Exodus 35:5-29

35:5 ‘Take ¹  an offering for the Lord. Let everyone who has a willing heart ²  bring ³  an offering to the Lord: ⁴  gold, silver, bronze, 35:6 blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, fine linen, goat’s hair, 35:7 ram skins dyed red, fine leather, ⁵  acacia wood, 35:8 olive oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, 35:9 onyx stones, and other gems ⁶  for mounting ⁷  on the ephod and the breastpiece. 35:10 Every skilled person ⁸  among you is to come and make all that the Lord has commanded: 35:11 the tabernacle with ⁹  its tent, its covering, its clasps, its frames, its crossbars, its posts, and its bases; 35:12 the ark, with its poles, the atonement lid, and the special curtain that conceals it; 35:13 the table with its poles and all its vessels, and the Bread of the Presence; 35:14 the lampstand for ¹⁰  the light and its accessories, its lamps, and oil for the light; 35:15 and the altar of incense with its poles, the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense; the hanging for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle; 35:16 the altar for the burnt offering with its bronze grating that is on it, its poles, and all its utensils; the large basin and its pedestal; 35:17 the hangings of the courtyard, its posts and its bases, and the curtain for the gateway to the courtyard; 35:18 tent pegs for the tabernacle and tent pegs for the courtyard and their ropes; 35:19 the woven garments for serving in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to minister as priests.”

35:20 So the whole community of the Israelites went out from the presence of Moses. 35:21 Everyone ¹¹  whose heart stirred him to action ¹²  and everyone whose spirit was willing ¹³  came and brought the offering for the Lord for the work of the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. ¹⁴  35:22 They came, men and women alike, ¹⁵  all who had willing hearts. They brought brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments, all kinds of gold jewelry, ¹⁶  and everyone came who waved ¹⁷  a wave offering of gold to the Lord.

35:23 Everyone who had ¹⁸  blue, purple, or ¹⁹  scarlet yarn, fine linen, goats’ hair, ram skins dyed red, or fine leather ²⁰  brought them. ²¹  35:24 Everyone making an offering of silver or bronze brought it as ²²  an offering to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood ²³  for any work of the service brought it. ²⁴  35:25 Every woman who was skilled ²⁵  spun with her hands and brought what she had spun, blue, purple, or scarlet yarn, or fine linen, 35:26 and all the women whose heart stirred them to action and who were skilled ²⁶  spun goats’ hair.

35:27 The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted ²⁷  for the ephod and the breastpiece, 35:28 and spices and olive oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense.

35:29 The Israelites brought a freewill offering to the Lord, every man and woman whose heart was willing to bring materials for all the work that the Lord through ²⁸  Moses had commanded them ²⁹  to do.

Numbers 7:3-88

7:3 They brought ³⁰  their offering before the Lord, six covered carts ³¹  and twelve oxen – one cart for every two of the leaders, and an ox for each one; and they presented them in front of the tabernacle.

The Distribution of the Gifts

7:4 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 7:5 “Receive these gifts ³²  from them, that they may be ³³  used in doing the work ³⁴  of the tent of meeting; and you must give them to the Levites, to every man ³⁵  as his service requires.” ³⁶ 

7:6 So Moses accepted the carts and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. 7:7 He gave two carts and four oxen to the Gershonites, as their service required; 7:8 and he gave four carts and eight oxen to the Merarites, as their service required, under the authority ³⁷  of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. 7:9 But to the Kohathites he gave none, because the service of the holy things, which they carried ³⁸  on their shoulders, was their responsibility. ³⁹ 

The Time of Presentation

7:10 The leaders offered ⁴⁰  gifts ⁴¹  for ⁴²  the dedication ⁴³  of the altar when it was anointed. ⁴⁴  And the leaders presented ⁴⁵  their offering before the altar. 7:11 For the Lord said to Moses, “They must present their offering, one leader for each day, ⁴⁶  for the dedication of the altar.”

The Tribal Offerings

7:12 The one who presented his offering on the first day was Nahshon son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah. ⁴⁷  7:13 His offering was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels, ⁴⁸  and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing 70 shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each of them full of fine flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering; 7:14 one gold pan weighing 10 shekels, full of incense; 7:15 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; 7:16 one male goat for a purification offering; 7:17 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Nahshon son of Amminadab.

7:18 On the second day Nethanel son of Zuar, leader of Issachar, presented an offering. 7:19 He offered for his offering one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing 70, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each of them full of fine flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering; 7:20 one gold pan weighing 10 shekels, full of incense; 7:21 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; 7:22 one male goat for a purification offering; 7:23 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Nethanel son of Zuar.

7:24 On the third day Eliab son of Helon, leader of the Zebulunites, presented an offering. ⁴⁹  7:25 His offering was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing 70 shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each of them full of fine flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering; 7:26 one gold pan weighing 10 shekels, full of incense; 7:27 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; 7:28 one male goat for a purification offering; 7:29 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Eliab son of Helon.

7:30 On the fourth day Elizur son of Shedeur, leader of the Reubenites, presented an offering. 7:31 His offering was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing 70 shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each of them full of fine flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering; 7:32 one gold pan weighing 10 shekels, full of incense; 7:33 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; 7:34 one male goat for a purification offering; 7:35 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Elizur son of Shedeur.

7:36 On the fifth day Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai, leader of the Simeonites, presented an offering. 7:37 His offering was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing 70 shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each of them full of fine flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering; 7:38 one gold pan weighing 10 shekels; 7:39 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; 7:40 one male goat for a purification offering; 7:41 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Sheloumiel son of Zurishaddai.

7:42 On the sixth day Eliasaph son of Deuel, leader of the Gadites, presented an offering. 7:43 His offering was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing 70 shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each of them full of fine flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering; 7:44 one gold pan weighing 10 shekels; 7:45 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; 7:46 one male goat for a purification offering; 7:47 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Eliasaph son of Deuel.

7:48 On the seventh day Elishama son of Ammihud, leader of the Ephraimites, presented an offering. 7:49 His offering was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing 70 shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each of them full of fine flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering; 7:50 one gold pan weighing 10 shekels, full of incense; 7:51 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; 7:52 one male goat for a purification offering; 7:53 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Elishama son of Ammihud.

7:54 On the eighth day Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, leader of the Manassehites, presented an offering. 7:55 His offering was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing 70 shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each of them full of fine flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering; 7:56 one gold pan weighing 10 shekels, full of incense; 7:57 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; 7:58 one male goat for a purification offering; 7:59 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.

7:60 On the ninth day Abidan son of Gideoni, leader of the Benjaminites, presented an offering. 7:61 His offering was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing 70 shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each of them full of fine flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering; 7:62 one gold pan weighing 10 shekels, full of incense; 7:63 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; 7:64 one male goat for a purification offering; 7:65 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Abidan son of Gideoni.

7:66 On the tenth day Ahiezer son of Amishaddai, leader of the Danites, presented an offering. 7:67 His offering was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing 70 shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each of them full of fine flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering; 7:68 one gold pan weighing 10 shekels, full of incense; 7:69 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; 7:70 one male goat for a purification offering; 7:71 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Ahiezer son of Amishaddai.

7:72 On the eleventh day Pagiel son of Ocran, leader of the Asherites, presented an offering. 7:73 His offering was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing 70 shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each of them full of fine flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering; 7:74 one gold pan weighing 10 shekels, full of incense; 7:75 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; 7:76 one male goat for a purification offering; 7:77 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Pagiel son of Ocran.

7:78 On the twelfth day Ahira son of Enan, leader of the Naphtalites, presented an offering. 7:79 His offering was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing 70 shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each of them full of fine flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering; 7:80 one gold pan weighing 10 shekels; 7:81 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; 7:82 one male goat for a purification offering; 7:83 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Ahira son of Enan.

Summary

7:84 This was the dedication for the altar from the leaders of Israel, when it was anointed: twelve silver platters, twelve silver sprinkling bowls, and twelve gold pans. 7:85 Each silver platter weighed 130 shekels, and each silver sprinkling bowl weighed 70 shekels. All the silver of the vessels weighed 2,400 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. 7:86 The twelve gold pans full of incense weighed 10 shekels each, according to the sanctuary shekel; all the gold of the pans weighed 120 shekels. 7:87 All the animals for the burnt offering were 12 young bulls, 12 rams, 12 male lambs in their first year, with their grain offering, and 12 male goats for a purification offering. 7:88 All the animals for the sacrifice for the peace offering were 24 young bulls, 60 rams, 60 male goats, and 60 lambs in their first year. These were the dedication offerings for the altar after it was anointed. ⁵⁰ 

Deuteronomy 16:16-17

16:16 Three times a year all your males must appear before the Lord your God in the place he chooses for the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Temporary Shelters; and they must not appear before him ⁵¹  empty-handed. 16:17 Every one of you must give as you are able, ⁵²  according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.

Deuteronomy 16:1

The Passover-Unleavened Bread Festival

16:1 Observe the month Abib ⁵³  and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in that month ⁵⁴  he ⁵⁵  brought you out of Egypt by night.

Deuteronomy 29:1

Narrative Interlude

29:1 (28:69) ⁵⁶  These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb. ⁵⁷ 

[35:5]  ¹ tn Heb “from with you.”

[35:5]  ² tn “Heart” is a genitive of specification, clarifying in what way they might be “willing.” The heart refers to their will, their choices.

[35:5]  ³ tn The verb has a suffix that is the direct object, but the suffixed object is qualified by the second accusative: “let him bring it, an offering.”

[35:5]  ⁴ tn The phrase is literally “the offering of Yahweh”; it could be a simple possessive, “Yahweh’s offering,” but a genitive that indicates the indirect object is more appropriate.

[35:7]  ⁵ tn See the note on this phrase in Exod 25:5.

[35:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “and stones.”

[35:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “filling.”

[35:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “wise of heart”; here also “heart” would be a genitive of specification, showing that there were those who could make skillful decisions.

[35:11]  ⁹ tn In Hebrew style all these items are typically connected with a vav (ו) conjunction, but English typically uses commas except between the last two items in a series or between items in a series that are somehow related to one another. The present translation follows contemporary English style in lists such as this.

[35:14]  ¹⁰ tn “for” has been supplied.

[35:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “man.”

[35:21]  ¹² tn The verb means “lift up, bear, carry.” Here the subject is “heart” or will, and so the expression describes one moved within to act.

[35:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “his spirit made him willing.” The verb is used in Scripture for the freewill offering that people brought (Lev 7).

[35:21]  ¹⁴ tn Literally “the garments of holiness,” the genitive is the attributive genitive, marking out what type of garments these were.

[35:22]  ¹⁵ tn The expression in Hebrew is “men on/after the women,” meaning men with women, to ensure that it was clear that the preceding verse did not mean only men. B. Jacob takes it further, saying that the men came after the women because the latter had taken the initiative (Exodus, 1017).

[35:22]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “all gold utensils.”

[35:22]  ¹⁷ tn The verb could be translated “offered,” but it is cognate with the following noun that is the wave offering. This sentence underscores the freewill nature of the offerings people made. The word “came” is supplied from v. 21 and v. 22.

[35:23]  ¹⁸ tn The text uses a relative clause with a resumptive pronoun for this: “who was found with him,” meaning “with whom was found.”

[35:23]  ¹⁹ tn The conjunction in this verse is translated “or” because the sentence does not intend to say that each person had all these things. They brought what they had.

[35:23]  ²⁰ tn See the note on this phrase in Exod 25:5.

[35:23]  ²¹ tn Here “them” has been supplied.

[35:24]  ²² tn This translation takes “offering” as an adverbial accusative explaining the form or purpose of their bringing things. It could also be rendered as the direct object, but that would seem to repeat without much difference what had just been said.

[35:24]  ²³ sn U. Cassuto notes that the expression “with whom was found” does not rule out the idea that these folks went out and cut down acacia trees (Exodus, 458). It is unlikely that they had much wood in their tents.

[35:24]  ²⁴ tn Here “it” has been supplied.

[35:25]  ²⁵ tn Heb “wisdom of heart,” which means that they were skilled and could make all the right choices about the work.

[35:26]  ²⁶ tn The text simply uses a prepositional phrase, “with/in wisdom.” It seems to be qualifying “the women” as the relative clause is.

[35:27]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and stones of the filling.”

[35:29]  ²⁸ tn Heb “by the hand of.”

[35:29]  ²⁹ tn Here “them” has been supplied.

[7:3]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and they brought.”

[7:3]  ³¹ sn For a discussion and drawings, see W. S. McCullough, IDB 1:540. But see also D. J. Wiseman, IBD 1:254.

[7:5]  ³² tn The object is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied.

[7:5]  ³³ tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; following the imperative, this could be given an independent volitive translation (“they shall be”), but more fittingly a subordinated translation expressing the purpose of receiving the gifts.

[7:5]  ³⁴ tn The sentence uses the infinitive construct expressing purpose, followed by its cognate accusative: “[that they may be] for doing the work of” (literally, “serving the service of”).

[7:5]  ³⁵ tn The noun אִישׁ (’ish) is in apposition to the word “Levites,” and is to be taken in a distributive sense: “to the Levites, [to each] man according to his service.”

[7:5]  ³⁶ tn The expression כְּפִי (kÿfi) is “according to the mouth of.” Here, it would say “according to the mouth of his service,” which would mean “what his service calls for.”

[7:8]  ³⁷ tn Heb “hand.”

[7:9]  ³⁸ tn The verb is the imperfect tense, but it describes their customary activity – they had to carry, they used to carry.

[7:9]  ³⁹ tn Heb “upon them,” meaning “their duty.”

[7:10]  ⁴⁰ tn The verse begins with the preterite and vav (ו) consecutive: “and they offered.”

[7:10]  ⁴¹ tn The direct object, “gifts,” is implied but not actually stated in the Hebrew text. It has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.

[7:10]  ⁴² tn The sign of the accusative here must indicate an adverbial accusative and not the direct object; they offered their gifts for the dedication of the altar.

[7:10]  ⁴³ sn Some commentators take the word “dedication” in the sense of a dedication gift, and so make it the direct object. Many modern scholars assume that this is a late word, belonging only in P, the Chronicler, and the heading of Ps 30 (a Davidic psalm).

[7:10]  ⁴⁴ tn The adverbial clause uses the Niphal infinitive construct as the main verb. The word is the well-known מָשַׁח (mashakh, “to anoint, smear”).

[7:10]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “offered,” but this is redundant and has been translated as “presented” for stylistic reasons. The same phrase occurs in vv. 11 and 12.

[7:11]  ⁴⁶ tn The distributive sense is achieved by repetition: “one leader for the day, one leader for the day.”

[7:12]  ⁴⁷ sn The tribe of Judah is listed first. It seems that it had already achieved a place of prominence based on the patriarchal promise of the Messiahship in Judah (Gen 49:10).

[7:13]  ⁴⁸ tn The word “shekels” has been supplied in the translation for clarity. So also in vv. 19, 20, 25, 26, 31, 32, 37, 38, 43, 44, 49, 50, 55, 56, 60, 62, 66, 68, 73, 74, 79, 85, 86.

[7:24]  ⁴⁹ tn The phrase “presented an offering” is not found in the Hebrew text at this point but has been supplied to clarify what action is being done. The same phrase is absent from the Hebrew text in the following verses which tell who makes the offerings (7:30, 36, 42, 48, 54, 60, 66, 72, 78).

[7:88]  ⁵⁰ sn Even though the chapter seems wearisome and repetitious to the modern reader, it is a significant document. A. Rainey shows how it matches the exact ledgers of ancient sanctuaries (see ZPEB 5:202). The recording would have been done by the priestly scribes. Of the many points that can be observed here, it should not be missed that each tribe, regardless of its size or relative importance, was on equal footing before the Lord. Each tribe shared in the work of the Lord equally. Each tribe approached the sanctuary in precisely the same way on this memorable occasion. All such devotion to the work of the Lord was to receive the blessing of God.

[16:16]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

[16:17]  ⁵² tn Heb “a man must give according to the gift of his hand.” This has been translated as second person for stylistic reasons, in keeping with the second half of the verse, which is second person rather than third.

[16:1]  ⁵³ sn The month Abib, later called Nisan (Neh 2:1; Esth 3:7), corresponds to March-April in the modern calendar.

[16:1]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “in the month Abib.” The demonstrative “that” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[16:1]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[29:1]  ⁵⁶ sn Beginning with 29:1, the verse numbers through 29:29 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 29:1 ET = 28:69 HT, 29:2 ET = 29:1 HT, 29:3 ET = 29:2 HT, etc., through 29:29 ET = 29:28 HT. With 30:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[29:1]  ⁵⁷ sn Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai (which some English versions substitute here for clarity, cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).