SUMMARY

Numbers 29:28 meticulously details a specific sacrificial requirement for the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot): the offering of a single goat as a sin offering. This particular instruction is given in addition to the foundational continual burnt offering, along with its accompanying grain and drink offerings. The verse underscores the persistent need for atonement and purification even amidst joyous national celebration, highlighting God's unwavering holiness and His precise, non-negotiable requirements for worship and the maintenance of covenant fellowship with His people.

CONTEXT

Literary Context: Numbers chapters 28 and 29 form a comprehensive liturgical calendar within the Pentateuch, meticulously outlining the precise sacrifices mandated for daily, weekly, monthly, and annual observances. This specific section, Numbers 29:12-38, is dedicated entirely to the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), a seven-day festival culminating in an eighth-day solemn assembly. The sacrificial instructions for Sukkot are unique, featuring a daily decrease in the number of bulls offered (from thirteen on the first day to seven on the seventh day), while the number of rams (two), lambs (fourteen), and, critically for this verse, the single goat for a sin offering, remains constant throughout the seven days. Numbers 29:28 specifically addresses the sin offering for the seventh day, emphasizing that even on the final day of the primary festival period, a distinct atonement sacrifice was still required, supplementing the foundational "continual burnt offering" that was offered daily throughout the year.
Historical & Cultural Context: The Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot, was one of the three major pilgrimage festivals (alongside Passover and Pentecost) where all Israelite males were commanded to appear before the Lord at the central sanctuary. Commanded in Leviticus 23:34-43, it served a dual, deeply significant purpose: primarily, to commemorate God's faithful provision and miraculous protection during the forty years of wilderness wandering, when the Israelites lived in temporary shelters (sukkot); and secondarily, as a joyous harvest festival, celebrating the ingathering of the year's agricultural bounty. The act of dwelling in temporary booths during the festival served as a tangible reminder of their transient nature and God's constant, abiding presence among them. The elaborate and numerous sacrifices, particularly the decreasing number of bulls offered over the seven days (totaling 70 bulls), are traditionally understood to symbolize offerings made on behalf of the seventy nations of the world, highlighting Israel's priestly role among the nations.
Key Themes: The meticulous instructions for the Feast of Tabernacles, including the specific sin offering in Numbers 29:28, contribute to several overarching theological themes prevalent in the book of Numbers and the broader Pentateuch. First, Divine Specificity and Obedience are paramount; God's detailed and unyielding commands for worship underscore that true worship is rendered on His terms, not according to human preference or convenience. Second, the consistent inclusion of a Sin Offering profoundly highlights the pervasive nature of human sin and the continuous, urgent need for Atonement and Purification to maintain a holy relationship with a holy God. Even during a joyous and divinely ordained festival, the stark reality of human sinfulness and the absolute necessity of divine provision for reconciliation were never overlooked. Third, the entire sacrificial system, including these daily and festival offerings, functions as Foreshadowing and Typology of Christ, pointing forward to the ultimate, perfect, and once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus. The repeated shedding of animal blood symbolized the temporary covering of sin until the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, would offer Himself as the definitive sacrifice, as powerfully elaborated in Hebrews 10:10.

EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

Key Word Analysis

goat (Hebrew, sâʻîyr', H8163): Meaning "shaggy; as noun, a he-goat; by analogy, a faun; devil, goat, hairy, kid, rough, satyr." In the context of the Mosaic Law, this term specifically refers to a male goat, frequently designated for sin offerings. Unlike animals used for burnt offerings (wholly consumed) or peace offerings (shared meal), the goat for a sin offering (חַטָּאת, chaṭṭâʼâh) carried a unique significance for dealing with sin and ritual impurity. Its blood was essential for purification, and its disposition (either eaten by priests in a holy place or disposed of outside the camp) varied based on the nature of the sin and the offerer.
sin offering (Hebrew, chaṭṭâʼâh', H2403): Meaning "or חַטָּאת; from חָטָא; an offence (sometimes habitual sinfulness), and its penalty, occasion, sacrifice, or expiation; also (concretely) an offender; punishment (of sin), purifying(-fication for sin), sin(-ner, offering)." This is one of the most vital categories of sacrifice in the Old Testament. The chaṭṭâʼâh primarily addressed unintentional sins, ritual impurities, or cleansing after specific events (e.g., childbirth, certain skin diseases). Its fundamental purpose was to purify the offerer or the sanctuary from defilement, thereby restoring the covenant relationship and enabling the individual or community to remain in God's holy presence. The daily inclusion of a sin offering during Sukkot, even on the seventh day, underscored the ongoing need for cleansing from any daily or inadvertent impurities, ensuring the people remained in a state of ritual purity acceptable for worship.
continual (Hebrew, tâmîyd', H8548): Meaning "from an unused root meaning to stretch; properly, continuance (as indefinite extension); but used only (attributively as adjective) constant (or adverbially, constantly); ellipt. the regular (daily) sacrifice; alway(-s), continual (employment, -ly), daily, (n-)ever(-more), perpetual." While not explicitly a single word in Numbers 29:28, the phrase "continual burnt offering" (עֹלַת הַתָּמִיד, ʻôlath ha-tâmîyd) is directly referenced. Tâmîyd signifies "continual," "regular," or "perpetual." It refers to the daily morning and evening burnt offerings (see Numbers 28:3-8) that formed the bedrock of Israel's worship. The fact that the Sukkot offerings, including the sin offering, were specified as "beside" or "in addition to" this tâmîyd offering underscores its foundational and indispensable nature, highlighting that special festival offerings did not replace, but rather augmented, the constant daily commitment to God.

Verse Breakdown

"And one goat [for] a sin offering": This clause precisely specifies the animal and its designated purpose for the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles. The "one goat" (שָׂעִיר אֶחָד, sâʻîyr ʼechâd) is explicitly designated as a chaṭṭâʼâh, a sin offering. This highlights the ever-present reality of sin and the persistent need for atonement, even during times of national celebration and profound thanksgiving. It implies that despite the joy and remembrance of God's faithfulness, the people still required purification from inadvertent sins or ritual impurities to maintain their covenant standing before a holy God and to participate acceptably in worship.
"beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering": This phrase serves to clarify that the goat sin offering was not a substitute for, but rather an addition to, the regular daily sacrifices. The "continual burnt offering" (עֹלַת הַתָּמִיד, ʻôlath ha-tâmîyd) was a daily morning and evening sacrifice of a lamb, symbolizing constant devotion, propitiation, and the ongoing maintenance of the covenant relationship. Its "meat offering" (מִנְחָה, minchâh, typically a grain offering) and "drink offering" (נֶסֶךְ, neçek, a libation of wine) were integral components that invariably accompanied the burnt offering. The inclusion of this phrase emphasizes that the special festival sacrifices were supplementary layers of worship and atonement, built upon and augmenting the foundational daily commitment and access to God.

Literary Devices

The passage, like much of the sacrificial legislation found in the book of Numbers, primarily employs Enumeration and Repetition. The precise and detailed listing of animals, their quantities, and their specific purposes for each day of the festival (as seen throughout Numbers 29:12-38) serves to emphasize the divine authority, meticulousness, and exactitude required in Israelite worship. This Repetition of sacrificial formulas, while seemingly monotonous, powerfully reinforces the paramount importance of exact obedience and the inherent sanctity of the ritual. Furthermore, the very nature of the sacrifices themselves functions as profound Symbolism. The goat, specifically as a sin offering, symbolizes the transfer of impurity and the urgent need for cleansing and expiation. The burnt offering symbolizes complete dedication and propitiation. Collectively, these offerings serve as a rich Typology, pointing forward to the ultimate, perfect, and definitive sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who would perfectly fulfill and supersede all these temporary shadows.

THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS

Numbers 29:28, with its prescription of a sin offering during the joyous Feast of Tabernacles, powerfully reinforces the pervasive theological truth of humanity's inherent sinfulness and the constant, inescapable need for divine atonement. Even in a season of profound thanksgiving for God's faithful provision and His dwelling among His people, the stark reality of sin's defilement necessitated ongoing purification. This highlights God's absolute and unblemished holiness, which cannot tolerate sin in His presence, and His gracious, consistent provision for reconciliation. The meticulous nature of the command underscores that access to God is not on human terms or by human merit, but strictly according to His divine design, emphasizing both the profound seriousness of sin and the immense cost of redemption He Himself provides.

REFLECTION AND APPLICATION

Numbers 29:28, though rooted in ancient Israelite ritual, offers profound and enduring spiritual insights for believers today. The constant need for a sin offering, even during a celebratory festival, serves as a poignant reminder that sin is an ever-present reality in our lives, requiring continuous acknowledgment, confession, and humble reliance on God's gracious provision for forgiveness. It teaches us that true worship is not merely an outward act of ritual or celebration but demands an inward posture of humility, recognizing our inherent brokenness and God's transcendent holiness. While we no longer offer animal sacrifices, the principle of offering our "best" to God remains profoundly relevant. This means dedicating our entire lives as "living sacrifices" (Romans 12:1), diligently pursuing holiness, and daily confessing our sins, trusting implicitly in the perfect and complete sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The meticulousness of God's commands in Numbers also calls us to intentionality, diligence, and reverence in our spiritual lives, ensuring our worship and obedience are not haphazard or casual but deeply considered, purposeful, and offered with profound awe.

Questions for Reflection

How does the inclusion of a sin offering during a joyous festival like Sukkot deepen our understanding of sin's pervasive and defiling nature?
In what practical ways can we, as New Covenant believers, apply the principle of offering our "best" to God as a "living sacrifice" in our daily lives?
How does understanding the continual need for atonement in the Old Testament sacrificial system amplify our appreciation for Christ's "once for all" and eternally sufficient sacrifice?

FAQ

Why was a sin offering still needed on the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles?

Answer: The inclusion of a sin offering on the seventh day of Sukkot, as meticulously specified in Numbers 29:28, underscores the pervasive and persistent nature of sin and ritual impurity within the Israelite community. Even during a joyous, divinely ordained festival, inadvertent sins, ritual defilements, or unintentional transgressions could occur. The sin offering served as a divinely appointed means to cleanse the people and the sanctuary from such impurities, ensuring that they remained in a state of ritual purity acceptable to a holy God. It emphasized that even amidst celebration and profound thanksgiving for God's faithfulness, the stark reality of human brokenness and the constant need for atonement were never absent. This continuous requirement for purification highlighted God's absolute holiness and the meticulous requirements for maintaining a covenant relationship with Him.

What is the "continual burnt offering" mentioned in this verse?

Answer: The "continual burnt offering" (עֹלַת הַתָּמִיד, ʻôlath ha-tâmîyd) refers to the daily morning and evening sacrifices of a lamb, as precisely prescribed in Numbers 28:3-8. This offering was the foundational and most frequent sacrifice in the Israelite cultic system, symbolizing constant devotion, propitiation, and the ongoing atonement for the nation. Numbers 29:28 specifies that the festival offerings, including the sin offering for Sukkot, were to be made "beside" or "in addition to" this continual offering. This indicates that the special festival sacrifices did not replace the daily, ongoing commitment to God but rather augmented it, demonstrating an even greater measure of worship, dedication, and a heightened awareness of the need for atonement during these significant times in the Israelite calendar.

CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT

Numbers 29:28, with its specific focus on the sin offering during the Feast of Tabernacles, finds its ultimate and profound fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The repeated offering of goats and other animals for sin in the Old Testament, including those meticulously prescribed during Sukkot, served as a powerful, yet inherently temporary, shadow of the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice to come. These animal sacrifices could only cover sin, not truly take it away, and had to be continually repeated because of the ongoing reality of human sinfulness and the inherent inadequacy of animal blood to provide ultimate cleansing (Hebrews 10:1-4). Jesus, however, is the true Lamb of God, the spotless and blemish-free sacrifice, whose perfectly shed blood provides eternal redemption and complete purification from sin (Hebrews 9:11-14). He is the ultimate fulfillment of every sin offering, bearing the full weight of humanity's transgressions and reconciling us to God through His death on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21). Furthermore, the Feast of Tabernacles, which celebrated God's dwelling among His people in temporary shelters, also powerfully points to Christ, who "tabernacled" among us in human flesh (John 1:14), and ultimately to the eternal dwelling of God with His redeemed people in the new heavens and new earth, where there will be no more sin, no more curse, and thus no more need for sacrifice (Revelation 21:3-4).

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Commentary on Numbers 29 verses 12–40

12 ¶ And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days:

13 And ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; thirteen young bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year; they shall be without blemish:

14 And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals unto every bullock of the thirteen bullocks, two tenth deals to each ram of the two rams,

15 And a several tenth deal to each lamb of the fourteen lambs:

16 And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.

17 And on the second day ye shall offer twelve young bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs of the first year without spot:

18 And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:

19 And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and the meat offering thereof, and their drink offerings.

20 And on the third day eleven bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish;

21 And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:

22 And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering.

23 And on the fourth day ten bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish:

24 Their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:

25 And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.

26 And on the fifth day nine bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without spot:

27 And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:

28 And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering.

29 And on the sixth day eight bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish:

30 And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:

31 And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.

32 And on the seventh day seven bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish:

33 And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:

34 And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.

35 On the eighth day ye shall have a solemn assembly: ye shall do no servile work therein:

36 But ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD: one bullock, one ram, seven lambs of the first year without blemish:

37 Their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullock, for the ram, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:

38 And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering.

39 These things ye shall do unto the LORD in your set feasts, beside your vows, and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings, and for your meat offerings, and for your drink offerings, and for your peace offerings.

40 And Moses told the children of Israel according to all that the LORD commanded Moses.

Soon after the day of atonement, that day in which men were to afflict their souls, followed the feast of tabernacles, in which they were to rejoice before the Lord; for those that sow in tears shall soon reap in joy. To the former laws about this feast, which we had, Lev 23:34, etc., here are added directions about the offerings by fire, which they were to offer unto the Lord during the seven days of that feast, Lev 23:36. Observe here, 1. Their days of rejoicing were to be days of sacrifices. A disposition to be cheerful does us no harm, nor is any bad symptom, when it is so far from unfitting us for the duties of God's immediate service that it encourages and enlarges our hearts in them. 2. All the days of their dwelling in booths they must offer sacrifices. While we are here in a tabernacle-state, it is our interest as well as duty constantly to keep up communion with God; nor will the unsettledness of our outward condition excuse us in our neglect of the duties of God's worship. 3. The sacrifices for each of the seven days, though differing in nothing but the number of the bullocks, are severally and particularly appointed, which yet is no vain repetition; for God would thus teach them to be very exact in those observances, and to keep an eye of faith fixed upon the institution in every day's work. It likewise intimates that the repetition of the same services, if performed with an upright heart, and with a continued fire of pious and devout affection, is no weariness to God, and therefore we ought not to snuff at it, or to say, Behold, what a weariness it is to us! 4. The number of bullocks (which were the most costly part of the sacrifice) decreased every day. On the first day of the feast they were to offer thirteen, on the second day but twelve, on the third day eleven, etc. So that on the seventh they offered seven; and the last day, though it was the great day of the feast, and celebrated with a holy convocation, yet they were to offer but one bullock; and, whereas on all the other days they offered two rams and fourteen lambs, on this they offered but one ram and seven lambs. Such was the will of the Law-maker, and that is reason enough for the law. Some suggest that God herein considered the infirmity of the flesh, which is apt to grudge the charge and expense of religion; it is therefore ordered to grow less and less, that they might not complain as if God had made them to serve with an offering, Isa 43:23. Or it is hereby intimated to them that the legal dispensation should wax old, and vanish away at last; and the multitude of their sacrifices should end in one great sacrifice, infinitely more worthy than all of them. It was on the last day of the feast, after all these sacrifices had been ordered, that our Lord Jesus stood and cried to those who still thirsted after righteousness (being sensible of the insufficiency of these sacrifices to justify them) to come unto him and drink, Joh 7:37. 5. The meat-offerings and drink-offerings attended all the sacrifices, according to their number, after the manner. Be there ever so much flesh, it is no feast without bread and drink, therefore these must never be omitted at God's altar, which was his table. We must not think that doing much in religion will be accepted if we do not do it well, and after the manner that God has appointed. 6. Every day there must be a sin-offering presented, as we observed in the other feasts. Our burnt-offerings of praise cannot be accepted of God unless we have an interest in the great sacrifice of propitiation which Christ offered when for us he made himself a sin-offering. 7. Even when all these sacrifices were offered, yet the continual burnt-offering must not be omitted either morning or evening, but each day this must be offered first in the morning and last in the evening. No extraordinary services should jostle out our stated devotions. 8. Though all these sacrifices were required to be presented by the body of the congregation, at the common charge, yet, besides these, particular persons were to glorify God with their vows and their free-will offerings, Num 29:39. When God commanded that this they must do, he left room for the generosity of their devotion, a great deal more they might do, not inventing other worships, but abounding in these, as Ch2 30:23, Ch2 30:24. Large directions had been given in Leviticus concerning the offerings of all sorts that should be brought by particular persons according to the providences of God concerning them and the graces of God in them. Though every Israelite had an interest in these common sacrifices, yet he must not think that these will serve instead of his vows and his free-will offerings. Thus our ministers' praying with us and for us will not excuse us from praying for ourselves.

Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 12–40. 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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