Numbers 7:10-11

The Time of Presentation

7:10 The leaders offered ¹  gifts ²  for ³  the dedication ⁴  of the altar when it was anointed. ⁵  And the leaders presented ⁶  their offering before the altar. 7:11 For the Lord said to Moses, “They must present their offering, one leader for each day, ⁷  for the dedication of the altar.”

Numbers 7:84-88

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. ⁸ 

Numbers 7:2

7:2 Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of their clans, ⁹  made an offering. They were the leaders of the tribes; they were the ones who had been supervising ¹⁰  the numbering.

Numbers 2:4

2:4 Those numbered in his division ¹¹  are 74,600.

Numbers 7:5

7:5 “Receive these gifts ¹²  from them, that they may be ¹³  used in doing the work ¹⁴  of the tent of meeting; and you must give them to the Levites, to every man ¹⁵  as his service requires.” ¹⁶ 

Ezra 6:16-17

6:16 The people ¹⁷  of Israel – the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles ¹⁸  – observed the dedication of this temple of God with joy. 6:17 For the dedication of this temple of God they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve male goats for the sin of all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

Nehemiah 12:27

The Wall of Jerusalem is Dedicated

12:27 At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, ¹⁹  they sought out the Levites from all the places they lived ²⁰  to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication joyfully with songs of thanksgiving and songs accompanied by cymbals, harps, and lyres.

John 10:22

Jesus at the Feast of Dedication

10:22 Then came the feast of the Dedication ²¹  in Jerusalem. ²² 

[7:10]  ¹ tn The verse begins with the preterite and vav (ו) consecutive: “and they offered.”

[7:10]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn The distributive sense is achieved by repetition: “one leader for the day, one leader for the day.”

[7:88]  ⁸ 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.

[7:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “the house of their fathers.”

[7:2]  ¹⁰ tn The form is the Qal active participle from the verb “to stand” (עָמַד, ’amad). The form describes these leaders as “the ones standing over [the ones numbered].” The expression, along with the clear indication of the first census in chapter 1, shows that this was a supervisory capacity.

[2:4]  ¹¹ tc The expression “and his divisions and those numbered of them” is somewhat tautological. The words are synonyms used for statistical purposes, and so neither should be simply deleted.

[7:5]  ¹² tn The object is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied.

[7:5]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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.”

[6:16]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “sons of.”

[6:16]  ¹⁸ tn Aram “sons of the exile.”

[12:27]  ¹⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[12:27]  ²⁰ tn Heb “from all their places.” The words “they lived” are implied.

[10:22]  ²¹ tn That is, Hanukkah or the ‘Festival of Lights.’ The Greek name for the feast, τὰ ἐγκαίνια (ta enkainia), literally means “renewal” and was used to translate Hanukkah which means “dedication.” The Greek noun, with its related verbs, was the standard term used in the LXX for the consecration of the altar of the Tabernacle (Num 7:10-11), the altar of the temple of Solomon (1 Kgs 8:63; 2 Chr 7:5), and the altar of the second temple (Ezra 6:16). The word is thus connected with the consecration of all the houses of God in the history of the nation of Israel.

[10:22]  ²² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.