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Numbers 7

Numbers 7 records each tribe’s share in dedicating the altar and YHWH’s direction of worship and sanctuary service.

Moses has finished setting up and consecrating the tabernacle when Israel’s tribal leaders bring six wagons and twelve oxen for its service. At YHWH’s command, Moses distributes them among the Levites according to their duties. Then each tribal leader brings the same dedication offering for the altar, one leader per day for twelve days. The account closes with Moses entering the Tent of Meeting and hearing YHWH speak from above the mercy seat.

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1On the day that Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle, and had anointed it and sanctified it with all its furniture, and the altar with all its vessels, and had anointed and sanctified them;
2the princes of Israel, the heads of their fathers’ houses, gave offerings. These were the princes of the tribes. These are they who were over those who were counted;
5“Accept these from them, that they may be used in doing the service of the Tent of Meeting; and you shall give them to the Levites, to every man according to his service.”
8He gave four wagons and eight oxen to the sons of Merari, according to their service, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
9But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because the service of the sanctuary belonged to them; they carried it on their shoulders.
10The princes gave offerings for the dedication of the altar in the day that it was anointed. The princes gave their offerings before the altar.
11The LORD said to Moses, “They shall offer their offering, each prince on his day, for the dedication of the altar.”
12He who offered his offering the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah,
13and his offering was: one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering;
14one golden ladle of ten shekels, full of incense;
15one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;
16one male goat for a sin offering;
17and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two head of cattle, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab.
18On the second day Nethanel the son of Zuar, prince of Issachar, gave his offering.
19He offered for his offering: one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering;
21one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;
23and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two head of cattle, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nethanel the son of Zuar.
24On the third day Eliab the son of Helon, prince of the children of Zebulun,
27one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;
32one golden ladle of ten shekels, full of incense;
36On the fifth day Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, prince of the children of Simeon,
39one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;
42On the sixth day, Eliasaph the son of Deuel, prince of the children of Gad,
43gave his offering: one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering;
45one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;
48On the seventh day Elishama the son of Ammihud, prince of the children of Ephraim,
54On the eighth day Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, prince of the children of Manasseh,
60On the ninth day Abidan the son of Gideoni, prince of the children of Benjamin,
62one golden ladle of ten shekels, full of incense;
66On the tenth day Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, prince of the children of Dan,
72On the eleventh day Pagiel the son of Ochran, prince of the children of Asher,
78On the twelfth day Ahira the son of Enan, prince of the children of Naphtali,
84This was the dedication offering of the altar, on the day when it was anointed, by the princes of Israel: twelve silver platters, twelve silver bowls, twelve golden ladles;
85each silver platter weighing one hundred thirty shekels, and each bowl seventy; all the silver of the vessels two thousand four hundred shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary;
88and all the cattle for the sacrifice of peace offerings: twenty-four bulls, sixty rams, sixty male goats, and sixty male lambs a year old. This was the dedication offering of the altar, after it was anointed.
89When Moses went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard his voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the Testimony, from between the two cherubim; and he spoke to him.
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Key verses
Numbers 7:1The tabernacle’s consecration establishes the setting for the leaders’ gifts and the twelve days of altar dedication.
Numbers 7:2Israel’s tribal heads bring the offerings, linking their leadership responsibilities with material support for the worship of God.
Numbers 7:9The Kohathites receive no wagons because their assigned service requires carrying the sanctuary’s holy things on their shoulders.
Where this chapter reaches

Exodus shares the tabernacle’s consecration and God’s speech from above the mercy seat, while Leviticus describes the kinds of offerings listed here. 1 Chronicles also records the carrying of the ark on shoulders and leaders’ gifts for the worship of God.

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After reading the whole chapter

What do you notice when each tribe’s identical offering receives its own full account?

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How might the distribution of wagons according to assigned duties shape your view of support for church service?

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Questions people ask about Numbers 7

Why does Numbers 7 repeat the same offerings twelve times?

Each tribal leader presents an identical offering on a separate day, as YHWH commands. The account names every leader and records his tribe’s gift in full before giving the totals. The text offers no explicit explanation for its length, but its structure gives each tribe equal space in the dedication record.

Why did the Kohathites get no wagons in Numbers 7?

Verse 9 explains that the Kohathites’ sanctuary service required them to carry their charge on their shoulders. Moses assigns the wagons to Gershon and Merari according to their work, following YHWH’s command. The different allocations reflect different duties; the chapter does not describe the absence of wagons as a punishment.

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Numbers · 36 chapters

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).