How does Numbers 29:15 fit into the broader context of Israelite festivals? Canonical Text “and a tenth of an ephah with each of the fourteen male lambs—” (Numbers 29:15) Immediate Literary Setting Numbers 28–29 is a single, unified statute: a liturgical calendar recited to Israel on the plains of Moab just before their entrance into Canaan. Chapter 28 lists the daily, weekly, monthly, and spring festivals; chapter 29 turns to the seventh-month celebrations—Trumpets (vv. 1–6), the Day of Atonement (vv. 7–11), and the Feast of Tabernacles/Booths (vv. 12–40). Verse 15 falls on the very first day of Tabernacles and specifies the grain-offering ratio that accompanies the lambs of that day’s burnt offering. Sacrificial Arithmetic of Tabernacles 1. Burnt offerings: Day 1 starts with 13 bulls, 2 rams, and 14 lambs; the bulls decrease by one each day, rams and lambs remain constant. 2. Grain offerings: Three-tenths of an ephah per bull (v. 14), two-tenths per ram (v. 14), and—our verse—one-tenth per lamb (v. 15). 3. Sin offering: One male goat each day (v. 16). The “tenth-of-an-ephah” tied to each lamb institutes proportional worship—every life placed on the altar is matched by a life-sustaining measure of grain (Leviticus 2:1-16). Precision underscores divine order and foreshadows the once-for-all perfection of Christ’s self-offering (Hebrews 10:1-14). Placement within Israel’s Festival Cycle • Passover/Unleavened Bread (first month) – redemption initiated. • Firstfruits & Weeks – provision acknowledged. • Trumpets – covenant alert. • Day of Atonement – sin covered. • Tabernacles – God dwelling with His people in joy. Numbers 29:15 therefore supports the climactic feast that celebrates harvested abundance and anticipates eschatological restoration (Zechariah 14:16-19; Revelation 21:3). Symbolism and Theology • Fourteen lambs: two complete sevens, denoting fullness and covenant completion. • Seventy total bulls over the week (13+12+…+7): a traditional number for the nations (Genesis 10); Israel’s worship is intercessory, pointing to global redemption (Isaiah 2:2-4). • One-tenth ephah: the standard grain measure for a single life (Exodus 16:36). Every lamb equals one human portion—substitutionary emphasis. Second-Temple Practice Josephus (Ant. 3.244-247) echoes the same lamb-to-grain ratio, and Mishnah Sukkah 5.4 describes the daily bull decrease but leaves the lamb-offering constant—an exact reflection of Numbers 29, further anchoring the historicity of the prescription. Christological Trajectory John 1:14 literally says, “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.” The Feast of Tabernacles’ precise sacrifices, including the grain-to-lamb proportion of v. 15, anticipate the Messiah’s flawless provision: “For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:33). Eschatological Outlook Prophets foresee nations streaming to Jerusalem to keep Tabernacles (Zechariah 14). The seventy bulls picture the ingathering of all peoples; the unwavering fourteen lambs forecast the sufficiency and constancy of Messiah’s atonement during the millennial reign. Practical Devotion Numbers 29:15 confronts modern readers with God’s meticulous care: worship is not haphazard but measured. Believers respond by offering themselves as “living sacrifices” (Romans 12:1), confident that the Lamb who once bore sin still supplies daily bread. Conclusion Numbers 29:15 is a single grain-offering sentence, yet it meshes flawlessly with the mathematical, agricultural, theological, and prophetic tapestry of Israel’s festival system. It showcases divine precision, covenant fullness, and the forward pull toward the universal, Christ-centered harvest still to come. |
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