Numbers 7:57

Study note

Setting — Numbers 7:57 records the livestock portion of the dedication offering brought by one of the twelve tribal leaders. It follows the description of a gold incense dish and immediately precedes the listing of a male goat for a sin offering.

The words — The text specifies פַּר (par, a young bull), בֶּן־בָּקָר (ben-baqar, a young cattle), אַיִל ('ayil, a ram), and כֶּבֶשׂ (keves, a lamb), each prefixed by אֶחָד ('echad, one). These terms literally designate the exact count and class of animals assigned to the burnt offering.

The thread — This verse continues the daily liturgical inventory that runs through the opening chapters of Numbers. Each day of the altar's dedication follows the same structural pattern: silver and gold vessels, incense, a burnt offering, a grain offering, and a sin offering.

Why it lands — The verse demands precise attention to the fixed quantities and species required for the ritual. It instructs the reader to track the unvarying sequence of offerings without deviation or substitution.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.