15 One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD.
16 One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.
17 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
18 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land whither I bring you,
19 Then it shall be, that, when ye eat of the bread of the land, ye shall offer up an heave offering unto the LORD.
20 Ye shall offer up a cake of the first of your dough for an heave offering: as ye do the heave offering of the threshingfloor, so shall ye heave it.
21 Of the first of your dough ye shall give unto the LORD an heave offering in your generations.
22 And if ye have erred, and not observed all these commandments, which the LORD hath spoken unto Moses,
23 Even all that the LORD hath commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day that the LORD commanded Moses, and henceforward among your generations;
24 Then it shall be, if ought be committed by ignorance without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bullock for a burnt offering, for a sweet savor unto the LORD, with his meat offering, and his drink offering, according to the manner, and one kid of the goats for a sin offering.
25 And the priest shall make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it is ignorance: and they shall bring their offering, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their ignorance:
15 One H259 ordinance H2708 shall be both for you of the congregation, H6951 and also for the stranger H1616 that sojourneth H1481 with you, an ordinance H2708 for ever H5769 in your generations: H1755 as ye are, so shall the stranger H1616 be before H6440 the LORD. H3068
16 One H259 law H8451 and one H259 manner H4941 shall be for you, and for the stranger H1616 that sojourneth H1481 with you.
17 And the LORD H3068 spake H1696 unto Moses, H4872 saying, H559
18 Speak H1696 unto the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 and say H559 unto them, When ye come H935 into the land H776 whither I bring H935 you,
19 Then it shall be, that, when ye eat H398 of the bread H3899 of the land, H776 ye shall offer up H7311 an heave offering H8641 unto the LORD. H3068
20 Ye shall offer up H7311 a cake H2471 of the first H7225 of your dough H6182 for an heave offering: H8641 as ye do the heave offering H8641 of the threshingfloor, H1637 so shall ye heave H7311 it.
21 Of the first H7225 of your dough H6182 ye shall give H5414 unto the LORD H3068 an heave offering H8641 in your generations. H1755
22 And if ye have erred, H7686 and not observed H6213 all these commandments, H4687 which the LORD H3068 hath spoken H1696 unto Moses, H4872
23 Even all that the LORD H3068 hath commanded H6680 you by the hand H3027 of Moses, H4872 from the day H3117 that the LORD H3068 commanded H6680 Moses, and henceforward H1973 among your generations; H1755
24 Then it shall be, if ought be committed H6213 by ignorance H7684 without the knowledge H5869 of the congregation, H5712 that all the congregation H5712 shall offer H6213 one H259 young H1121 H1241 bullock H6499 for a burnt offering, H5930 for a sweet H5207 savour H7381 unto the LORD, H3068 with his meat offering, H4503 and his drink offering, H5262 according to the manner, H4941 and one H259 kid H8163 of the goats H5795 for a sin offering. H2403
25 And the priest H3548 shall make an atonement H3722 for all the congregation H5712 of the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 and it shall be forgiven H5545 them; for it is ignorance: H7684 and they shall bring H935 their offering, H7133 a sacrifice made by fire H801 unto the LORD, H3068 and their sin offering H2403 before H6440 the LORD, H3068 for their ignorance: H7684
15 For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth `with you', a statute for ever throughout your generations: as ye are, so shall the sojourner be before Jehovah.
16 One law and one ordinance shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.
17 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
18 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land whither I bring you,
19 then it shall be, that, when ye eat of the bread of the land, ye shall offer up a heave-offering unto Jehovah.
20 Of the first of your dough ye shall offer up a cake for a heave-offering: as the heave-offering of the threshing-floor, so shall ye heave it.
21 Of the first of your dough ye shall give unto Jehovah a heave-offering throughout your generations.
22 And when ye shall err, and not observe all these commandments, which Jehovah hath spoken unto Moses,
23 even all that Jehovah hath commanded you by Moses, from the day that Jehovah gave commandment, and onward throughout your generations;
24 then it shall be, if it be done unwittingly, without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bullock for a burnt-offering, for a sweet savor unto Jehovah, with the meal-offering thereof, and the drink-offering thereof, according to the ordinance, and one he-goat for a sin-offering.
25 And the 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 oblation, an offering made by fire unto Jehovah, and their sin-offering before Jehovah, for their error:
15 `One statute is for you of the congregation and for the sojourner who is sojourning, a statute age-during to your generations: as ye `are' so is the sojourner before Jehovah;
16 one law and one ordinance is to you and to the sojourner who is sojourning with you.'
17 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
18 `Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, In your coming in unto the land whither I am bringing you in,
19 then it hath been, in your eating of the bread of the land, ye heave up a heave-offering to Jehovah;
20 the beginning of your dough a cake ye heave up -- a heave-offering; as the heave-offering of a threshing-floor, so ye do heave it.
21 Of the beginning of your dough ye do give to Jehovah a heave-offering -- to your generations.
22 `And when ye err, and do not all these commands which Jehovah hath spoken unto Moses,
23 the whole that Jehovah hath charged upon you by the hand of Moses, from the day that Jehovah hath commanded, and henceforth, to your generations,
24 then it hath been, if from the eyes of the company it hath been done in ignorance, that all the company have prepared one bullock, a son of the herd, for a burnt-offering, for sweet fragrance to Jehovah, and its present, and its libation, according to the ordinance, and one kid of the goats for a sin-offering.
25 `And the priest hath made atonement for all the company of the sons of Israel, and it hath been forgiven them, for it `is' ignorance, and they -- they have brought in their offering, a fire-offering to Jehovah, even their sin-offering before Jehovah for their ignorance;
15 As to the congregation, there shall be one statute for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an everlasting statute throughout your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be, before Jehovah.
16 One law and one ordinance shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.
17 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
18 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land whither I bring you,
19 then it shall be, when ye eat of the bread of the land, that ye shall offer a heave-offering to Jehovah;
20 the first of your dough shall ye offer, a cake, for a heave-offering; as the heave-offering of the threshing-floor, so shall ye offer this.
21 Of the first of your dough ye shall give to Jehovah a heave-offering throughout your generations.
22 And if ye sin inadvertently, and do not all these commandments, which Jehovah hath spoken unto Moses,
23 all that Jehovah hath commanded you through Moses, from the day that Jehovah gave commandment, and henceforward throughout your generations;
24 then it shall be, if ought be committed by inadvertence [hid] from the eyes of the assembly, that the whole assembly shall offer one young bullock for a burnt-offering, for a sweet odour to Jehovah, and its oblation and its drink-offering according to the ordinance, and one buck of the goats for a sin-offering.
25 And the priest shall make atonement for the whole assembly of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it was a sin of inadvertence, and they have brought before Jehovah their offering, as an offering by fire to Jehovah, and their sin-offering for their [sin of] inadvertence;
15 For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you, and for the stranger who lives as a foreigner [with you], a statute forever throughout your generations: as you are, so shall the foreigner be before Yahweh.
16 One law and one ordinance shall be for you, and for the stranger who lives as a foreigner with you.
17 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
18 Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, When you come into the land where I bring you,
19 then it shall be that when you eat of the bread of the land, you shall offer up a heave-offering to Yahweh.
20 Of the first of your dough you shall offer up a cake for a heave-offering: as the heave-offering of the threshing floor, so shall you heave it.
21 Of the first of your dough you shall give to Yahweh a heave-offering throughout your generations.
22 When you shall err, and not observe all these commandments, which Yahweh has spoken to Moses,
23 even all that Yahweh has commanded you by Moses, from the day that Yahweh gave commandment, and onward throughout your generations;
24 then it shall be, if it be done unwittingly, without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bull for a burnt offering, for a sweet savor to Yahweh, with the meal-offering of it, and the drink-offering of it, according to the ordinance, and one male goat for a sin-offering.
25 The 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:
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:
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 15
Commentary on Numbers 15 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Occurrences During the Thirty-Seven Years of Wandering in the Wilderness - Numbers 15-19
After the unhappy issue of the attempt to penetrate into Canaan, in opposition to the will of God and the advice of Moses, the Israelites remained “many days” in Kadesh, as the Lord did not hearken to their lamentations concerning the defeat which they had suffered at the hands of the Canaanites and Amalekites. Then they turned, and took their journey, as the Lord had commanded (Numbers 14:25), into the wilderness, in the direction towards the Red Sea (Deuteronomy 1:45; Deuteronomy 2:1); and in the first month of the fortieth year they came again into the desert of Zin, to Kadesh ( Numbers 20:1). All that we know respecting this journeying from Kadesh into the wilderness in the direction towards the Red Sea, and up to the time of their return to the desert of Zin, is limited to a number of names of places of encampment given in the list of journeying stages in Numbers 33:19-30, out of which, as the situation of the majority of them is altogether unknown, or at all events has not yet been determined, no connected account of the journeys of Israel during this interval of thirty-seven years can possibly be drawn. The most important event related in connection with this period is the rebellion of the company of Korah against Moses and Aaron, and the re-establishment of the Aaronic priesthood and confirmation of their rights, which this occasioned (chs. 16-18). This rebellion probably occurred in the first portion of the period in question. In addition to this there are only a few laws recorded, which were issued during this long time of punishment, and furnished a practical proof of the continuance of the covenant which the Lord had made with the nation of Israel at Sinai. There was nothing more to record in connection with these thirty-seven years, which formed the second stage in the guidance of Israel through the desert. For, as Baumgarten has well observed, “the fighting men of Israel had fallen under the judgment of Jehovah, and the sacred history, therefore, was no longer concerned with them; whilst the youth, in whom the life and hope of Israel were preserved, had as yet no history at all.” Consequently we have no reason to complain, as Ewald does ( Gesch . ii. pp. 241, 242), that “the great interval of forty years remains a perfect void;” and still less occasion to dispose of the gap, as this scholar has done, by supposing that the last historian left out a great deal from the history of the forty years' wanderings. The supposed “void” was completely filled up by the gradual dying out of the generation which had been rejected by God.
Numbers 15:1-2
Regulations concerning Sacrifices. - Vv. 1-16. For the purpose of reviving the hopes of the new generation that was growing up, and directing their minds to the promised land, during the mournful and barren time when judgment was being executed upon the race that had been condemned, Jehovah communicated various laws through Moses concerning the presentation of sacrifices in the land that He would give them (Numbers 15:1 and Numbers 15:2), whereby the former laws of sacrifice were supplemented and completed. The first of these laws had reference to the connection between meat-offerings and drink-offerings on the one hand, and burnt-offerings and slain-offerings on the other.
Numbers 15:3-5
In the land of Canaan, every burnt and slain-offering, whether prepared in fulfilment of a vow, or spontaneously, or on feast-days (cf. Leviticus 7:16; Leviticus 22:18, and Leviticus 23:38), was to be associated with a meat-offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and a drink-offering of wine, - the quantity to be regulated according to the kind of animal that was slain in sacrifice. (See Leviticus 23:18, where this connection is already mentioned in the case of the festal sacrifices.) For a lamb ( כּבשׂ , i.e., either sheep or goat, cf. Numbers 15:11), they were to take the tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with the quarter of a hin of oil and the quarter of a hin of wine, as a drink-offering. In Numbers 15:5, the construction changes from the third to the second person. עשׂה , to prepare, as in Exodus 29:38.
Numbers 15:6-7
For a ram, they were to take two tenths of fine flour, with the third of a hin of oil and the third of a hin of wine.
Numbers 15:8-10
For an ox, three tenths of fine flour, with half a hin of oil and half a hin of wine. The הקריב (3rd person) in Numbers 15:9, between תּעשׂה in Numbers 15:8, and תּקריב in Numbers 15:10, is certainly striking and unusual, but no so offensive as to render it necessary to alter it into ותּקריב .
Numbers 15:11-12
The quantities mentioned were to be offered with every ox, or ram, or lamb, of either sheep or goat, and therefore the number of the appointed quantities of meat and drink-offerings was to correspond to the number of sacrificial animals.
Numbers 15:13-14
These rules were to apply not only to the sacrifices of those that were born in Israel, but also to those of the strangers living among them. By “these things,” in Numbers 15:13, we are to understand the meat and drink-offerings already appointed.
Numbers 15:15-25
“ As for the assembly, there shall be one law for the Israelite and the stranger,...an eternal ordinance...before Jehovah .” הקּהל , which is construed absolutely, refers to the assembling of the nation before Jehovah, or to the congregation viewed in its attitude with regard to God.
A second law (Numbers 15:17-21) appoints, on the ground of the general regulations in Exodus 22:28 and Exodus 23:19, the presentation of a heave-offering from the bread which they would eat in the land of Canaan, viz., a first-fruit of groat-meal ( עריסת ראשׁית ) baked as cake ( חלּה ). Arisoth , which is only used in connection with the gift of first-fruits, in Ezekiel 44:30; Nehemiah 10:38, and the passage before us, signifies most probably groats, or meal coarsely bruised, like the talmudical ערסן , contusum, mola, far , and indeed far hordei . This cake of the groats of first-fruits they were to offer “ as a heave-offering of the threshing-floor, ” i.e., as a heave-offering of the bruised corn, in the same manner as this (therefore, in addition to it, and along with it); and that “ according to your generations ” (see Exodus 12:14), that is to say, for all time, to consecrate a gift of first-fruits to the Lord, not only of the grains of corn, but also of the bread made from the corn, and “ to cause a blessing to rest upon his house ” (Ezekiel 44:30). Like all the gifts of first-fruits, this cake also fell to the portion of the priests (see Ezek. and Neh. ut sup .).
To these there are added, in Numbers 15:22, Numbers 15:31, laws relating to sin-offerings , the first of which, in Numbers 15:22-26, is distinguished from the case referred to in Leviticus 4:13-21, by the fact that the sin is not described here, as it is there, as “ doing one of the commandments of Jehovah which ought not to be done,” but as “not doing all that Jehovah had spoken through Moses.” Consequently, the allusion here is not to sins of commission, but to sins of omission, not following the law of God, “ even (as is afterwards explained in Numbers 15:23) all that the Lord hath commanded you by the hand of Moses from the day that the Lord hath commanded, and thenceforward according to your generations, ” i.e., since the first beginning of the giving of the law, and during the whole of the time following ( Knobel ). These words apparently point to a complete falling away of the congregation from the whole of the law. Only the further stipulation in Numbers 15:24, “ if it occur away from the eyes of the congregation through error ” (in oversight), cannot be easily reconciled with this, as it seems hardly conceivable that an apostasy from the entire law should have remained hidden from the congregation. This “not doing all the commandments of Jehovah,” of which the congregation is supposed to incur the guilt without perceiving it, might consist either in the fact that, in particular instances, whether from oversight or negligence, the whole congregation omitted to fulfil the commandments of God, i.e., certain precepts of the law, sc., in the fact that they neglected the true and proper fulfilment of the whole law, either, as Outram supposes, “by retaining to a certain extent the national rites, and following the worship of the true God, and yet at the same time acting unconsciously in opposition to the law, through having been led astray by some common errors;” or by allowing the evil example of godless rulers to seduce them to neglect their religious duties, or to adopt and join in certain customs and usages of the heathen, which appeared to be reconcilable with the law of Jehovah, though they really led to contempt and neglect of the commandments of the Lord.
(Note: Maimonides (see Outram , ex veterum sententia ) understands this law as relating to extraneous worship; and Outram himself refers to the times of the wicked kings, “when the people neglected their hereditary rites, and, forgetting the sacred laws, fell by a common sin into the observance of the religious rites of other nations.” Undoubtedly, we have historical ground in 2 Chronicles 29:21., and Ezra 8:35, for this interpretation of our law, but further allusions are not excluded in consequence. We cannot agree with Baumgarten , therefore, in restricting the difference between Leviticus 4:13. and the passage before us to the fact, that the former supposes the transgression of one particular commandment on the part of the whole congregation, whilst the latter (Numbers 15:22, Numbers 15:23) refers to a continued lawless condition on the part of Israel.)
But as a disregard or neglect of the commandments of God had to be expiated, a burnt-offering was to be added to the sin-offering, that the separation of the congregation from the Lord, which had arisen from the sin of omission, might be entirely removed. The apodosis commences with והיה in Numbers 15:24, but is interrupted by מעי אם , and resumed again with ועשׂוּ , “ it shall be, if...the whole congregation shall prepare, ” etc. The burnt-offering, being the principal sacrifice, is mentioned as usual before the sin-offering, although, when presented, it followed the latter, on account of its being necessary that the sin should be expiated before the congregation could sanctify its life and efforts afresh to the Lord in the burnt-offering. “ One kid of the goats: ” see Leviticus 4:23. כּמּשׂפּט (as in Leviticus 5:10; Leviticus 9:16, etc.) refers to the right established in Numbers 15:8, Numbers 15:9, concerning the combination of the meat and drink-offering with the burnt-offering. The sin-offering was to be treated according to the rule laid down in Leviticus 4:14.
Numbers 15:26
This law was to apply not only to the children of Israel, but also to the stranger among them, “ for (sc., it has happened) to the whole nation in mistake. ” As the sin extended to the whole nation, in which the foreigners were also included, the atonement was also to apply to the whole.
Numbers 15:27-29
In the same way, again, there was one law for the native and the stranger, in relation to sins of omission on the part of single individuals. The law laid doon in Leviticus 5:6 (cf. Leviticus 4:27.) for the Israelites, is repeated here in Numbers 15:27, Numbers 15:28, and in Numbers 15:28 it is raised into general validity for foreigners also. In Numbers 15:29, האזרח is written absolutely for לאזרח .
Numbers 15:30-31
But it was only sins committed by mistake (see at Leviticus 4:2) that could be expiated by sin-offerings. Whoever, on the other hand, whether a native or a foreigner, committed a sin “ with a high hand, ” - i.e., so that he raised his hand, as it were, against Jehovah, or acted in open rebellion against Him, - blasphemed God, and was to be cut off (see Genesis 17:14); for he had despised the word of Jehovah, and broken His commandment, and was to atone for it with his life. בהּ עונה , “ its crime upon it; ” i.e., it shall come upon such a soul in the punishment which it shall endure.
The History of the Sabbath-Breaker is no doubt inserted here as a practical illustration of sinning “with a high hand.” It shows, too, at the same time, how the nation, as a whole, was impressed with the inviolable sanctity of the Lord's day. From the words with which it is introduced, “ and the children of Israel were in the wilderness, ” all that can be gathered is, that the occurrence took place at the time when Israel was condemned to wander about in the wilderness for forty years. They found a man gathering sticks in the desert on the Sabbath, and brought him as an open transgressor of the law of the Sabbath before Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation, i.e., the college of elders, as the judicial authorities of the congregation (Exodus 18:25.). They kept him in custody, like the blasphemer in Leviticus 24:12, because it had not yet been determined what was to be done to him. It is true that it had already been laid down in Exodus 31:14-15, and Exodus 35:2, that any breach of the law of the Sabbath should be punished by death and extermination, but the mode had not yet been prescribed. This was done now, and Jehovah commanded stoning (see Leviticus 20:2), which was executed upon the criminal without delay.
(cf. Deuteronomy 22:12). The command to wear Tassels on the Edge of the Upper Garment appears to have been occasioned by the incident just described. The Israelites were to wear ציצת , tassels, on the wings of their upper garments, or, according to Deuteronomy 22:12, at the four corners of the upper garment. כּסוּת , the covering in which a man wraps himself, synonymous with בּגד , was the upper garment, consisting of a four-cornered cloth or piece of stuff, which was thrown over the body-coat (see my Bibl. Archäol . ii. pp. 36, 37), and is not to be referred, as Schultz supposes, to the bed-coverings also, although this garment was actually used as a counterpane by the poor (see Exodus 22:25-26). “ And upon the tassel of the wing they shall put a string of hyacinth-blue, ” namely, to fasten the tassel to the edge of the garment. ציצת ( fem ., from ציץ , the glittering, the bloom or flower) signifies something flowery or bloom-like, and is used in Ezekiel 8:3 for a lock of hair; here it is applied to a tassel, as being made of twisted threads: lxx κράσπεδα ; Matthew 23:5, “borders.” The size of these tassels is not prescribed. The Pharisees liked to make them large, to exhibit openly their punctilious fulfilment of the law. For the Rabbinical directions how to make them, see Carpzov. apparat . pp. 197ff.; and Bodenschatz, kirchliche Verfassung der heutigen Juden, iv. pp. 11ff.
“ And it shall be to you for a tassel, ” i.e., the fastening of the tassel with the dark blue thread to the corners of your garments shall be to you a tassel, “ that ye, when ye see it, may remember all the commandments of Jehovah, and do them; and ye shall not stray after your hearts and your eyes, after which ye go a whoring .” The zizith on the sky-blue thread was to serve as a memorial sign to the Israelites, to remind them of the commandments of God, that they might have them constantly before their eyes and follow them, and not direct their heart and eyes to the things of this world, which turn away from the word of God, and lead astray to idolatry (cf. Proverbs 4:25-26). Another reason for these instructions, as is afterwards added in Numbers 15:40, was to remind Israel of all the commandments of the Lord, that they might do them and be holy to their God, and sanctify their daily life to Him who had brought them out of Egypt, to be their God, i.e., to show Himself as God to them.