T4T NUM Chapter 7

The offerings brought to the Sacred Tent

7 When Moses/I had finished setting up the Sacred Tent, he/I dedicated [MTY] it to Yahweh. He/I also dedicated the things that are inside the tent, and the altar for burning sacrifices, and all the things that would be used at the altar. 2 Then the leaders of the twelve Israeli tribes, the same men who had helped Aaron and Moses/me to count the men who could fight in battles, 3 came to the tent, bringing gifts to Yahweh. They brought six sturdy/large carts and twelve oxen, one ox from each of the leaders and a cart from each of the two leaders.

4 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, 5 “Accept these gifts, in order that the descendants of Levi can use them for carrying the sacred items that are here at the Sacred Tent.”

6 So Moses/I took the carts and oxen and gave them to the descendants of Levi. 7 He/I gave two carts and four oxen to the descendants of Gershon for their work, 8 and he/I gave four carts and eight oxen to the descendants of Merari for their work. Aaron’s son Ithamar was the supervisor of all their work. 9 But he/I did not give any carts or oxen to the descendants of Kohath, because they took care of the sacred items that were to be carried on their shoulders, not on carts.

10 On the day that the altar was dedicated [MTY], the twelve leaders brought other gifts to be dedicated and put them in front of the altar. 11 Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Each of the next twelve days one leader should bring his gifts for the dedication of the altar.”

12-83 12-83These are the gifts that each of the leaders brought:

—a silver dish that weighed ◄more than three pounds/1.5 kg.►, and a silver bowl that weighed ◄almost two pounds/800 grams►, both of which were full of good flour and mixed with olive oil to be offerings of grain; they both were weighed using the standard scales;

—a small gold dish that weighed ◄four ounces/14 grams►, filled with incense;

—a young bull, a full-grown ram, and a one-year-old ram, to be sacrifices to be completely burned on the altar;

—a goat to be sacrificed to enable me to forgive the people for the sins they have committed;

—and two bulls, five full-grown rams, five male goats, and five rams that were one-year-old, to be sacrifices to maintain the people’s fellowship with Yahweh.

This was the order in which the leaders brought their gifts:

on the first day, Nahshon, son of Amminadab from the tribe of Judah brought his gifts;

on the next/second day, Nethanel, son of Zuar, from the tribe of Issachar;

on the next/third day, Eliab, son of Helon, from the tribe of Zebulun;

on the next/fourth day, Elizur, son of Shedeur, from the tribe of Reuben;

on the next/fifth day, Shelumiel, son of Jurishhaddai, from the tribe of Simeon;

on the next/sixth day, Eliasaph, son of Deuel, from the tribe of Gad;

on the next/seventh day, Elishama, son of Ammihud, from the tribe of Ephraim;

on the next/eighth day, Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur, from the tribe of Manasseh;

on the next/ninth day, Abidan, son of Gideoni, from the tribe of Benjamin;

on the next/tenth day, Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai, from the tribe of Dan;

on the next/eleventh day, Pagiel, son of Acran, from the tribe of Asher;

on the next/twelfth day, Ahira, son of Enam, from the tribe of Naphtali.

84-88 84-88When the altar was dedicated to Yahweh, those twelve leaders brought these gifts:

—twelve silver plates and twelve silver bowls, weighing a total of about ◄60 pounds/27.6 kg.►, each of them being weighed on the scales kept in the Sacred Tent;

—twelve gold dishes filled with incense, weighing a total of about ◄three pounds/1.4 kg.►, each being weighed on those same scales;

—twelve bulls, twelve full-grown rams, and twelve one-year-old rams, to be sacrifices that were completely burned, along with the grain offerings;

—twelve goats to be sacrificed to forgive the people for the sins they have committed;

—and 24 bulls, 60 full-grown rams, 60 goats, and 60 rams that were one-year-old, to be sacrifices to maintain the people’s fellowship with Yahweh.

89 Whenever Moses/I entered the Sacred Tent to talk with Yahweh, he/I heard Yahweh’s voice speaking between the two images of creatures with wings that were above the lid of the sacred chest.