Numbers15
World English Bible · Public Domain
1Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you have come into the land of your habitations, which I give to you,
3and will make an offering by fire to Yahweh—a burnt offering, or a sacrifice, to accomplish a vow, or as a free will offering, or in your set feasts, to make a pleasant aroma to Yahweh, of the herd, or of the flock—
4then he who offers his offering shall offer to Yahweh a meal offering of one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one fourth of a hin of oil.
5You shall prepare wine for the drink offering, one fourth of a hin, with the burnt offering or for the sacrifice, for each lamb.
6“‘For a ram, you shall prepare for a meal offering two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with the third part of a hin of oil;
7and for the drink offering you shall offer the third part of a hin of wine, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
8When you prepare a bull for a burnt offering or for a sacrifice, to accomplish a vow, or for peace offerings to Yahweh,
9then he shall offer with the bull a meal offering of three tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil;
10and you shall offer for the drink offering half a hin of wine, for an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
11Thus it shall be done for each bull, for each ram, for each of the male lambs, or of the young goats.
12According to the number that you shall prepare, so you shall do to everyone according to their number.
13“‘All who are native-born shall do these things in this way, in offering an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
14If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you, or whoever may be among you throughout your generations, and will offer an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh, as you do, so he shall do.
15For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who lives as a foreigner, a statute forever throughout your generations. As you are, so the foreigner shall be before Yahweh.
16One law and one ordinance shall be for you and for the stranger who lives as a foreigner with you.’”
17Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
18“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you come into the land where I bring you,
19then it shall be that when you eat of the bread of the land, you shall offer up a wave offering to Yahweh.
20Of the first of your dough you shall offer up a cake for a wave offering. As the wave offering of the threshing floor, so you shall heave it.
21Of the first of your dough, you shall give to Yahweh a wave offering throughout your generations.
22“‘When you err, and don’t observe all these commandments which Yahweh has spoken to Moses—
23even all that Yahweh has commanded you by Moses, from the day that Yahweh gave commandment and onward throughout your generations—
24then it shall be, if it was done unwittingly, without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bull for a burnt offering, for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh, with its meal offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and one male goat for a sin offering.
25The priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and they shall be forgiven; for it was an error, and they have brought their offering, an offering made by fire to Yahweh, and their sin offering before Yahweh, for their error.
26All the congregation of the children of Israel shall be forgiven, as well as the stranger who lives as a foreigner among them; for with regard to all the people, it was done unwittingly.
27“‘If a person sins unwittingly, then he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering.
28The priest shall make atonement for the soul who errs when he sins unwittingly before Yahweh. He shall make atonement for him; and he shall be forgiven.
29You shall have one law for him who does anything unwittingly, for him who is native-born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger who lives as a foreigner among them.
30“‘But the soul who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native-born or a foreigner, blasphemes Yahweh. That soul shall be cut off from among his people.
31Because he has despised Yahweh’s word, and has broken his commandment, that soul shall be utterly cut off. His iniquity shall be on him.’”
32While the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.
33Those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation.
34They put him in custody, because it had not been declared what should be done to him.
35Yahweh said to Moses, “The man shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him with stones outside of the camp.”
36All the congregation brought him outside of the camp, and stoned him to death with stones, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
37Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
38“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them that they should make themselves fringes on the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put on the fringe of each border a cord of blue.
39It shall be to you for a fringe, that you may see it, and remember all Yahweh’s commandments, and do them; and that you don’t follow your own heart and your own eyes, after which you used to play the prostitute;
40so that you may remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God.
41I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am Yahweh your God.”
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Numbers 15.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The law of the meat-offering and the drink-offering, The stranger under the same law. (1–21). The sacrifice for the sin of ignorance. (22–29). The punishment of presumption, The sabbath-breaker stoned. (30–36). The law for fringes on garment. (37–41).
vv1-21
Full instructions are given about the meat-offerings and drink-offerings. The beginning of this law is very encouraging, When ye come into the land of your habitation which I give unto you. This was a plain intimation that God would secure the promised land to their seed. It was requisite, since the sacrifices of acknowledgment were intended as the food of God's table, that there should be a constant supply of bread, oil, and wine, whatever the flesh-meat was. And the intent of this law is to direct the proportions of the meat-offering and drink-offering. Natives and strangers are placed on a level in this as in other like matters. It was a happy forewarning of the calling of the Gentiles, and of their admission into the church. If the law made so little difference between Jew and Gentile, much less would the gospel, which broke down the partition-wall, and reconciled both to God.
vv22-29
Though ignorance will in a degree excuse, it will not justify those who might have known their Lord's will, yet did it not. David prayed to be cleansed from his secret faults, those sins which he himself was not aware of. Sins committed ignorantly, shall be forgiven through Christ the great Sacrifice, who, when he offered up himself once for all upon the cross, seemed to explain one part of the intention of his offering, in that prayer, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. It looked favourably upon the Gentiles, that this law of atoning for sins of ignorance, is expressly made to extend to those who were strangers to Israel.
vv30-36
Those are to be reckoned presumptuous sinners, who sin designedly against God's will and glory. Sins thus committed are exceedingly sinful. He that thus breaks the commandment reproaches the Lord. He also despises the word of the Lord. Presumptuous sinners despise it, thinking themselves too great, too good, and too wise, to be ruled by it. A particular instance of presumption in the sin of sabbath-breaking is related. The offence was gathering sticks on the sabbath day, to make a fire, whereas the people were to bake and seethe what they had occasion for, the day before, Ex 16:23. This was done as an affront both to the law and to the Lawgiver. God is jealous for the honour of his sabbaths, and will not hold him guiltless who profanes them, whatever men may do. God intended this punishment for a warning to all, to make conscience of keeping holy the sabbath. And we may be assured that no command was ever given for the punishment of sin, which, at the judgment day, shall not prove to have come from perfect love and justice. The right of God to a day of devotion to himself, will be disputed and denied only by such as listen to the pride and unbelief of their hearts, rather than to the teaching of the Spirit of truth and life. Wherein consists the difference between him who was detected gathering sticks in the wilderness on the day of God, and the man who turns his back upon the blessings of sabbath appointments, and the promises of sabbath mercies, to use his time, his cares, and his soul, in heaping up riches; and waste his hours, his property, and his strength in sinful pleasure? Wealth may come by the unhallowed effort, but it will not come alone; it will have its awful reward. Sinful pursuits lead to ruin.
Key Words
דָבַר: perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue
מֹשֶׁה: Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
בּוֹא: to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
אֶרֶץ: the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
מוֹשָׁב: a seat; figuratively, a site; abstractly, a session; by extension an abode (the place or the time); by implication, population
אֲשֶׁר: who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.
נָתַן: to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etc.)
Cross References
Numbers 15Calvin highlights this as a parallel command for outward aids to keep God's word in memory.
Supported by John Calvin
Establishes the explicit penalty of death for Sabbath-breaking, which caused the rulers' initial embarrassment.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The foundational law stating one law shall apply to both the homeborn and the stranger.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Clarifies that the heave offering of dough is given to the priests of the Lord.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
JFB contrasts this collective omission with Leviticus 4:13's positive transgression of commands.
Supported by JFB
Henry notes gathering sticks violated the directive to prepare Sabbath food the day before.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Parallel command to make fringes upon the four quarters of vestments to remember commands.
Supported by Matthew Henry, John Calvin, JFB
Demonstrates that 'sacrifice' is used in the sense of a peace offering.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Defines a tenth deal as an omer, the tenth part of an ephah.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Parallel instance of putting an offender in ward because the judgment was not yet declared.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Christ references the scribes and Pharisees enlarging the borders (fringes) of their garments.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Poole notes oil-mingled meat offerings were typically accompaniments, except in the leper's cleansing.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Henry connects the atonement for ignorance to Christ's prayer: 'forgive them; they know not what they do.'
Supported by Matthew Henry
David prays specifically to be kept back from 'presumptuous sins' like those warned of here.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
New Testament warning against sinning wilfully after receiving knowledge of the truth.
Supported by Matthew Henry