2 and the princes of Israel (heads of the house of their fathers, they `are' princes of the tribes, they who are standing over those numbered) bring near,
and with you there is a man for a tribe, each is a head to the house of his fathers. `And these `are' the names of the men who stand with you: `For Reuben -- Elizur son of Shedeur. `For Simeon -- Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. `For Judah -- Nahshon son of Amminadab. `For Issachar -- Nathaneel son of Zuar. `For Zebulun -- Eliab son of Helon. `For the sons of Joseph -- for Ephraim: Elishama son of Ammihud: for Manasseh -- Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. `For Benjamin -- Abidan son of Gideoni. `For Dan -- Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. `For Asher -- Pagiel son of Ocran. `For Gad -- Eliasaph son of Deuel. `For Naphtali -- Ahira son of Enan.' These `are' those called of the company, princes of the tribes of their fathers; they `are' heads of the thousands of Israel.
And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, and unto Aaron, saying, `Each by his standard, with ensigns of the house of their fathers, do the sons of Israel encamp; over-against round about the tent of meeting they encamp.' And those encamping eastward towards the sun-rising, `are of' the standard of the camp of Judah, by their hosts; and the prince of the sons of Judah `is' Nahshon, son of Amminadab; and his host, and their numbered ones, `are' four and seventy thousand and six hundred. And those encamping by him `are of' the tribe of Issachar; and the prince of the sons of Issachar `is' Nethaneel son of Zuar; and his host, and its numbered ones, `are' four and fifty thousand and four hundred. The tribe of Zebulun; and the prince of the sons of Zebulun `is' Eliab son of Helon; and his host, and its numbered ones, `are' seven and fifty thousand and four hundred; all those numbered of the camp of Judah `are' a hundred thousand, and eighty thousand, and six thousand, and four hundred, by their hosts; they journey first. The standard of the camp of Reuben `is' southward, by their hosts; and the prince of the sons of Reuben `is' Elizur son of Shedeur; and his host, and its numbered ones, `are' six and forty thousand and five hundred. And those encamping by him `are of' the tribe of Simeon; and the prince of the sons of Simeon `is' Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai; and his host, and their numbered ones, `are' nine and fifty thousand and three hundred. And the tribe of Gad; and the prince of the sons of Gad `is' Eliasaph son of Reuel; and his host, and their numbered ones, `are' five and forty thousand and six hundred and fifty. All those numbered of the camp of Reuben `are' a hundred thousand, and one and fifty thousand, and four hundred and fifty, by their hosts; and they journey second. And the tent of meeting -- the camp of the Levites -- hath journeyed in the midst of the camps; as they encamp so they journey, each at his station by their standards. The standard of the camp of Ephraim, by their hosts, `is' westward; and the prince of the sons of Ephraim `is' Elishama son of Ammihud; and his host, and their numbered ones, `are' forty thousand and five hundred. And by him `is' the tribe of Manasseh; and the prince of the sons of Manasseh `is' Gamaliel son of Pedahzur; and his host, and their numbered ones, `are' two and thirty thousand, and two hundred. And the tribe of Benjamin; and the prince of the sons of Benjamin `is' Abidan son of Gideoni; and his host, and their numbered ones, `are' five and thirty thousand and four hundred. All those numbered of the camp of Ephraim `are' a hundred thousand, and eight thousand, and a hundred, by their hosts; and they journey third. The standard of the camp of Dan `is' northward, by their hosts; and the prince of the sons of Dan `is' Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai; and his host, and their numbered ones, `are' two and sixty thousand and seven hundred. And those encamping by him `are of' the tribe of Asher; and the prince of the sons of Asher `is' Pagiel son of Ocran; and his host, and their numbered ones, `are' one and forty thousand and five hundred. And the tribe of Naphtali; and the prince of the sons of Naphtali `is' Ahira son of Enan; and his host, and their numbered ones, `are' three and fifty thousand and four hundred. All those numbered of the camp of Dan `are' a hundred thousand, and seven and fifty thousand, and six hundred; at the rear they journey, by their standards. These `are' those numbered of the sons of Israel by the house of their fathers; all those numbered of the camps by their hosts `are' six hundred thousand, and three thousand, and five hundred and fifty. And the Levites have not numbered themselves in the midst of the sons of Israel, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses. And the sons of Israel do according to all that Jehovah hath commanded Moses; so they have encamped by their standards, and so they have journeyed; each by his families, by the house of his fathers.
And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, `Make to thee two trumpets of silver; beaten work thou dost make them, and they have been to thee for the convocation of the company, and for the journeying of the camps; and they have blown with them, and all the company have met together unto thee, unto the opening of the tent of meeting. And if with one they blow, then have the princes, heads of the thousands of Israel, met together unto thee; `And ye have blown -- a shout, and the camps which are encamping eastward have journeyed. `And ye have blown -- a second shout, and the camps which are encamping southward have journeyed; a shout they blow for their journeys. `And in the assembling of the assembly ye blow, and do not shout; and sons of Aaron, the priests, blow with the trumpets; and they have been to you for a statute age-during to your generations. `And when ye go into battle in your land against the adversary who is distressing you, then ye have shouted with the trumpets, and ye have been remembered before Jehovah your God, and ye have been saved from your enemies. `And in the day of your gladness, and in your appointed seasons, and in the beginnings of your months, ye have blown also with the trumpets over your burnt-offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace-offerings, and they have been to you for a memorial before your God; I, Jehovah, `am' your God.' And it cometh to pass -- in the second year, in the second month, in the twentieth of the month -- the cloud hath gone up from off the tabernacle of the testimony, and the sons of Israel journey in their journeyings from the wilderness of Sinai, and the cloud doth tabernacle in the wilderness of Paran; and they journey at first, by the command of Jehovah, in the hand of Moses. And the standard of the camp of the sons of Judah journeyeth in the first `place', by their hosts, and over its host `is' Nahshon son of Amminadab. And over the host of the tribe of the sons of Issachar `is' Nathaneel son of Zuar. And over the host of the tribe of the sons of Zebulun `is' Eliab son of Helon; And the tabernacle hath been taken down, and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari have journeyed, bearing the tabernacle. And the standard of the camp of Reuben hath journeyed, by their hosts, and over its host `is' Elizur son of Shedeur. And over the host of the tribe of the sons of Simeon `is' Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. And over the host of the tribe of the sons of Gad `is' Eliasaph son of Deuel; And the Kohathites have journeyed, bearing the tabernacle, and the `others' have raised up the tabernacle until their coming in. And the standard of the camp of the sons of Ephraim hath journeyed, by their hosts, and over its host `is' Elishama son of Ammihud. And over the host of the tribe of the sons of Manasseh `is' Gamalial son of Pedahzur. And over the host of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin `is' Abidan son of Gideoni. And the standard of the camp of the sons of Dan hath journeyed (rearward to all the camps), by their hosts, and over its host `is' Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. And over the host of the tribe of the sons of Asher `is' Pagiel son of Ocran. And over the host of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali `is' Ahira son of Enan. These `are' journeyings of the sons of Israel by their hosts -- and they journey. And Moses saith to Hobab son of Raguel the Midianite, father-in-law of Moses, `We are journeying unto the place of which Jehovah hath said, I give it to you; go with us, and we have done good to thee; for Jehovah hath spoken good concerning Israel.' And he saith unto him, `I do not go; but unto my land and unto my kindred do I go.' And he saith, `I pray thee, forsake us not, because thou hast known our encamping in the wilderness, and thou hast been to us for eyes; and it hath come to pass when thou goest with us, yea, it hath come to pass -- that good which Jehovah doth kindly with us -- it we have done kindly to thee.' And they journey from the mount of Jehovah a journey of three days; and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah is journeying before them the journey of three days, to spy out for them a resting-place; and the cloud of Jehovah `is' on them by day, in their journeying from the camp. And it cometh to pass in the journeying of the ark, that Moses saith, `Rise, O Jehovah, and Thine enemies are scattered, and those hating Thee flee from Thy presence.' And in its resting he saith, `Return, O Jehovah, `to' the myriads, the thousands of Israel.'
And the heads of the fathers, and the heads of the tribes of Israel, and the heads of the thousands, and of the hundreds, even to the heads of the work of the king, offer willingly. And they give for the service of the house of God, of gold -- talents five thousand, and drams a myriad; and of silver -- talents ten thousand, and of brass -- a myriad and eight thousand talents; and of iron -- a hundred thousand talents; and he with whom stones are found hath given to the treasury of the house of Jehovah, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.
And some of the heads of the fathers in their coming in to the house of Jehovah that `is' in Jerusalem, have offered willingly for the house of God, to establish it on its base; according to their power they have given to the treasure of the work; of gold, drams six myriads and a thousand, and of silver, pounds five thousand, and of priests' coats, a hundred.
And from the extremity of the heads of the fathers they have given to the work; the Tirshatha hath given to the treasure, of gold, drams a thousand, bowls fifty, priests' coats thirty and five hundred. And of the heads of the fathers they have given to the treasure of the work, of gold, drams two myriads, and of silver, pounds two thousand and two hundred. And that which the rest of the people have given `is' of gold, drams two myriads, and of silver, pounds two thousand, and of priests coats, sixty and seven.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 7
Commentary on Numbers 7 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Presentation of Dedicatory Gifts by the Princes of the Tribes. - Numbers 7:1. This presentation took place at the time ( יום ) when Moses, after having completed the erection of the tabernacle, anointed and sanctified the dwelling and the altar, together with their furniture (Leviticus 8:10-11). Chronologically considered, this ought to have been noticed after Leviticus 8:10. But in order to avoid interrupting the connection of the Sinaitic laws, it is introduced for the first time at this point, and placed at the head of the events which immediately preceded the departure of the people from Sinai, because these gifts consisted in part of materials that were indispensably necessary for the transport of the tabernacle during the march through the desert. Moreover, there was only an interval of at the most forty days between the anointing of the tabernacle, which commenced after the first day of the first month (cf. Exodus 40:16 and Leviticus 8:10), and lasted eight days, and the departure from Sinai, on the twentieth day of the second month (Numbers 10:11), and from this we have to deduct six days for the Passover, which took place before their departure (Numbers 9:1.); and it was within this period that the laws and ordinances from Lev 11 to Num 6 had to be published, and the dedicatory offerings to be presented. Now, as the presentation itself was distributed, according to Numbers 7:11., over twelve or thirteen days, we may very well assume that it did not entirely precede the publication of the laws referred to, but was carried on in part contemporaneously with it. The presentation of the dedicatory gifts of one tribe-prince might possibly occupy only a few hours of the day appointed for the purpose; and the rest of the day, therefore, might very conveniently be made use of by Moses for publishing the laws. In this case the short space of a month and a few days would be amply sufficient for everything that took place.
The presentation of six waggons and twelve oxen for the carriage of the materials of the tabernacle is mentioned first, and was no doubt the first thing that took place. The princes of Israel, viz., the heads of the tribe-houses (fathers' houses), or princes of the tribes (see Numbers 1:4.), “ those who stood over those that were numbered, ” i.e., who were their leaders or rulers, offered as their sacrificial gift six covered waggons and twelve oxen, one ox for each prince, and a waggon for every two. צב עגלת , ἁμάξας λαμπηνίκας (lxx), i.e., according to Euseb. Emis., two-wheeled vehicles, though the Greek scholiasts explain λαμπήνη as signifying ἅμαξα περιφανής , βασιλικὴ and ῥέδιον περιφανὲς ὁ ἐστὶν ἅρμα σκεπαστόν (cf. Schleussner, Lex. in lxx s.v. ), and Aquila , ἅμαξαι σκεπασταί , i.e., plaustra tecta ( Vulg . and Rabb .). The meaning “litters,” which Gesenius and De Wette support, can neither be defended etymologically, nor based upon צבּים in Isaiah 66:20.
At the command of God, Moses received them to apply them to the purposes of the tabernacle, and handed them over to the Levites, “ to every one according to the measure of his service, ” i.e., to the different classes of Levites, according to the requirements of their respective duties.
He gave two waggons and four oxen to the Gershonites, and four waggons and eight oxen to the Merarites, as the former had less weight to carry, in the coverings and curtains of the dwelling and the hangings of the court, than the latter, who had to take charge of the beams and pillars ( Numbers 4:24., Numbers 4:31.). “ Under the hand of Ithamar ” (Numbers 7:8); as in Numbers 4:28, Numbers 4:33. The Kohathites received no waggon, because it was their place to attend to “the sanctuary” (the holy), i.e., the holy things, which had to be conveyed upon their shoulders, and were provided with poles for the purpose ( Numbers 4:4.).
Presentation of dedicatory gifts for the altar . - Numbers 7:10. Every prince offered “ the dedication of the altar, ” i.e., what served for the dedication of the altar, equivalent to his sacrificial gift for the consecration of the altar, “ on the day, ” i.e., at the time, “ that they anointed it .” “ Day: ” as in Genesis 2:4. Moses was directed by God to receive the gifts from the princes on separate days, one after another; so that the presentation extended over twelve days. The reason for this regulation was not to make a greater display, as Knobel supposes, or to avoid cutting short the important ceremony of consecration, but was involved in the very nature of the gifts presented. Each prince, for example, offered, (1) a silver dish ( kearah , Exodus 25:29) of 130 sacred shekels weight, i.e., about 4 1/2 lbs.; (2) a silver bowl ( mizrak , a sacrificial bowl, not a sacrificial can, or wine-can, as in Exodus 27:3) of 70 shekels weight, both filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a meat-offering; (3) a golden spoon ( caph , as in Exodus 25:29) filled with incense for an incense-offering; (4) a bullock, a ram, and a sheep of a year old for a burnt-offering; (5) a shaggy goat for a sin-offering; (5) two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five sheep of a year old for a peace-offering. Out of these gifts the fine flour, the incense, and the sacrificial animals were intended for sacrificing upon the altar, and that not as a provision for a lengthened period, but for immediate use in the way prescribed. This could not have been carried out if more than one prince had presented his gifts, and brought them to be sacrificed on any one day. For the limited space in the court of the tabernacle would not have allowed of 252 animals being received, slaughtered, and prepared for sacrificing all at once, or on the same day; and it would have been also impossible to burn 36 whole animals (oxen, rams, and sheep), and the fat portions of 216 animals, upon the altar.
All the princes brought the same gifts. The order in which the twelve princes, whose names have already been given at Numbers 1:5-15, made their presentation, corresponded to the order of the tribes in the camp (ch. 2), the tribe-prince of Judah taking the lead, and the prince of Naphtali coming last. In the statements as to the weight of the silver kearoth and the golden cappoth , the word shekel is invariably omitted, as in Genesis 20:16, etc. - In Numbers 7:84-86, the dedication gifts are summed up, and the total weight given, viz., twelve silver dishes and twelve silver bowls, weighing together 2400 shekels, and twelve golden spoons, weighing 120 shekels in all. On the sacred shekel, see at Exodus 30:13; and on the probable value of the shekel of gold, at Exodus 38:24-25. The sacrificial animals are added together in the same way in Numbers 7:87, Numbers 7:88.
Whilst the tribe-princes had thus given to the altar the consecration of a sanctuary of their God, through their sacrificial gifts, Jehovah acknowledged it as His sanctuary, by causing Moses, when he went into the tabernacle to speak to Him, and to present his own entreaties and those of the people, to hear the voice of Him that spake to him from between the two cherubim upon the ark of the covenant. The suffix in אתּו points back to the name Jehovah , which, though not expressly mentioned before, is contained implicite in ohel moëd , “ the tent of meeting .” For the holy tent became an ohel moëd first of all, from the fact that it was there that Jehovah appeared to Moses, or met with him ( נועד , Exodus 25:22). מדּבּר , part . Hithpael , to hold conversation. On the fact itself, see the explanation in Exodus 25:20, Exodus 25:22. “This voice from the inmost sanctuary of Moses, the representative of Israel, was Jehovah's reply to the joyfulness and readiness with which the princes of Israel responded to Him, and made the tent, so far as they were concerned, a place of holy meeting”' ( Baumg .). This was the reason for connecting the remark in Numbers 7:89 with the account of the dedicatory gifts.