Numbers 28
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 28
General Sacrifices. 1 The Lord said to Moses: 2 Give the Israelites this commandment: At their prescribed times, you will be careful to present to me the food offerings that are due me, oblations of pleasing aroma to me.
Each Morning and Evening. 3 (A)You will tell them therefore: This is the oblation which you will offer to the Lord: two unblemished yearling lambs each day as the regular burnt offering,[a] 4 offering one lamb in the morning and the other during the evening twilight, 5 each with a grain offering of one tenth of an ephah of bran flour mixed with a fourth of a hin of oil of crushed olives.[b] 6 This is the regular burnt offering that was made at Mount Sinai for a pleasing aroma, an oblation to the Lord. 7 And as the libation for the first lamb, you will make a libation to the Lord in the sanctuary[c] of a fourth of a hin of strong drink. 8 The other lamb you will offer during the evening twilight, making the same grain offering and the same libation as in the morning, as an oblation of pleasing aroma to the Lord.
On the Sabbath. 9 On the sabbath day: two unblemished yearling lambs, with a grain offering of two tenths of an ephah of bran flour mixed with oil, and its libation. 10 This is the sabbath burnt offering each sabbath, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its libation.
At the New Moon Feast. 11 On your new moons[d] you will offer as a burnt offering to the Lord two bulls of the herd, one ram, and seven unblemished yearling lambs, 12 with three tenths of an ephah of bran flour mixed with oil as the grain offering for each bull, two tenths of an ephah of bran flour mixed with oil as the grain offering for the ram, 13 and one tenth of an ephah of bran flour mixed with oil as the grain offering for each lamb, a burnt offering with a pleasing aroma, an oblation to the Lord. 14 Their libations will consist of a half a hin of wine for each bull, a third of a hin for the ram, and a fourth of a hin for each lamb. This is the burnt offering for the new moon, for every new moon through the months of the year. 15 Moreover, there will be one goat for a purification offering to the Lord; it will be offered in addition to the regular burnt offering and its libation.
At the Passover. 16 The fourteenth day[e] of the first month is the Passover of the Lord,(B) 17 and the fifteenth day of this month is the pilgrimage feast. For seven days unleavened bread is to be eaten. 18 On the first day you will declare a holy day, and you shall do no heavy work.[f](C) 19 You will offer an oblation, a burnt offering to the Lord: two bulls of the herd, one ram, and seven yearling lambs that you are sure are unblemished. 20 Their grain offerings will be of bran flour mixed with oil; you will offer three tenths of an ephah for each bull and two tenths for the ram. 21 You will offer one tenth for each of the seven lambs; 22 and one goat as a purification offering to make atonement for yourselves. 23 These offerings you will make in addition to the morning burnt offering which is part of the regular burnt offering. 24 You will make exactly the same offerings each day for seven days as food offerings, oblations of pleasing aroma to the Lord; they will be offered in addition to the regular burnt offering with its libation. 25 On the seventh day you will declare a holy day: you shall do no heavy work.(D)
At Pentecost. 26 On the day of first fruits,[g] on your feast of Weeks,(E) when you present to the Lord an offering of new grain, you will declare a holy day: you shall do no heavy work. 27 You will offer burnt offering for a pleasing aroma to the Lord: two bulls of the herd, one ram, and seven yearling lambs that you are sure are unblemished. 28 Their grain offerings will be of bran flour mixed with oil: three tenths of an ephah for each bull, two tenths for the ram, 29 and one tenth for each of the seven lambs. 30 One goat will be for a purification offering to make atonement for yourselves. 31 You will make these offerings, together with their libations, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering.
Footnotes
- 28:3 The regular burnt offering: “the tamid burnt offering,” the technical term for the daily sacrifice. The lambs—as well as the goats for the purification offering (vv. 15, 22, 30)—are all specified as males.
- 28:5 Oil of crushed olives: this oil, probably made in a mortar, was purer and more expensive than oil extracted in the olive press.
- 28:7 In the sanctuary: i.e., the tent of meeting. But according to Sir 50:15, the libation was poured at the base of the outer altar.
- 28:11 On your new moons: beginning on the evening when the crescent of the new moon first appeared. The beginning of the month is reckoned according to the new moon.
- 28:16 The fourteenth day: toward evening at the end of this day; cf. Ex 12:6, 18.
- 28:18 Heavy work: apparently, some sorts of activity are permitted on a day such as this, whereas “any work” is prohibited by 29:7 on the Day of Atonement. See note on Lv 23:3.
- 28:26 The day of first fruits: a unique term for this feast, which is usually called “the feast of Weeks”; it was celebrated as a thanksgiving for the wheat harvest seven weeks after the barley harvest (Passover). In the time of Jesus it was commonly known by the Greek word “Pentecost,” that is, “fiftieth” (day after the Passover); see note on Lv 23:16–21.
Numbers 28
New English Translation
Daily Offerings
28 [a] The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Command the Israelites:[b] ‘With regard to my offering,[c] be sure to offer[d] my food for my offering made by fire, as a pleasing aroma to me at its appointed time.’[e] 3 You will say to them, ‘This is the offering made by fire that you must offer to the Lord: two unblemished lambs one year old each day for a continual[f] burnt offering. 4 The first lamb you must offer in the morning, and the second lamb you must offer in the late afternoon,[g] 5 with one-tenth of an ephah[h] of finely ground flour as a grain offering mixed with one-quarter of a hin[i] of pressed olive oil. 6 It is a continual burnt offering that was instituted on Mount Sinai as a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.
7 “‘And its drink offering must be one-quarter of a hin for each lamb.[j] You must pour out the strong drink[k] as a drink offering to the Lord in the Holy Place. 8 And the second lamb you must offer in the late afternoon; just as you offered the grain offering and drink offering in the morning,[l] you must offer it as an offering made by fire, as a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
Weekly Offerings
9 “‘On the Sabbath day, you must offer[m] two unblemished lambs a year old, and two-tenths of an ephah[n] of finely ground flour as a grain offering, mixed with olive oil, along with its drink offering. 10 This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath,[o] besides the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.
Monthly Offerings
11 “‘On the first day of each month[p] you must offer as a burnt offering to the Lord two young bulls, one ram, and seven unblemished lambs a year old, 12 with three-tenths of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering for each bull, and two-tenths of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering for the ram, 13 and one-tenth of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering for each lamb, as a burnt offering for a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord. 14 For their drink offerings, include[q] half a hin of wine with each bull, one-third of a hin for the ram, and one-fourth of a hin for each lamb. This is the burnt offering for each month[r] throughout the months of the year. 15 And one male goat[s] must be offered to the Lord as a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.
The Passover
16 “‘On the fourteenth day of the first month is the Lord’s Passover. 17 And on the fifteenth day of this month is the festival. For seven days bread made without yeast must be eaten. 18 And on the first day there is to be a holy assembly; you must do no ordinary work[t] on it.
19 “‘But you must offer to the Lord an offering made by fire, a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs one year old; they must all be unblemished.[u] 20 And their grain offering is to be of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil. For each bull you must offer three-tenths of an ephah, and two-tenths for the ram. 21 For each of the seven lambs you are to offer one-tenth of an ephah, 22 as well as one goat for a purification offering, to make atonement for you. 23 You must offer these in addition to the burnt offering in the morning that is for a continual burnt offering. 24 In this manner you must offer daily throughout the seven days the food of the sacrifice made by fire as a sweet aroma to the Lord. It is to be offered in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering. 25 On the seventh day you are to have a holy assembly, you must do no regular work.
Firstfruits
26 “‘Also, on the day of the firstfruits, when you bring a new grain offering to the Lord during your Feast of Weeks, you are to have a holy assembly. You must do no ordinary work. 27 But you must offer as the burnt offering, as a sweet aroma to the Lord, two young bulls, one ram, seven lambs one year old, 28 with their grain offering of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil: three-tenths of an ephah for each bull, two-tenths for the one ram, 29 with one-tenth for each of the seven lambs, 30 as well as one male goat to make an atonement for you. 31 You are to offer them with their drink offerings in addition to the continual burnt offering and its grain offering—they must be unblemished.
Footnotes
- Numbers 28:1 sn For additional reading on these chapters, see G. B. Gray, Sacrifice in the Old Testament; A. F. Rainey, “The Order of Sacrifices in the Old Testament Ritual Texts,” Bib 51 (1970): 485-98; N. H. Snaith, The Jewish New Year Festival.
- Numbers 28:2 tn Heb “and say to them.” These words have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Numbers 28:2 tn The sentence begins with the accusative “my offering.” It is suspended at the beginning as an independent accusative to itemize the subject matter. The second accusative is the formal object of the verb. It could also be taken in apposition to the first accusative.
- Numbers 28:2 tn The construction uses the imperfect tense expressing instruction, followed by the infinitive construct used to express the complement of direct object.
- Numbers 28:2 sn See L. R. Fisher, “New Ritual Calendar from Ugarit,” HTR 63 (1970): 485-501.
- Numbers 28:3 sn The sacrifice was to be kept burning, but each morning the priests would have to clean the grill and put a new offering on the altar. So the idea of a continual burnt offering is more that of a regular offering.
- Numbers 28:4 tn Heb “between the evenings” meaning between dusk and dark.
- Numbers 28:5 sn That is about two quarts.
- Numbers 28:5 sn That is about one quart.
- Numbers 28:7 tn Heb “the one lamb,” but it is meant to indicate for “each lamb.”
- Numbers 28:7 tn The word שֵׁכָר (shekhar) is often translated “strong drink.” It can mean “barley beer” in the Akkadian cognate, and also in the Hebrew Bible when joined with the word for wine. English versions here read “wine” (NAB, TEV, CEV); “strong wine” (KJV); “fermented drink” (NIV, NLT); “strong drink” (ASV, NASB, NRSV).
- Numbers 28:8 tn Heb “as the grain offering of the morning and as its drink offering.”
- Numbers 28:9 tn The words “you must offer” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied. They have been supplied in the translation to make a complete English sentence.
- Numbers 28:9 sn That is, about 4 quarts.
- Numbers 28:10 tn Heb “the burnt offering of the Sabbath by its Sabbath.”
- Numbers 28:11 tn Heb “of your months.”
- Numbers 28:14 tn The word “include” is not in the Hebrew text but is implied. It is supplied in the translation to make a complete English sentence.
- Numbers 28:14 tn Heb “a month in its month.”
- Numbers 28:15 tn Heb “one kid of the goats.”
- Numbers 28:18 tn Heb “any work [of] service”; this means any occupational work, that is, the ordinary service.
- Numbers 28:19 tn Heb “unblemished they will be to you.” So also in v. 31.
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