Numbers 28 Study Notes
General
True or False: According to 28:31, the animals for these offerings could have a minor defect as long as they were young.
Answer: False
This is false. The chapter closes by insisting that every animal be unblemished, meaning without any defect (28:31), as it already said of the daily and festival offerings (28:3, 19). God would not accept an animal with a defect (Leviticus 22:20); what was given to Him had to be whole and perfect. These flawless animals point ahead to Christ. Peter says believers were set free by His precious blood, as of a lamb with no blemish or spot (1 Peter 1:18-19), and Hebrews says Christ offered Himself to God without any flaw, so that His blood cleanses our consciences (Hebrews 9:14).
- Numbers 28:31 (BSB)“Offer them with their drink offerings in addition to the regular burnt offering and its grain offering. The animals must be unblemished.”The chapter closes by requiring that the animals be unblemished.
- Leviticus 22:20 (BSB)“You must not present anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.”States that an animal with a defect would not be accepted.
- 1 Peter 1:18-19 (BSB)“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.”Shows believers were redeemed by the blood of Christ, the flawless lamb these offerings pointed toward.
- Hebrews 9:14 (BSB)“how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!”Shows Christ offered Himself unblemished to God, cleansing the conscience.
Theological
True or False: Numbers 28:31 permits offering animals with minor defects provided they are young.
Answer: False
This is false. The chapter's closing requirement is that the animals be unblemished (28:31), repeating the stipulation already given for the continual and festival offerings (28:3, 19). A defective animal was unacceptable as an offering on the worshiper's behalf (Leviticus 22:20). The requirement anticipates the perfection of Christ, whose precious blood redeemed His people as that of a spotless, flawless lamb (1 Peter 1:18-19), and who, by the eternal Spirit, presented Himself to God without flaw, purifying the conscience (Hebrews 9:14).
- Numbers 28:31 (BSB)“Offer them with their drink offerings in addition to the regular burnt offering and its grain offering. The animals must be unblemished.”The chapter closes by requiring that the animals be unblemished.
- Leviticus 22:20 (BSB)“You must not present anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.”States that an animal with a defect would not be accepted.
- 1 Peter 1:18-19 (BSB)“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.”Shows believers were redeemed by the blood of Christ, the flawless lamb these offerings pointed toward.
- Hebrews 9:14 (BSB)“how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!”Shows Christ offered Himself unblemished to God, cleansing the conscience.
General
True or False: According to 28:6, the daily burnt offering was a new ritual being introduced for the first time near the end of the wilderness journey.
Answer: False
This is false. Verse 6 says this regular burnt offering had already been set up at Mount Sinai. God commanded it there when He gave instructions for the altar and the priests (Exodus 29:38-39), and He said then that it was to continue through the generations (Exodus 29:42). The altar fire itself was to be kept burning continually, with a burnt offering arranged on it every morning (Leviticus 6:12-13). Now, as a new generation prepares to enter Canaan, God restates this offering and places it at the head of the whole calendar. The worship He gave at Sinai was to go on in the land.
- Numbers 28:6 (BSB)“This is a regular burnt offering established at Mount Sinai as a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD.”Identifies the daily burnt offering as the one established at Mount Sinai.
- Exodus 29:38-39 (BSB)“This is what you are to offer regularly on the altar, each day: two lambs that are a year old. Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight.”Shows the daily lamb offering was already commanded at Sinai, long before this point.
- Exodus 29:42 (BSB)“For the generations to come, this burnt offering shall be made regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD, where I will meet you to speak with you.”Shows that at Sinai God appointed this offering to continue for the generations to come.
- Leviticus 6:12-13 (BSB)“The fire on the altar shall be kept burning; it must not be extinguished. Every morning the priest is to add wood to the fire, arrange the burnt offering on it, and burn the fat portions of the peace offerings on it. The fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it must not be extinguished.”Shows the morning burnt offering and the altar fire were meant to continue without a break.
Theological
True or False: Numbers 28:6 presents the daily burnt offering as a new institution first introduced on the eve of the conquest.
Answer: False
This is false. Verse 6 explicitly identifies the continual burnt offering as the one instituted at Mount Sinai (cf. Exodus 29:38-39), which God there appointed as a perpetual ordinance for later generations (Exodus 29:42), with the altar fire and morning burnt offering maintained without interruption (Leviticus 6:12-13). Numbers 28 does not innovate; it reissues the Sinai pattern to the new generation and makes it the foundation of the entire festal calendar, binding their worship in the land to the covenant given at the mountain.
- Numbers 28:6 (BSB)“This is a regular burnt offering established at Mount Sinai as a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD.”Identifies the daily burnt offering as the one established at Mount Sinai.
- Exodus 29:38-39 (BSB)“This is what you are to offer regularly on the altar, each day: two lambs that are a year old. Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight.”Shows the daily lamb offering was already commanded at Sinai, long before this point.
- Exodus 29:42 (BSB)“For the generations to come, this burnt offering shall be made regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD, where I will meet you to speak with you.”Shows that at Sinai God appointed this offering to continue for the generations to come.
- Leviticus 6:12-13 (BSB)“The fire on the altar shall be kept burning; it must not be extinguished. Every morning the priest is to add wood to the fire, arrange the burnt offering on it, and burn the fat portions of the peace offerings on it. The fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it must not be extinguished.”Shows the morning burnt offering and the altar fire were meant to continue without a break.
General
In 28:7, what kind of liquid was to be poured out before the LORD at the sanctuary as the drink offering for every lamb?
Answer: Fermented drink, such as wine
With each lamb came a drink offering, a liquid offering poured out before the LORD: a quarter hin (a measure of liquid) of fermented drink, poured out at the sanctuary (28:7). At Sinai this drink offering was named as wine (Exodus 29:40), and 28:14 also speaks of wine for the monthly offerings. The oil in 28:5 was mixed into the flour of the grain offering, not poured out as the drink offering. Paul later borrowed this picture of a drink offering poured out to describe spending his whole life, even to death, in serving Christ and His people (Philippians 2:17; 2 Timothy 4:6).
- Numbers 28:7 (BSB)“The drink offering accompanying each lamb shall be a quarter hin. Pour out the offering of fermented drink to the LORD in the sanctuary area.”Describes the drink offering that accompanied each lamb and where it was poured out.
- Exodus 29:40 (BSB)“With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with a quarter hin of oil from pressed olives, and a drink offering of a quarter hin of wine.”Shows the drink offering with the daily lamb was a quarter hin of wine, as first commanded at Sinai.
- Philippians 2:17 (BSB)“But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.”Paul uses the image of the drink offering poured out to describe giving his life in service.
- 2 Timothy 4:6 (BSB)“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.”Paul again pictures his approaching death as being poured out like a drink offering.
Theological
What does Numbers 28:7 specify as the libation to be poured out at the sanctuary with each lamb?
Answer: Fermented drink, that is, wine
Each lamb of the continual offering was accompanied by a libation of one fourth of a hin of fermented drink poured out at the sanctuary (28:7). The Sinai prescription identifies it as wine (Exodus 29:40), as does 28:14 for the new moon offerings; the oil of 28:5 belongs to the grain offering, not to the libation. The poured-out drink offering became for Paul an image of apostolic self-giving, his life spent sacrificially for the faith of the churches and finally in martyrdom (Philippians 2:17; 2 Timothy 4:6).
- Numbers 28:7 (BSB)“The drink offering accompanying each lamb shall be a quarter hin. Pour out the offering of fermented drink to the LORD in the sanctuary area.”Describes the drink offering that accompanied each lamb and where it was poured out.
- Exodus 29:40 (BSB)“With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with a quarter hin of oil from pressed olives, and a drink offering of a quarter hin of wine.”Shows the drink offering with the daily lamb was a quarter hin of wine, as first commanded at Sinai.
- Philippians 2:17 (BSB)“But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.”Paul uses the image of the drink offering poured out to describe giving his life in service.
- 2 Timothy 4:6 (BSB)“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.”Paul again pictures his approaching death as being poured out like a drink offering.
General
Besides the burnt offerings, what further offering was required every new moon, according to 28:15?
Answer: A male goat offered for a sin offering
Each month began with a large burnt offering: two bulls, a ram, and seven yearling lambs, each with its grain and drink offering (28:11-14). Then 28:15 adds a single male goat for a sin offering, an offering that dealt with sin and its guilt. So even the glad start of every month carried a reminder that the people needed their sin dealt with before God. Trumpets were blown over these offerings when each month began, as a reminder before the LORD (Numbers 10:10), and the new moon remained a special day in Israel's worship, marked by the ram's horn (Psalm 81:3).
- Numbers 28:11 (BSB)“At the beginning of every month, you are to present to the LORD a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished,”The burnt offering required at the beginning of every month.
- Numbers 28:15 (BSB)“In addition to the regular burnt offering with its drink offering, one male goat is to be presented to the LORD as a sin offering.”Adds a male goat as a sin offering to the monthly burnt offerings.
- Numbers 10:10 (BSB)“And on your joyous occasions, your appointed feasts, and the beginning of each month, you are to blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and peace offerings to serve as a reminder for you before your God. I am the LORD your God.””Shows trumpets were blown over the offerings at the beginning of each month as a reminder before God.
- Psalm 81:3 (BSB)“Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and at the full moon on the day of our Feast.”Shows the new moon remained a marked occasion in Israel's worship, announced with the ram's horn.
Theological
What does Numbers 28:15 add to the new moon burnt offerings?
Answer: A male goat presented for a sin offering
The new moon required a substantial burnt offering: two bulls, a ram, and seven yearling lambs with their grain and drink offerings (28:11-14), and 28:15 adds a male goat for a sin offering. The pattern of a burnt offering accompanied by a single goat for sin recurs monthly and at every festival that follows in chapters 28-29, so that every feast carried an expiatory element. The trumpets sounded over these offerings served as a memorial before God (Numbers 10:10), and the new moon continued as a fixed occasion in Israel's worship (Psalm 81:3).
- Numbers 28:11 (BSB)“At the beginning of every month, you are to present to the LORD a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished,”The burnt offering required at the beginning of every month.
- Numbers 28:15 (BSB)“In addition to the regular burnt offering with its drink offering, one male goat is to be presented to the LORD as a sin offering.”Adds a male goat as a sin offering to the monthly burnt offerings.
- Numbers 10:10 (BSB)“And on your joyous occasions, your appointed feasts, and the beginning of each month, you are to blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and peace offerings to serve as a reminder for you before your God. I am the LORD your God.””Shows trumpets were blown over the offerings at the beginning of each month as a reminder before God.
- Psalm 81:3 (BSB)“Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and at the full moon on the day of our Feast.”Shows the new moon remained a marked occasion in Israel's worship, announced with the ram's horn.
General
In 28:2, what did the LORD tell Moses the Israelites must be careful to do with His offerings?
Answer: Bring them to Him at the proper time He had set
God tells Moses to command the people to be careful to bring His offerings at the time He has fixed (28:2). Chapters 28-29 then lay out a full calendar: every day, every Sabbath, every new moon, and each yearly feast. Calling the offerings His food describes them as gifts given to Him and received with delight, like a sweet smell. It does not mean God needed feeding; the whole world is His, and He does not eat the meat of bulls (Psalm 50:12-13). The feasts were His appointed times, set by Him rather than by the people (Leviticus 23:4). The New Testament shows the offering that finally and fully pleases God: Christ, out of love, offered Himself to God as a sweet-smelling sacrifice (Ephesians 5:2).
- Numbers 28:2 (BSB)““Command the Israelites and say to them: See that you present to Me at its appointed time the food for My food offerings, as a pleasing aroma to Me.”The LORD's opening charge that heads the whole calendar of offerings in chapters 28-29.
- Leviticus 23:4 (BSB)“These are the LORD’s appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times.”Shows that the feasts and their dates were set by the LORD Himself, not chosen by the people.
- Psalm 50:12-13 (BSB)“If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and the fullness thereof. Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?”Shows that calling the offerings God's food never meant He needed to be fed.
- Ephesians 5:2 (BSB)“and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.”Shows the fragrant offering that truly pleases God: Christ giving Himself up for His people.
Theological
What is the emphasis of the LORD's opening charge concerning His food offerings in Numbers 28:2?
Answer: That they be offered punctually at the time He appointed
The heading charge stresses fidelity to God's own schedule: Israel is to present His offerings at their appointed time (28:2), and chapters 28-29 then specify the daily, weekly, monthly, and annual cycle. Designating the offerings as God's food is covenantal language for gifts He accepts with pleasure, not a claim that He depends on them (Psalm 50:12-13). The appointed times are His, fixed by divine command (Leviticus 23:4). The fragrance these sacrifices anticipated is realized in Christ, who gave Himself for His people as a fragrant offering to God (Ephesians 5:2).
- Numbers 28:2 (BSB)““Command the Israelites and say to them: See that you present to Me at its appointed time the food for My food offerings, as a pleasing aroma to Me.”The LORD's opening charge that heads the whole calendar of offerings in chapters 28-29.
- Leviticus 23:4 (BSB)“These are the LORD’s appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times.”Shows that the feasts and their dates were set by the LORD Himself, not chosen by the people.
- Psalm 50:12-13 (BSB)“If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and the fullness thereof. Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?”Shows that calling the offerings God's food never meant He needed to be fed.
- Ephesians 5:2 (BSB)“and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.”Shows the fragrant offering that truly pleases God: Christ giving Himself up for His people.
General
According to 28:16-17, how do the Passover and the seven-day feast of unleavened loaves fit together in the first month?
Answer: Passover is on day fourteen; a seven-day feast starts on day fifteen
The LORD's Passover fell on the first month's fourteenth day, and on the next day, the fifteenth, a feast began in which unleavened bread, bread made without yeast, was eaten for seven days (28:16-17). Both go back to the night God brought Israel out of Egypt, when the lambs were slaughtered on the fourteenth day (Exodus 12:6) and the people were commanded to eat unleavened bread for seven days (Exodus 12:15). Paul tells believers that Christ is our Passover lamb who has been sacrificed, and calls them to celebrate with lives of sincerity and truth, free of the old yeast of malice (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).
- Numbers 28:16-17 (BSB)“The fourteenth day of the first month is the LORD’s Passover. On the fifteenth day of this month, there shall be a feast; for seven days unleavened bread is to be eaten.”Gives the dates of the Passover and the seven-day feast of unleavened bread in the first month.
- Exodus 12:6 (BSB)“You must keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight.”Shows the Passover lambs were kept until the fourteenth day and slaughtered then, at the first Passover.
- Exodus 12:15 (BSB)“For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you are to remove the leaven from your houses. Whoever eats anything leavened from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.”Shows the seven days of eating unleavened bread were commanded at the Exodus.
- 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 (BSB)“Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth.”Paul names Christ as our Passover lamb and applies the unleavened bread to a life of sincerity and truth.
Theological
How does Numbers 28:16-17 date the Passover and the following feast of unleavened loaves?
Answer: Passover on the 14th; a seven-day feast from the 15th
Passover is fixed on the fourteenth of the opening month, followed immediately by the seven-day Unleavened Bread feast beginning on the fifteenth (28:16-17), exactly as instituted at the Exodus (Exodus 12:6, 15). The Passover sacrifice finds its fulfillment in Christ, whom Paul calls our Passover lamb who has been sacrificed, and the unleavened bread becomes for him a figure of the sincerity and truth that mark the redeemed community (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).
- Numbers 28:16-17 (BSB)“The fourteenth day of the first month is the LORD’s Passover. On the fifteenth day of this month, there shall be a feast; for seven days unleavened bread is to be eaten.”Gives the dates of the Passover and the seven-day feast of unleavened bread in the first month.
- Exodus 12:6 (BSB)“You must keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight.”Shows the Passover lambs were kept until the fourteenth day and slaughtered then, at the first Passover.
- Exodus 12:15 (BSB)“For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you are to remove the leaven from your houses. Whoever eats anything leavened from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.”Shows the seven days of eating unleavened bread were commanded at the Exodus.
- 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 (BSB)“Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth.”Paul names Christ as our Passover lamb and applies the unleavened bread to a life of sincerity and truth.
General
According to 28:9-10, how did the Sabbath offering relate to the daily burnt offering?
Answer: It was given on top of the daily offering, not in its place
On each Sabbath, the weekly day of rest, two more yearling lambs with their grain and drink offerings were presented, on top of the regular daily offering (28:9-10). The Sabbath did not pause the daily sacrifices; it added to them. This building-up pattern runs through both chapters, as each special day adds its own offerings to those already required. The Sabbath was a day of complete rest and sacred assembly for the people (Leviticus 23:3), yet the priests went on working at the altar. Jesus pointed out that the temple priests did this work on the Sabbath and were blameless (Matthew 12:5), because the Law itself required these sacrifices.
- Numbers 28:9-10 (BSB)“On the Sabbath day, present two unblemished year-old male lambs, accompanied by a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, as well as a drink offering. This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.”The Sabbath offering of two more lambs, presented on top of the regular daily offering.
- Leviticus 23:3 (BSB)“For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You must not do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.”Shows the Sabbath was a day of complete rest and sacred assembly, the setting of this offering.
- Matthew 12:5 (BSB)“Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and yet are innocent?”Jesus notes that the priests who worked in the temple on the Sabbath, as the Law directed, were innocent.
Theological
How does Numbers 28:9-10 relate the Sabbath offering to the continual burnt offering?
Answer: It is additional to the continual offering, not a substitute
The Sabbath offering of two yearling lambs with their grain and drink offerings is explicitly supplementary: it is presented over and above the continual burnt offering (28:9-10). This cumulative principle structures the whole calendar, with each holy day layering its own offerings onto those already prescribed. While the people observed complete rest and sacred assembly (Leviticus 23:3), the priests' altar service continued, which is why Jesus could cite the priests who break the Sabbath in the temple and yet remain guiltless (Matthew 12:5).
- Numbers 28:9-10 (BSB)“On the Sabbath day, present two unblemished year-old male lambs, accompanied by a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, as well as a drink offering. This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.”The Sabbath offering of two more lambs, presented on top of the regular daily offering.
- Leviticus 23:3 (BSB)“For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You must not do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.”Shows the Sabbath was a day of complete rest and sacred assembly, the setting of this offering.
- Matthew 12:5 (BSB)“Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and yet are innocent?”Jesus notes that the priests who worked in the temple on the Sabbath, as the Law directed, were innocent.
General
What reason does 28:22 give for including a sin offering of a male goat during the seven-day feast of unleavened loaves?
Answer: To cover the people's sin before God
The goat was included so that atonement would be made for the people, that is, to cover their sin and restore their peace with God (28:22; see also 28:30). Every feast in the calendar, however joyful, carried this reminder of sin. Hebrews explains that these repeated sacrifices were merely a shadow of better things ahead and could never make worshipers perfect (Hebrews 10:1). They were a yearly reminder of sin, because animal blood can never remove sin (Hebrews 10:3-4). Christ, by His one offering of Himself, has perfected forever all whom He is making holy (Hebrews 10:14).
- Numbers 28:22 (BSB)“Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you.”A male goat is included as a sin offering to make atonement during the feast of unleavened bread.
- Numbers 28:30 (BSB)“Include one male goat to make atonement for you.”The same provision of a goat for atonement is made at the Feast of Weeks.
- Hebrews 10:1 (BSB)“For the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. It can never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.”Explains that the repeated sacrifices of the law were a shadow that could never make worshipers perfect.
- Hebrews 10:3-4 (BSB)“Instead, those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”Explains that such sacrifices were a yearly reminder of sin, because animal blood cannot take sins away.
- Hebrews 10:14 (BSB)“because by a single offering He has made perfect for all time those who are being sanctified.”Shows Christ's single offering accomplished what the repeated offerings never could.
Theological
What purpose does Numbers 28:22 assign to the male goat offered for sin during the seven-day feast of unleavened loaves?
Answer: Expiation of the people's sin before God
The goat is presented as atonement for the people (28:22; cf. 28:30), so that each festival's joy is accompanied by explicit expiation. Hebrews interprets this repetition: the law was merely a shadow of coming realities, and its sacrifices, offered again and again, could never perfect the worshiper (Hebrews 10:1); they served as a reminder of sins, since animal blood is powerless to remove them (Hebrews 10:3-4). By contrast, Christ's single offering has perfected forever the ones He sanctifies (Hebrews 10:14), accomplishing definitively the atonement these goats could only foreshadow.
- Numbers 28:22 (BSB)“Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you.”A male goat is included as a sin offering to make atonement during the feast of unleavened bread.
- Numbers 28:30 (BSB)“Include one male goat to make atonement for you.”The same provision of a goat for atonement is made at the Feast of Weeks.
- Hebrews 10:1 (BSB)“For the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. It can never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.”Explains that the repeated sacrifices of the law were a shadow that could never make worshipers perfect.
- Hebrews 10:3-4 (BSB)“Instead, those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”Explains that such sacrifices were a yearly reminder of sin, because animal blood cannot take sins away.
- Hebrews 10:14 (BSB)“because by a single offering He has made perfect for all time those who are being sanctified.”Shows Christ's single offering accomplished what the repeated offerings never could.
General
According to 28:3-4, what was the regular daily burnt offering?
Answer: Two yearling lambs, one offered at dawn and one near dusk
Every single day Israel was to offer two flawless yearling lambs as a burnt offering, meaning an offering burned up completely on the altar: one at morning and one at twilight, the time around dusk (28:3-4). Each lamb came with a small grain offering and a poured-out offering of drink (28:5, 7-8). This is the same daily offering God first commanded at Sinai (Exodus 29:38-39), so morning and evening the altar was never without a sacrifice. The evening offering was so familiar that a psalmist asked God to receive his lifted hands in prayer like it (Psalm 141:2).
- Numbers 28:3-4 (BSB)“And tell them that this is the food offering you are to present to the LORD as a regular burnt offering each day: two unblemished year-old male lambs. Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight,”The daily burnt offering: two lambs, one in the morning and one at twilight.
- Exodus 29:38-39 (BSB)“This is what you are to offer regularly on the altar, each day: two lambs that are a year old. Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight.”Records the same twice-daily lamb offering first commanded at Sinai.
- Psalm 141:2 (BSB)“May my prayer be set before You like incense; my uplifted hands, like the evening offering.”Shows how familiar the evening offering was, so that the psalmist compares his prayer to it.
Theological
What does Numbers 28:3-4 prescribe as the regular (tamid) daily burnt offering?
Answer: Two yearling lambs, one at morning and one at twilight
The continual burnt offering consisted of two unblemished yearling lambs, one offered at morning and one at twilight (28:3-4), each accompanied by its grain and drink offering (28:5, 7-8). It restates the Sinai legislation (Exodus 29:38-39) and forms the base layer on which every other offering in chapters 28-29 is added. Its morning-and-evening rhythm became a fixed point of Israel's devotion, so that the psalmist likens his prayer to the evening offering (Psalm 141:2).
- Numbers 28:3-4 (BSB)“And tell them that this is the food offering you are to present to the LORD as a regular burnt offering each day: two unblemished year-old male lambs. Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight,”The daily burnt offering: two lambs, one in the morning and one at twilight.
- Exodus 29:38-39 (BSB)“This is what you are to offer regularly on the altar, each day: two lambs that are a year old. Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight.”Records the same twice-daily lamb offering first commanded at Sinai.
- Psalm 141:2 (BSB)“May my prayer be set before You like incense; my uplifted hands, like the evening offering.”Shows how familiar the evening offering was, so that the psalmist compares his prayer to it.
General
During the seven-day feast of unleavened loaves, how often were the festival burnt offerings of two bulls, a ram, and seven lambs presented (28:19-24)?
Answer: On every one of the feast's seven days
The same food offering was to be presented every day for all seven days of the feast, along with the daily burnt offering (28:19-24). What set the first and seventh days apart was not a different offering but a sacred assembly, a holy gathering of the people, on which no regular work was done (28:18, 25). Leviticus gives the same pattern: offerings for seven days, with holy gatherings on the first and last days (Leviticus 23:7-8). This was one of the three great yearly feasts at which all the men of Israel were to come and stand in the LORD's presence (Deuteronomy 16:16).
- Numbers 28:18 (BSB)“On the first day there is to be a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work.”The first day of the feast was a sacred assembly with no regular work.
- Numbers 28:24-25 (BSB)“Offer the same food each day for seven days as a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. It is to be offered with its drink offering and the regular burnt offering. On the seventh day you shall hold a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work.”The festival offerings were repeated on each of the seven days, and the seventh day was also a sacred assembly.
- Leviticus 23:7-8 (BSB)“On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you are not to do any regular work. For seven days you are to present a food offering to the LORD. On the seventh day there shall be a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work.’””Confirms the food offering was presented for seven days, with sacred assemblies on the first and seventh days.
- Deuteronomy 16:16 (BSB)“Three times a year all your men are to appear before the LORD your God in the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed.”Shows this was one of the three yearly feasts at which all Israel's men were to appear before the LORD.
Theological
According to Numbers 28:19-24, on which days of the seven-day feast of unleavened loaves were the festival burnt offerings presented?
Answer: On every one of the seven days
The prescribed festival offering of two bulls, a ram, seven lambs, and a goat for a sin offering was repeated daily throughout the seven days, alongside the continual burnt offering (28:19-24). The first and seventh days were distinguished not by their sacrifices but as days of sacred assembly on which regular work was prohibited (28:18, 25), matching Leviticus 23:7-8. Unleavened Bread was one of the three pilgrimage feasts at which every male Israelite was to present himself in the LORD's presence (Deuteronomy 16:16).
- Numbers 28:18 (BSB)“On the first day there is to be a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work.”The first day of the feast was a sacred assembly with no regular work.
- Numbers 28:24-25 (BSB)“Offer the same food each day for seven days as a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. It is to be offered with its drink offering and the regular burnt offering. On the seventh day you shall hold a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work.”The festival offerings were repeated on each of the seven days, and the seventh day was also a sacred assembly.
- Leviticus 23:7-8 (BSB)“On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you are not to do any regular work. For seven days you are to present a food offering to the LORD. On the seventh day there shall be a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work.’””Confirms the food offering was presented for seven days, with sacred assemblies on the first and seventh days.
- Deuteronomy 16:16 (BSB)“Three times a year all your men are to appear before the LORD your God in the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed.”Shows this was one of the three yearly feasts at which all Israel's men were to appear before the LORD.
General
In 28:26, what did the people present to God on firstfruits day, at the harvest feast called Weeks?
Answer: A gift of grain from the new harvest
Firstfruits, the first and best part of a harvest, gave this day its name: at the feast called Weeks the people brought a gift from the new grain (28:26). It was a sacred assembly with no regular work, and it had its own burnt offering and a goat for atonement (28:27-30). The feast marked the wheat harvest (Exodus 34:22) and came at the end of a count of fifty days, when loaves from the new grain were brought as firstfruits (Leviticus 23:16-17). Its Greek name is Pentecost, and it was on this feast day that the disciples were gathered together when the Holy Spirit came (Acts 2:1-4).
- Numbers 28:26 (BSB)“On the day of firstfruits, when you present an offering of new grain to the LORD during the Feast of Weeks, you are to hold a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work.”The day of firstfruits at the Feast of Weeks, when new grain was offered.
- Exodus 34:22 (BSB)“And you are to celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.”Links the Feast of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest.
- Leviticus 23:16-17 (BSB)“You shall count off fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD. Bring two loaves of bread from your dwellings as a wave offering, each made from two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, baked with leaven, as the firstfruits to the LORD.”Shows the new grain offering was brought after fifty days were counted, as loaves of firstfruits.
- Acts 2:1-4 (BSB)“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”Shows the disciples were gathered on the day of Pentecost, the Feast of Weeks, when the Holy Spirit came upon them.
Theological
What offering characterized firstfruits day, at the feast called Weeks, in Numbers 28:26?
Answer: An offering from the new grain crop
The feast called Weeks is here identified with the firstfruits day, when Israel presented a gift from the newly harvested grain (28:26), together with a burnt offering and a goat for atonement (28:27-30). It celebrated the wheat harvest (Exodus 34:22) and came at the close of a fifty-day count, when two leavened loaves of the new grain were presented as firstfruits (Leviticus 23:16-17). Known in Greek as Pentecost, it was the feast day on which the disciples were assembled when the Spirit was poured out (Acts 2:1-4).
- Numbers 28:26 (BSB)“On the day of firstfruits, when you present an offering of new grain to the LORD during the Feast of Weeks, you are to hold a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work.”The day of firstfruits at the Feast of Weeks, when new grain was offered.
- Exodus 34:22 (BSB)“And you are to celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.”Links the Feast of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest.
- Leviticus 23:16-17 (BSB)“You shall count off fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD. Bring two loaves of bread from your dwellings as a wave offering, each made from two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, baked with leaven, as the firstfruits to the LORD.”Shows the new grain offering was brought after fifty days were counted, as loaves of firstfruits.
- Acts 2:1-4 (BSB)“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”Shows the disciples were gathered on the day of Pentecost, the Feast of Weeks, when the Holy Spirit came upon them.