Numbers 7

Numbers 1–10 forms the section in which Israel prepares to depart from the wilderness of Sinai. Chapter 7 follows Numbers 6, which deals with the Nazirite law and the priestly blessing. Many interpreters take the phrase "on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle" in verse 1 as referring to the day the tabernacle was completed in Exodus 40, so that the chapter looks back to events that occurred before Numbers 1.

Outline

• Verses 1–3 On the day the tabernacle and its furnishings were anointed, the leaders present six covered wagons and twelve oxen.
• Verses 4–9 Moses distributes these to the Levites. The sons of Gershon receive two wagons and four oxen, and the sons of Merari receive four wagons and eight oxen. The sons of Kohath receive none, because they carry the holy things on their shoulders.
• Verses 10–11 The command is given that the leaders are to present their offerings for the dedication of the altar, one leader per day.
• Verses 12–83 From Nahshon of Judah on the first day to Ahira of Naphtali on the twelfth day, each leader presents the same offering: a silver charger (130 shekels) and a silver bowl (70 shekels) filled with fine flour, and a golden spoon (10 shekels) filled with incense, together with animals for the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the peace offerings.
• Verses 84–88 The totals: 2,400 shekels of silver, 120 shekels of gold, and, for the peace offerings, 24 bullocks and 60 each of rams, he goats, and lambs.
• Verse 89 In the tabernacle of the congregation, Moses hears the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim.

Key Verses

• Numbers 7:9 "because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders" — This prescribes how the sons of Kohath are to transport the holy things.
• Numbers 7:11 "They shall offer their offering, each prince on his day" — This shows that the twelve tribes took part in turn and on equal terms.
• Numbers 7:89 "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" — This scene fulfills the promise of Exodus 25:22.

People and Places

• Moses: Receives the offerings and distributes them to the Levites.
• Ithamar: Son of Aaron, who oversees the sons of Merari.
• The twelve leaders: Nahshon (Judah), Nethaneel (Issachar), Eliab (Zebulun), Elizur (Reuben), Shelumiel (Simeon), Eliasaph (Gad), Elishama (Ephraim), Gamaliel (Manasseh), Abidan (Benjamin), Ahiezer (Dan), Pagiel (Asher), and Ahira (Naphtali).
• The tabernacle (the tabernacle of the congregation) and the altar, and the mercy seat above the ark of the testimony with the cherubim.

Points for Reflection

• The same list of offerings is repeated twelve times. Some read this as signifying that the twelve tribes of Israel gave equally, regardless of size. The order of the offerings matches the arrangement of the camp in Numbers 2. Jewish midrashic tradition preserves interpretations that assign a different symbolic meaning to each tribe's identical offering, but this is not stated in the text itself.
• The rule that the sons of Kohath were to carry the holy things on their shoulders is read alongside the incident in David's time when the ark of the covenant was placed on a cart and Uzzah died (2 Samuel 6).
• The mercy seat of verse 89 reappears in Hebrews 9. The word "propitiation" in Romans 3:21–26 is the same word the Septuagint uses to render "mercy seat."
• In Judaism, this chapter is read in the synagogue during Hanukkah (the Feast of Dedication).