1 And the Lord said to Moses,
2 Say to the children of Israel, When you have come into the land which I am giving to you for your resting-place,
3 And are going to make an offering by fire to the Lord, a burned offering or an offering in connection with an oath, or an offering freely given, or at your regular feasts, an offering for a sweet smell to the Lord, from the herd or the flock:
4 Then let him who is making his offering, give to the Lord a meal offering of a tenth part of a measure of the best meal mixed with a fourth part of a hin of oil:
5 And for the drink offering, you are to give with the burned offering or other offering, the fourth part of a hin of wine for every lamb.
6 Or for a male sheep, give as a meal offering two tenth parts of a measure of the best meal mixed with a third part of a hin of oil:
7 And for the drink offering give a third part of a hin of wine, for a sweet smell to the Lord.
8 And when you make ready a young ox for a burned or other offering, or for the effecting of an oath, or for peace-offerings to the Lord:
9 Then with the ox give a meal offering of three tenth parts of a measure of the best meal mixed with half a hin of oil.
10 And for the drink offering: give half a hin of wine, for an offering made by fire for a sweet smell to the Lord.
11 This is to be done for every young ox and for every male sheep or he-lamb or young goat.
12 Whatever number you make ready, so you are to do for every one.
13 All those who are Israelites by birth are to do these things in this way, when giving an offering made by fire of a sweet smell to the Lord.
14 And if a man from another country or any other person living among you, through all your generations, has the desire to give an offering made by fire of a sweet smell to the Lord, let him do as you do.
15 There is to be one law for you and for the man of another country living with you, one law for ever from generation to generation; as you are, so is he to be before the Lord.
16 The law and the rule are to be the same for you and for those from other lands living with you.
17 And the Lord said to Moses,
18 Say to the children of Israel, When you come into the land where I am guiding you,
19 Then, when you take for your food the produce of the land, you are to give an offering lifted up before the Lord.
20 Of the first of your rough meal you are to give a cake for a lifted offering, lifting it up before the Lord as the offering of the grain-floor is lifted up.
21 From generation to generation you are to give to the Lord a lifted offering from the first of your rough meal.
22 And if in error you go against any of these laws which the Lord has given to Moses,
23 All the laws which the Lord has given you by the hand of Moses, from the day when the Lord gave them, and ever after from generation to generation;
24 Then, if the wrong is done in error, without the knowledge of the meeting of the people, let all the meeting give a young ox as a burned offering, a sweet smell to the Lord, with its meal offering and its drink offering, as is ordered in the law, together with a he-goat for a sin-offering.
25 So the priest will make the people free from sin, and they will have forgiveness; for it was an error, and they have given their offering made by fire to the Lord, and their sin-offering before the Lord, on account of their error:
26 And all the meeting of the children of Israel, as well as those from other lands living among them, will have forgiveness; for it was an error on the part of the people.
27 And if one person does wrong, without being conscious of it, then let him give a she-goat of the first year for a sin-offering.
28 And the priest will take away the sin of the person who has done wrong, if the wrong was done unconsciously, and he will have forgiveness.
29 The law in connection with wrong done unconsciously is to be the same for him who is an Israelite by birth and for the man from another country who is living among them.
30 But the person who does wrong in the pride of his heart, if he is one of you or of another nation by birth, is acting without respect for the Lord, and will be cut off from his people.
31 Because he had no respect for the word of the Lord, and did not keep his law, that man will be cut off without mercy and his sin will be on him.
32 Now while the children of Israel were in the waste land, they saw a man who was getting sticks on the Sabbath day.
33 And those who saw him getting sticks took him before Moses and Aaron and all the people.
34 And they had him shut up, because they had no directions about what was to be done with him.
35 Then the Lord said to Moses, Certainly the man is to be put to death: let him be stoned by all the people outside the tent-circle.
36 So all the people took him outside the tent-circle and he was stoned to death there, as the Lord gave orders to Moses.
37 And the Lord said to Moses,
38 Say to the children of Israel that through all their generations they are to put on the edges of their robes an ornament of twisted threads, and in every ornament a blue cord;
39 So that, looking on these ornaments, you may keep in mind the orders of the Lord and do them; and not be guided by the desires of your hearts and eyes, through which you have been untrue to me:
40 And that you may keep in mind all my orders and do them and be holy to your God.
41 I am the Lord your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt, so that I might be your God: I am the Lord your God.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Numbers 15
Commentary on Numbers 15 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 15
Nu 15:1-41. The Law of Sundry Offerings.
1, 2. The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel—Some infer from Nu 15:23 that the date of this communication must be fixed towards the close of the wanderings in the wilderness; and, also, that all the sacrifices prescribed in the law were to be offered only after the settlement in Canaan.
3. make an offering by fire unto the Lord, a burnt offering—It is evident that a peace offering is referred to because this term is frequently used in such a sense (Ex 18:12; Le 17:5).
4. tenth deal—that is, an omer, the tenth part of an ephah (Ex 16:36).
fourth part of an hin of oil—This element shows it to have been different from such meat offerings as were made by themselves, and not merely accompaniments of other sacrifices.
6-12. two tenth deals—The quantity of flour was increased because the sacrifice was of superior value to the former. The accessory sacrifices were always increased in proportion to the greater worth and magnitude of its principal.
13-16. a stranger—one who had become a proselyte. There were scarcely any of the national privileges of the Israelites, in which the Gentile stranger might not, on conforming to certain conditions, fully participate.
19. when ye eat of the bread of the land, ye shall offer up an heave offering—The offering prescribed was to precede the act of eating.
unto the Lord—that is, the priests of the Lord (Eze 44:30).
20. heave offering of the threshing-floor—meaning the corn on the threshing-floor; that is, after harvest.
so shall ye heave it—to the priests accompanying the ceremony with the same rites.
22. if ye have erred, and not observed all these commandments, &c.—respecting the performance of divine worship, and the rites and ceremonies that constitute the holy service. The law relates only to any omission and consequently is quite different from that laid down in Le 4:13, which implies a transgression or positive neglect of some observances required. This law relates to private parties or individual tribes; that to the whole congregation of Israel.
24-26. if aught be committed by ignorance—The Mosaic ritual was complicated, and the ceremonies to be gone through in the various instances of purification which are specified, would expose a worshipper, through ignorance, to the risk of omitting or neglecting some of them. This law includes the stranger in the number of those for whom the sacrifice was offered for the sin of general ignorance.
27-29. if any soul sin through ignorance—not only in common with the general body of the people, but his personal sins were to be expiated in the same manner.
30. the soul that doeth aught presumptuously—Hebrew, "with an high" or "uplifted hand"—that is, knowingly, wilfully, obstinately. In this sense the phraseology occurs (Ex 14:8; Le 26:21; Ps 19:13).
the same reproacheth the Lord—sets Him at open defiance and dishonors His majesty.
31. his iniquity shall be upon him—The punishment of his sins shall fall on himself individually; no guilt shall be incurred by the nation, unless there be a criminal carelessness in overlooking the offense.
32-34. a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day—This incident is evidently narrated as an instance of presumptuous sin. The mere gathering of sticks was not a sinful act and might be necessary for fuel to warm him or to make ready his food. But its being done on the Sabbath altered the entire character of the action. The law of the Sabbath being a plain and positive commandment, this transgression of it was a known and wilful sin, and it was marked by several aggravations. For the deed was done with unblushing boldness in broad daylight, in open defiance of the divine authority—in flagrant inconsistency with His religious connection with Israel, as the covenant-people of God; and it was an application to improper purposes of time, which God had consecrated to Himself and the solemn duties of religion. The offender was brought before the rulers, who, on hearing the painful report, were at a loss to determine what ought to be done. That they should have felt any embarrassment in such a case may seem surprising, in the face of the sabbath law (Ex 31:14). Their difficulty probably arose from this being the first public offense of the kind which had occurred; and the appeal might be made to remove all ground of complaint—to produce a more striking effect, so that the fate of this criminal might be a beacon to warn all Israelites in the future.
35, 36. The Lord said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death—The Lord was King, as well as God of Israel, and the offense being a violation of the law of the realm, the Sovereign Judge gave orders that this man should be put to death; and, moreover, He required the whole congregation unite in executing the fatal sentence.
38. bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments—These were narrow strips, in a wing-like form, wrapped over the shoulders and on various parts of the attire. "Fringe," however, is the English rendering of two distinct Hebrew words—the one meaning a narrow lappet or edging, called the "hem" or "border" (Mt 23:5; Lu 8:44), which, in order to make it more attractive to the eye and consequently more serviceable to the purpose described, was covered with a riband of blue or rather purple color; the other term signifies strings with tassels at the end, fastened to the corners of the garment. Both of these are seen on the Egyptian and Assyrian frocks; and as the Jewish people were commanded by express and repeated ordinances to have them, the fashion was rendered subservient, in their case, to awaken high and religious associations—to keep them in habitual remembrance of the divine commandments.
41. I am the Lord your God—The import of this solemn conclusion is, that though He was displeased with them for their frequent rebellions, for which they would be doomed to forty years' wanderings, He would not abandon them but continue His divine protection and care of them till they were brought into the land of promise.