Numbers 29:12-40

H. OFFERINGS FOR THE FEAST OF THE TABERNACLES vv. 12-40
TEXT

Numbers 29:12. And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month ye shall have a 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 savor 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 offering.
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 savor 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.

PARAPHRASE

Numbers 29:12. And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no hard work, and you shall keep a feast unto the Lord for seven days: 13. you shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice with fire, of a sweet aroma to the Lord: thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen yearling lambs without defect. 14. And their grain offering shall be of flour mixed with oil, three-tenths of a measure for each bull of the thirteen bulls; two-tenths of a measure for each ram of the two rams, 15. and one-tenth of a measure for each lamb of the fourteen lambs, 16. and one male goat for a sin offering; in addition to the continual burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.

17. Then on the second day: twelve bulls, two rams, fourteen yearling lambs without defect; 18. and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; 19. and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offering.
20. And on the third day: eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen yearling lambs without defect; 21. and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, their number according to the ordinance; 22. and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.
23. And on the fourth day: ten bulls, two rams, fourteen yearling lambs without defect: 24. their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; 25. and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.
26. Then on the fifth day: nine bulls, two rams, fourteen yearling lambs without defect; 27. and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, and for the rams and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance: 28. and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.
29. And on the sixth day: eight bulls, two rams, fourteen yearling lambs without defect: 30. and their grain offering and their drink offering for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number by the ordinance; 31. and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offerings.
32. And on the seventh day: seven bulls, two rams, fourteen yearling lambs without defect; 33. and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams and for the lambs, according to their number by the ordinance: 34. and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.
35. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no hard work. 36. But you shall present a burnt offering, an offering by fire, as a sweet aroma to the Lord: one bull, one ram, seven yearling lambs without defect; 37. their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bull, for the ram and for the lambs, according to their number by the ordinance; 38. and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering. 39. You shall present these to the Lord at your appointed times, besides your vows, and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings, and for your grain offerings and for your drink offerings and for your peace offerings. 40. And Moses told the children of Israel according to everything the Lord had commanded Moses.

COMMENTARY

The unusual Feast of the Tabernacles began at sunset on the fourteenth of Tishri, and required the later Israelites to commemorate the period in the wilderness by forsaking their homes to live in temporary booths. The offerings began with thirteen bulls on the first day of the feast, and the number decreased by one daily. PC attributes to this fact a significance of diminishing joy in the feast into ordinary joys of daily life. In total, during the entire feast five times as many bulls and twice as many rams and lambs were offered as in the spring festival. On the eighth day the sacrifice reverted to the number offered on the first and tenth days of the month. The feast ended at sunset of this day.

Coming as it did at the end of the harvest of fall fruits, the festival was to reflect the happiness gained through divine blessings in the increase of the fields.
Altogether, the sacrifices commanded at these feasts totaled 1071 lambs, 113 Bulls, 37 rams, 30 goats, 112-bushels of flour, about 370 gallons of oil, and about 340 gallons of wine. Besides these, any individuals or families could offer spontaneous or votive offerings unto the Lord.

QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH ITEMS

543.

How was the Feast of the Tabernacles celebrated, and what did it commemorate?

544.

What reason is suggested for the diminishing number of bulls sacrificed on consecutive days?

545.

Give the total number of various animals, and the quantities of other commodities offered during the special feasts of the Jews.

546.

Were their offerings limited to this number?