Numbers 7

KJV · Chapter 7/36

¹And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the instruments thereof, both the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them, and sanctified them;

²That the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, who were the princes of the tribes, and were over them that were numbered, offered:

³And they brought their offering before the Lord, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they brought them before the tabernacle.

⁴And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

⁵Take it of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service.

⁶And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites.

⁷Two wagons and four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon, according to their service:

⁸And 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.

⁹But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders.

¹⁰And the princes offered for dedicating of the altar in the day that it was anointed, even the princes offered their offering before the altar.

¹¹And the Lord said unto Moses, They shall offer their offering, each prince on his day, for the dedicating of the altar.

¹²And he that offered his offering the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah:

¹³And his offering was one silver charger, the weight thereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them were full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering:

¹⁴One spoon of ten shekels of gold, full of incense:

¹⁵One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering:

¹⁶One kid of the goats for a sin offering:

¹⁷And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

¹⁸On the second day Nethaneel the son of Zuar, prince of Issachar, did offer:

¹⁹He offered for his offering one silver charger, the weight whereof was an 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 meat offering:

²⁰One spoon of gold of ten shekels, full of incense:

²¹One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering:

²²One kid of the goats for a sin offering:

²³And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Nethaneel the son of Zuar.

²⁴On the third day Eliab the son of Helon, prince of the children of Zebulun, did offer:

²⁵His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an 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 meat offering:

²⁶One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense:

²⁷One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering:

²⁸One kid of the goats for a sin offering:

²⁹And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Eliab the son of Helon.

³⁰On the fourth day Elizur the son of Shedeur, prince of the children of Reuben, did offer:

³¹His offering was one silver charger of the weight of an 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 meat offering:

³²One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense:

³³One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering:

³⁴One kid of the goats for a sin offering:

³⁵And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Elizur the son of Shedeur.

³⁶On the fifth day Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, prince of the children of Simeon, did offer:

³⁷His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an 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 meat offering:

³⁸One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense:

³⁹One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering:

⁴⁰One kid of the goats for a sin offering:

⁴¹And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

⁴²On the sixth day Eliasaph the son of Deuel, prince of the children of Gad, offered:

⁴³His offering was one silver charger of the weight of an hundred and thirty shekels, a silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering:

⁴⁴One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense:

⁴⁵One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering:

⁴⁶One kid of the goats for a sin offering:

⁴⁷And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

⁴⁸On the seventh day Elishama the son of Ammihud, prince of the children of Ephraim, offered:

⁴⁹His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an 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 meat offering:

⁵⁰One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense:

⁵¹One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering:

⁵²One kid of the goats for a sin offering:

⁵³And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud.

⁵⁴On the eighth day offered Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, prince of the children of Manasseh:

⁵⁵His offering was one silver charger of the weight of an 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 meat offering:

⁵⁶One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense:

⁵⁷One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering:

⁵⁸One kid of the goats for a sin offering:

⁵⁹And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.

⁶⁰On the ninth day Abidan the son of Gideoni, prince of the children of Benjamin, offered:

⁶¹His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an 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 meat offering:

⁶²One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense:

⁶³One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering:

⁶⁴One kid of the goats for a sin offering:

⁶⁵And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni.

⁶⁶On the tenth day Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, prince of the children of Dan, offered:

⁶⁷His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an 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 meat offering:

⁶⁸One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense:

⁶⁹One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering:

⁷⁰One kid of the goats for a sin offering:

⁷¹And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

⁷²On the eleventh day Pagiel the son of Ocran, prince of the children of Asher, offered:

⁷³His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an 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 meat offering:

⁷⁴One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense:

⁷⁵One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering:

⁷⁶One kid of the goats for a sin offering:

⁷⁷And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Pagiel the son of Ocran.

⁷⁸On the twelfth day Ahira the son of Enan, prince of the children of Naphtali, offered:

⁷⁹His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an 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 meat offering:

⁸⁰One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense:

⁸¹One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering:

⁸²One kid of the goats for a sin offering:

⁸³And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Ahira the son of Enan.

⁸⁴This was the dedication of the altar, in the day when it was anointed, by the princes of Israel: twelve chargers of silver, twelve silver bowls, twelve spoons of gold:

⁸⁵Each charger of silver weighing an hundred and thirty shekels, each bowl seventy: all the silver vessels weighed two thousand and four hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:

⁸⁶The golden spoons were twelve, full of incense, weighing ten shekels apiece, after the shekel of the sanctuary: all the gold of the spoons was an hundred and twenty shekels.

⁸⁷All the oxen for the burnt offering were twelve bullocks, the rams twelve, the lambs of the first year twelve, with their meat offering: and the kids of the goats for sin offering twelve.

⁸⁸And all the oxen for the sacrifice of the peace offerings were twenty and four bullocks, the rams sixty, the he goats sixty, the lambs of the first year sixty. This was the dedication of the altar, after that it was anointed.

⁸⁹And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The twelve tribal leaders bring, one per day over twelve days, identical offerings for the dedication of the newly consecrated altar: carts, oxen, silver and gold vessels, incense, and animals for sacrifice.

Explanation

The lengthy repetition of the same list of offerings, twelve times in a row, is intentional: each tribe received the same recognition and honor before God, with no hierarchy of value among them, despite their differences in size and history. This communicates a message of equal honor within the unity of God's people — no tribe was 'more important' in the dedication of the altar. The chapter ends with an intimate and powerful note: Moses would hear the voice of God speaking from above the mercy seat, between the cherubim, showing that all of this public ceremony led to a personal, direct relationship with God. The application today: generous, organized giving, even when repetitive, is a legitimate and beautiful form of worship.

Fun facts

This is one of the longest and most repetitive passages in the whole Bible, with the same offering described literally twelve times — a Hebrew rhetorical device used to emphasize the equal importance of each tribe, not an editing error.
The six covered carts donated by the leaders were distributed unevenly among the Levite clans (none for the Kohathites) precisely because the ark and the most sacred objects had to be carried on the shoulders, not transported in vehicles, revealing a specific liturgical care behind the distribution.

Verse-by-verse explanation

Numbers 7:1The chapter opens on the day Moses finishes setting up the tabernacle and anoints it, also consecrating the altar and all its furnishings — it is this moment of dedication that sets off the offerings described in the rest of the chapter.
Numbers 7:2After the tabernacle was finished, the leaders of the twelve tribes brought carts, oxen, and other gifts to help equip and transport the sanctuary. The rest of the chapter, which may look repetitive, is actually recording that each tribe contributed equally, one day at a time, showing that no tribe held more prestige than another in this offering.
Numbers 7:3As part of the offering, the leaders bring six covered carts and twelve oxen: one cart for every two leaders, and one ox for each of them.
Numbers 7:4The Lord speaks to Moses to explain the practical purpose of those newly donated carts and oxen.
Numbers 7:5The instruction is simple: hand the carts and oxen over to the Levites, each family receiving according to the kind of work it did in the tabernacle.
Numbers 7:6Moses carries out the order and distributes the carts and oxen among the Levites.
Numbers 7:7To the sons of Gershon, responsible for the fabric parts of the tabernacle, went two carts and four oxen.
Numbers 7:8To the sons of Merari, in charge of the heavy framework such as boards and pillars, went double: four carts and eight oxen, under Ithamar’s supervision.
Numbers 7:9The Kohathites, meanwhile, receive no cart at all, because their role was to carry the most sacred objects on their own shoulders, without using any vehicle.
Numbers 7:10Besides the carts, the leaders also bring specific offerings for the dedication of the altar itself, on the day it was anointed.
Numbers 7:11The Lord sets the format for this: each leader would bring his offering on a different day, one at a time, over twelve consecutive days.
Numbers 7:12On the first day of the altar’s dedication, the one who brings his offering is Nahshon, representing the tribe of Judah.
Numbers 7:13Nahshon’s offering begins with a silver plate weighing 130 shekels and a silver bowl weighing 70 shekels, both full of flour mixed with oil — the same set that each of the twelve tribes will bring.
Numbers 7:14Besides the silver, Nahshon brings a gold dish weighing 10 shekels full of incense — an item that will repeat, identical, in the offerings of the other eleven tribes.
Numbers 7:15For the burnt offering, Nahshon offers a young bull, a ram, and a year-old lamb — the same trio of animals that each leader will bring on the following days.
Numbers 7:16A goat is included as a sin offering — a simple item that repeats in all twelve offerings of the chapter.
Numbers 7:17Nahshon’s peace offering closes with two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five year-old lambs — this complete set, repeated for twelve days, is the offering of Judah.
Numbers 7:18When the second day comes, it is Nethaneel’s turn to bring his offering in the name of the tribe of Issachar.
Numbers 7:19Just like Judah the day before, Nethaneel brings the same silver plate of 130 shekels and the same bowl of 70 shekels, full of flour with oil.
Numbers 7:20Nethaneel also includes the gold dish of 10 shekels full of incense, just like Judah’s the day before.
Numbers 7:21Nethaneel likewise sacrifices a young bull, a ram, and a year-old lamb as a burnt offering.
Numbers 7:22It is the second day of the altar’s dedication: twelve leaders, one per day, bring exactly the same offering — even this repeated goat shows that no tribe counted for more than another before God.
Numbers 7:23Nethaneel closes his offering with two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five year-old lambs as a peace sacrifice — exactly like Judah’s the day before.
Numbers 7:24On the third day, Eliab presents himself as the representative of the tribe of Zebulun.
Numbers 7:25Eliab repeats the exact same gift: a silver plate of 130 shekels and a bowl of 70, full of flour mixed with oil.
Numbers 7:26Eliab’s offering includes the same gold dish of 10 shekels with incense.
Numbers 7:27Eliab brings the same set for the burnt offering: a young bull, a ram, and a year-old lamb.
Numbers 7:28Eliab likewise brings a goat for the sin offering, just like Judah and Issachar before him.
Numbers 7:29Eliab’s peace offering repeats the same set: two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five year-old lambs, closing out Zebulun’s gift.
Numbers 7:30The fourth day is reserved for Elizur, who offers in the name of the tribe of Reuben.
Numbers 7:31Elizur also brings the silver plate of 130 shekels and the bowl of 70, with flour and oil — no tribe gives more or less than another.
Numbers 7:32Elizur completes his offering with the gold dish of 10 shekels full of incense, just like the previous ones.
Numbers 7:33As a burnt offering, Elizur likewise offers a young bull, a ram, and a year-old lamb.
Numbers 7:34On the fourth day, it is the leader of Reuben’s turn to repeat the identical offering of the three previous days: silver plate and bowl, gold dish, animals for the burnt offering, and this goat for the atonement of sin.
Numbers 7:35Elizur closes his offering with the same peace sacrifice: two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five year-old lambs, in the name of Reuben.
Numbers 7:36On the fifth day, the one who brings his offering is Shelumiel, representing the tribe of Simeon.
Numbers 7:37Shelumiel presents the same pair of silver pieces: a plate of 130 shekels and a bowl of 70, full of flour with oil.
Numbers 7:38Shelumiel also brings the gold dish of 10 shekels with incense, following the pattern common to all the tribes.
Numbers 7:39Shelumiel repeats the same trio of animals in the burnt offering: young bull, ram, and year-old lamb.
Numbers 7:40On the fifth day, the leader of Simeon presents the same offering as all the others: nothing changes from tribe to tribe. The repetition across twelve days is itself the message — equality among them.
Numbers 7:41Shelumiel’s offering ends with two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five year-old lambs — the same pattern, for Simeon.
Numbers 7:42Coming to the sixth day, Eliasaph offers in the name of the tribe of Gad.
Numbers 7:43Eliasaph hands over the same standard set: a silver plate of 130 shekels, a bowl of 70, both with flour and oil.
Numbers 7:44Eliasaph adds the gold dish of 10 shekels full of incense to his offering.
Numbers 7:45Eliasaph keeps to the pattern for the burnt offering with a young bull, a ram, and a year-old lamb.
Numbers 7:46Sixth day of the altar’s dedication: the leader of Gad brings the standard offering — silver plate, gold dish, animals, and this goat. Only six days remain to complete the twelve tribes.
Numbers 7:47Eliasaph closes out his gift with two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five year-old lambs, representing Gad.
Numbers 7:48On the seventh day, it is the turn of Elishama, representative of the tribe of Ephraim.
Numbers 7:49Reaching the halfway point of the list, Elishama still brings exactly the same plate and the same silver bowl as all the other leaders.
Numbers 7:50Elishama keeps to the same item: a gold dish of 10 shekels, full of incense.
Numbers 7:51Elishama likewise presents a young bull, a ram, and a year-old lamb for the burnt offering.
Numbers 7:52Elishama keeps to the same item: a goat as a sin offering, same as the rest.
Numbers 7:53Elishama’s offering closes with two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five year-old lambs, in the name of Ephraim.
Numbers 7:54The eighth day belongs to Gamaliel, who offers for the tribe of Manasseh.
Numbers 7:55Gamaliel keeps to the pattern: a silver plate of 130 shekels and a bowl of 70 shekels, full of flour mixed with oil.
Numbers 7:56Gamaliel also brings his gold dish of 10 shekels with incense, with no difference from the others.
Numbers 7:57Gamaliel offers the same set of animals in the burnt offering: young bull, ram, and year-old lamb.
Numbers 7:58On the eighth day, the leader of Manasseh repeats the same offering as the seven previous tribes. By the end of the twelve days, the total will add up to twelve goats just like this one, one per tribe.
Numbers 7:59Gamaliel closes with the same peace sacrifice — two oxen, five rams, five goats, five year-old lambs — representing Manasseh.
Numbers 7:60On the ninth day, the one who comes forward is Abidan, representing the tribe of Benjamin.
Numbers 7:61Abidan likewise presents the silver plate of 130 shekels and the bowl of 70, with no variation from the previous tribes.
Numbers 7:62Abidan’s offering includes the same gold dish of 10 shekels full of incense that all the other tribes brought.
Numbers 7:63Abidan also brings a young bull, a ram, and a year-old lamb as a burnt offering.
Numbers 7:64Abidan includes, like all before him, a goat for the sin offering.
Numbers 7:65Abidan’s offering ends with two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five year-old lambs, closing out Benjamin’s gift.
Numbers 7:66On the tenth day it is Dan’s turn, through Ahiezer: twelve days, twelve leaders, and each tribe’s offering identical to the others — none counts for more than another.
Numbers 7:67Ahiezer brings the same silver plate of 130 shekels and the bowl of 70 shekels with flour and oil, faithfully repeating the chapter’s pattern.
Numbers 7:68Ahiezer completes his offering with the gold dish of 10 shekels full of incense.
Numbers 7:69Ahiezer keeps to exactly the same trio in the burnt offering: young bull, ram, and year-old lamb.
Numbers 7:70Tenth day: the leader of Dan brings the same offering already repeated nine times before him. Only Asher and Naphtali remain to close out the twelve days of the altar’s dedication.
Numbers 7:71Ahiezer closes his offering with two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five year-old lambs, representing Dan.
Numbers 7:72On the eleventh day, the offering comes from Pagiel, representative of the tribe of Asher.
Numbers 7:73Pagiel offers the same pair of silver pieces, with the same weight and the same contents of flour and oil as all the previous tribes.
Numbers 7:74Pagiel also presents the gold dish of 10 shekels with incense, like all the previous ones.
Numbers 7:75Pagiel likewise offers a young bull, a ram, and a year-old lamb in the burnt offering.
Numbers 7:76On the eleventh day, the leader of Asher presents an offering identical to the ten before it. Only Naphtali remains, on the following day, for the twelve leaders to complete the altar’s dedication.
Numbers 7:77Pagiel’s offering closes with two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five year-old lambs, in the name of Asher.
Numbers 7:78Closing out the twelve days of offerings, Ahira presents himself for the tribe of Naphtali, the last of the twelve.
Numbers 7:79Closing out the sequence, Ahira likewise brings the plate of 130 shekels and the bowl of 70 — exactly as all eleven tribes before it did.
Numbers 7:80Finally, Ahira also brings the gold dish of 10 shekels full of incense, closing out this part identical in all twelve offerings.
Numbers 7:81Closing out the list, Ahira likewise sacrifices a young bull, a ram, and a year-old lamb in the burnt offering.
Numbers 7:82Ahira also closes with a goat as a sin offering, like all the previous tribes.
Numbers 7:83Ahira closes the last of the twelve offerings with the same set of two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five year-old lambs — Naphtali closes the list, treated with the same honor with which Judah opened it.
Numbers 7:84The chapter sums it all up: this was the dedication of the altar carried out by the twelve leaders of Israel, twelve silver plates, twelve silver bowls, and twelve gold dishes in all.
Numbers 7:85Each plate weighed 130 shekels and each bowl 70; adding up the silver pieces from the twelve tribes, the total comes to 2,400 shekels.
Numbers 7:86The twelve gold dishes, at 10 shekels each, add up to 120 shekels of gold given in all at the dedication.
Numbers 7:87Adding up the burnt-offering animals brought by the twelve tribes: twelve young bulls, twelve rams, twelve year-old lambs, plus twelve goats for the sin offering.
Numbers 7:88Closing out the total: twenty-four oxen, sixty rams, sixty goats, and sixty year-old lambs were offered as a peace sacrifice — the final tally of the altar’s dedication.
Numbers 7:89Here it describes how Moses communicated with God: entering the tent of the congregation, he would hear a voice coming from above the cover of the ark, from between the two cherubim carved on it. This spot, called the mercy seat, was considered the point of contact between God and the people.

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