Numbers 7

See Numbers 1:4.

“The Kohath clan was responsible for almost everything inside the tent worship center. That included the sacred box that held the Ten Commandments, the curtained walls, the table that held the holy bread, the lampstand, the altars, and utensils the priests used inside the Sacred Room” (Numbers 3:31).

This first offering is repeated 11 more times by the tribal leaders who follow. They all brought the same gifts. That would have been a birthday party disaster, but it was great for equipping the worship center with necessary furnishings and animals to sacrifice for the dedication ceremony.

This was the most common animal sacrifice. Worshipers burned the entire animal.

A sin offering here refers to something the people of Israel brought to God after they realized they had accidentally broken one of God’s laws earlier. Some scholars say a better translation is the opposite of “sin” because the sacrifice is intended to “un-sin” people, to purify them. So those scholars call it a “purification offering.”

A peace offering, described in Leviticus 3, is one of several prescribed offerings in Jewish tradition. When Jewish people wanted to give thanks to God for something, such as good health or safety, they would sacrifice a sheep, goat, cow, or bull. They would burn part of the animal, including the kidneys and fat covering the intestines. They would eat the rest in celebration, often with family and friends. It takes a fair number of hungry people to eat a cow. But people were eager to eat meat because it was rare in Bible times for common folks to eat meat, many Bible scholars say.

Shekels came in different kinds of metal and different weights. There was a heavy shekel that weighed about 11.5 grams or .4 ounces. This was sometimes called the King’s Shekel or the Royal Shekel. Some scholars say this was also the weight used in the Israelite worship center and later in the Jerusalem Temple. The lighter shekel weighed about 9.5 grams or .33 ounces. Some scholars say this was probably the shekel accepted at the worship center.

Ark of the Covenant, which means “box of law.” This wooden box plated with gold contained the stone tablets etched with Ten Commandments. It became Israel’s most sacred object. God told Moses, “Make a cover for the box out of pure gold…. Hammer out of gold two images of celestial beings: cherubim. They go on top of the box’s lid, one on each end…When you’re done making the lid, put the lid on top of the box, with the Ten Commandments inside. This is where I’ll meet with you, at the Box of the Law, above the lid and between the cherubim. There, I’ll talk with you about all the laws I’ll have for the people of Israel” (Exodus 25:18-22).