Numbers 29 26

Numbers 29:26 kjv

And on the fifth day nine bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without spot:

Numbers 29:26 nkjv

'On the fifth day present nine bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in their first year without blemish,

Numbers 29:26 niv

"?'On the fifth day offer nine bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.

Numbers 29:26 esv

"On the fifth day nine bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish,

Numbers 29:26 nlt

"On the fifth day of the festival, sacrifice nine young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects.

Numbers 29 verses

Numbers 29 26 Meaning

Numbers 29:26 outlines the precise grain and drink offerings that must accompany the specified animal sacrifices—the bull, ram, and lambs—for the seventh day of the Feast of Booths. It strictly commands that these offerings adhere to their exact required number and quantity, in accordance with God's divine ordinance. This verse underscores the meticulous attention to detail required in Israelite worship and the importance of fulfilling God's commands without deviation.

Numbers 29 26 Context

Numbers 29:26 is embedded within the detailed schedule for the annual feasts of Israel, specifically focusing on the elaborate sacrifices required during the Feast of Booths (Sukkot). This particular verse addresses the seventh day of the seven-day festival, outlining the precise quantities of associated grain and drink offerings for the specific animal sacrifices appointed for that day. The chapter as a whole demonstrates the rigorous and highly ordered nature of worship demanded by Yahweh, emphasizing His holiness and the need for Israel to approach Him with meticulous obedience. Historically, the Feast of Booths was both an agricultural harvest festival of thanksgiving and a commemoration of Israel's forty years of dwelling in temporary shelters during their wilderness wanderings. The stringent requirements for offerings in this verse and throughout the chapter serve as a polemic against the often chaotic, improvised, and idolatrous practices of surrounding pagan cultures, highlighting God's sole authority, precise demands for worship, and status as the true Provider, thus discouraging any syncretism.

Numbers 29 26 Word analysis

• and their grain offering (וּמִנְחָתָם – u-minchatam):

  • Word: Minchah (מִנְחָה)
  • Meaning: Meal offering, grain offering, gift, tribute.
  • Significance: This offering consisted of flour, oil, and frankincense, sometimes baked. It was usually offered alongside animal sacrifices and represented dedication, sustenance, and gratitude. Unlike blood sacrifices that atoned for sin, the minchah symbolized the Israelite's general devotion and dependence on God for daily provision, reflecting a portion of their labor or produce given back to God. Its inclusion highlighted a comprehensive act of worship involving various aspects of the worshiper's life and produce.

• and their drink offerings (וְנִסְכֵּיהֶם – ve-niskhehem):

  • Word: Nesekh (נֶסֶךְ)
  • Meaning: Drink offering, libation.
  • Significance: Typically wine poured out at the altar. This accompanying offering signified dedication and total outpouring, often metaphorically linked to life poured out. It completed the full sacrificial act, adding another dimension of devotion and completeness to the primary animal offering.

• for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs (לַפָּר לָאַיִל לַכְּבָשִׂים – la-par la-ayil la-kkevasim):

  • Meaning: Indicates the specific animal types for which the grain and drink offerings are appointed. On the seventh day of Sukkot, this referred to two bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs (Num 29:20-21), showing a diminishing number of bulls over the feast, but constant rams and lambs.
  • Significance: Each animal type had specific regulations for its corresponding minchah and nesekh according to Num 15:1-12. This phrasing reinforces the idea that no part of the offering, from the primary animal sacrifice to its accompaniments, was left to human discretion. It also underscores the diverse forms of tribute and expiation required in the covenant relationship.

• by their number (בְּמִסְפָּרָם – be-misparam):

  • Meaning: According to their specific quantity or count.
  • Significance: Emphasizes numerical precision and exactitude. This phrase eliminates any ambiguity or freedom to vary the amount of the grain and drink offerings. God required precise adherence to His stipulated quantities, reinforcing the meticulousness and unchangeable nature of divine command in worship.

• according to the ordinance (כַּמִּשְׁפָּט – ka-mishpat):

  • Word: Mishpat (מִשְׁפָּט)
  • Meaning: Judgment, rule, custom, ordinance, just law.
  • Significance: This final phrase is a definitive declaration that all elements of the offering, including their quantities and components, must conform precisely to God's pre-established divine law. It reinforces the authority and unchanging nature of God's commands regarding proper worship, leaving no room for human interpretation, modification, or convenience.

• "and their grain offering, and their drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs": This phrase groups the accompanying offerings (grain and drink) directly with the specific animals they pertain to, reinforcing that these are not standalone offerings but integral components completing the larger sacrifice for each type of animal. It stresses a holistic and multi-faceted act of worship.

• "by their number according to the ordinance": This critical concluding phrase emphasizes God's absolute demand for precise, measured, and unchanging obedience in worship. It is a powerful affirmation of divine order and the sacredness of liturgical details. The meticulous detail in these laws cultivated a spirit of reverence and reminded the people of the exactitude required when approaching a holy God.

Numbers 29 26 Bonus section

The repetitive nature of verses like Numbers 29:26, specifying offerings for each day of Sukkot, serves not as mere redundancy but to instill deeply the consistency, unchangeability, and sheer magnitude of God's commands regarding His worship. This emphasis on minute detail trained the Israelites in rigorous discipline and mindfulness of God's presence in their daily and festival life. In Jewish tradition, the intricate calculations for these offerings (especially the bulls for Sukkot, decreasing by one each day) became subjects of profound rabbinic study and debate, emphasizing the living and detailed application of Torah. The entire sacrificial system, including these precise measurements, ultimately prefigured the ultimate and perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who perfectly fulfilled the Law and offered a "once for all" atoning work (Heb 10:10). The precision of the old covenant system points to the faultless perfection of the new. While believers today are called to offer "spiritual sacrifices" (1 Pet 2:5), the principle of approaching God with intentionality, order, and devotion to His revealed will (Rom 12:1) remains eternally relevant, stemming from the detailed expectations laid out in passages like Numbers 29.

Numbers 29 26 Commentary

Numbers 29:26 is a precise, legalistic, and often repeated detail within the elaborate instructions for Israel's annual feasts, specifically focusing on the seventh day of the Feast of Booths. It highlights that even the accompanying grain and drink offerings were not to be given haphazardly but strictly "by their number according to the ordinance." This demonstrates the comprehensiveness of God's Law and His expectation of unwavering adherence in worship. The inclusion of grain and drink offerings with animal sacrifices represented a complete gift—animal life, agricultural produce (grain), and the "wine" (representing the land's bounty and joyful outpouring)—all presented back to the divine Provider. This level of prescribed detail, found repeatedly throughout Numbers 29 for each day's offering, served several vital functions: it underscored the holiness and sovereignty of God, instilled a deep reverence in the worshipers, cultivated disciplined obedience, and distinguished the ordered, covenantal worship of Yahweh from the often frenzied and self-devised rituals of surrounding pagan cultures. It teaches that true worship is not arbitrary but must align with God's revealed will. While animal sacrifices are no longer needed, the principle remains: God delights in worship offered in Spirit and truth, and in obedience to His Word, giving our "best" (as shown in careful preparation) rather than our casual or convenient efforts.