Numbers 29:21

29:12-40 Soon after the day of atonement, the day in which men were to afflict their souls, followed the feast of Tabernacles, in which they were to rejoice before the Lord. Their days of rejoicing were to be days of sacrifices. A disposition to be cheerful does us good, when it encourages our hearts in the duties of God's service. All the days of dwelling in booths they must offer sacrifices; while we are here in a tabernacle state, it is our interest, as well as our duty, constantly to keep up communion with God. The sacrifices for each of the seven days are appointed. Every day there must be a sin-offering, as in the other feasts. Our burnt-offerings of praise cannot be accepted of God, unless we have an interest in the great sacrifice which Christ offered, when he made himself a Sin-offering for us. And no extraordinary services should put aside stated devotions. Every thing here reminds us of our sinfulness. The life that we live in the flesh must be by the faith of the Son of God; until we go to be with him, to behold his glory, and praise his mercy, who hath loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. To whom be honour and glory for ever. Amen.

And ye shall offer a burnt offering,.... That is, on the first of the seven days, which was as follows: thirteen young bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year, they shall be without blemish; a very large sacrifice indeed, for these were offered besides one kid of the goats, for a sin offering, and the two lambs of the daily sacrifice, which were not omitted on account of this extraordinary offering; so that there were no less than thirty two animals sacrificed on this day: the meat and drink offerings for each, according to the kind of them, were as usual, and as before frequently observed; and the same sacrifices, meat offerings, and drink offerings, were offered on the six following days of the feast, only with this difference, that there was one bullock less every day; which it is thought may denote the decrease of sin in the people, and so an increase of holiness, or rather the gradual waxing old and vanishing away of the ceremonial law, and the sacrifices of it; and these bullocks ending in the number seven, which is a number may lead us to think of the great sacrifice these all typified, whereby Christ has perfected them that are sanctified.

Feast of tabernacles: compare Leviticus 23:33 ff. The offerings required at this feast were the largest of all. It was especially one of thankfulness to God for the gift of the fruits of the earth; and the quantity and the nature of the offerings (see Numbers 29:7-11 ) were determined accordingly.

The feast of Tabernacles, the special regulations for the celebration of which are contained in Leviticus 23:34-36 and Leviticus 23:39-43 , was distinguished above all the other feasts of the year by the great number of burnt-offerings, which raised it into the greatest festival of joy. On the seven feast-days, the first of which was to be celebrated with sabbatical rest and a holy meeting, there were to be offered, in addition to the daily burnt-offering, every day a he-goat for a sin-offering, and seventy oxen in all for a burnt-offering during the seven days, as well as every day two rams and fourteen yearling lambs, with the requisite meat-offerings and drink-offerings. Whilst, therefore, the number of rams and lambs was double the number offered at the Passover and feast of Pentecost, the number of oxen was fivefold; for, instead of fourteen, there were seventy offered during the seven days. This multiplication of the oxen was distributed in such a way, that instead of there being ten offered every day, there were thirteen on the first day, twelve on the second, and so on, deducting one every day, so that on the seventh day there were exactly seven offered; the arrangement being probably made for the purpose of securing the holy number seven for this last day, and indicating at the same time, through the gradual diminution in the number of sacrificial oxen, the gradual decrease in the festal character of the seven festal days.

The reason for this multiplication in the number of burnt-offerings is to be sought for in the nature of the feast itself. Their living in booths had already visibly represented to the people the defence and blessing of their God; and the foliage of these booths pointed out the glorious advantages of the inheritance received from the Lord. But this festival followed the completion of the ingathering of the fruits of the orchard and vineyard, and therefore was still more adapted, on account of the rich harvest of splendid and costly fruits which their inheritance had yielded, and which they were about to enjoy in peace now that the labour of agriculture was over, to fill their hearts with the greatest joy and gratitude towards the Lord and Giver of them all, and to make this festival a speaking representation of the blessedness of the people of God when resting from their labours. This blessedness which the Lord had prepared for His people, was also expressed in the numerous burnt-offerings that were sacrificed on every one of the seven days, and in which the congregation presented itself soul and body to the Lord, upon the basis of a sin-offering, as a living and holy sacrifice, to be more and more sanctified, transformed, and perfected by the fire of His holy love (see my Archol. i. p. 416).

4–7 . The Feast of Tabernacles 4 . They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written ] The manner of keeping the feast of tabernacles is described in Leviticus 23:34-42 ; Deuteronomy 16:13-15 . It was the autumn or vintage feast, the most joyous of all the great annual festivals. It commemorated the wanderings in the Desert. It would henceforth commemorate also the return from the Exile. At this festival Solomon dedicated his Temple, 1 Kings 8:65 ; and with this festival was connected the reading of the Law by Ezra under Nehemiah ( Nehemiah 8:14-16 ). ‘As it is written’, a shorter phrase for that which occurs in Ezra 3:2 . Cf. 2 Chronicles 30:5 ; 2 Chronicles 30:18 . by number, according to the custom , R.V. ordinance ] The words in the original are clearly a reference to the passage in Numbers 29. where the sacrifices for the feast of tabernacles are detailed, i.e. 13 young bullocks &c. on the first day, 12 &c. on the second, 11 &c. on the third, and so on. It is to be regretted that the same English words ‘according to their number, after the ordinance’, which occur as a kind of refrain in that chapter ( Numbers 29:18 ; Numbers 29:21 ; Numbers 29:24 ; Numbers 29:27 ; Numbers 29:30 ; Numbers 29:33 ; Numbers 29:37 ), were not either exactly reproduced here by the R.V., or altered there to ‘by their number, according to ordinance’.

They kept the feast of tabernacles as prescribed in the law, Leviticus 23:34 . "The burnt-offering day by day, according to number," means the burnt-offering day by day, according to number," means the burnt-offerings commanded for the several days of this festival, viz., on the first day thirteen oxen, on the second twelve, etc.; comp. Numbers 29:13-34 , where the words כּמשׁפּט בּמספּרם, Numbers 29:18 , Numbers 29:21 , Numbers 29:24 , etc., occur, which are written in our present verse כּם בּמספּר, by number, i.e., counted; comp. 1 Chronicles 9:28 ; 1 Chronicles 23:31 , etc.

[Reformed Biblical] not by abstaining so long from all servile works, but by offering extraordinary sacrifices each day. Numbers 29:13 ## Thirteen young bullocks; more sacrifices than at any other feast, partly because this feast was in the close of the year, when it was meet to supply the defects of the year past, and when they had gathered in all their fruits, Deu_16:13 ,15 and therefore ought to make the larger returns and acknowledgment to God; partly because it was God’s pleasure so to order it, for reasons known to himself, in whose will we ought to acquiesce. And the same reason holds why these sacrifices grew fewer and fewer every day. Numbers 29:14 Numbers 29:15 Numbers 29:16 Numbers 29:17 Numbers 29:18 ## Of which see for meat-offerings, Num_29:3 ,4,9,10 ; and for drink- offerings, Num_28:7 ,14 Numbers 29:19 Numbers 29:20 Numbers 29:21 Numbers 29:22 Numbers 29:23 Numbers 29:24 Numbers 29:25 Numbers 29:26 Numbers 29:27 Numbers 29:28 Numbers 29:29 Numbers 29:30 Numbers 29:31 Numbers 29:32 Numbers 29:33 Numbers 29:34 Numbers 29:35 Numbers 29:36 This was the last and great day of the feast, as it is called Joh_7:37, and yet the sacrifices were fewer than any other day, to teach them not to trust to the multitude of their sacrifices, nor to expect remission of sins from them, but from the one and only sacrifice of Christ. Numbers 29:37 Numbers 29:38 Numbers 29:39

40 . The minḥâh , or ‘meal-offering’ (see Leviticus 2), as it is expressly termed in the "" Numbers 28:5 , which in P is the regular concomitant of a burnt-offering (see Numbers 15:1-12 ; and cf. Numbers 28:9 ; Numbers 28:12-13 , &c.). a tenth part (of an ephah)] Heb. ‘ issârôn , only in P (28 times). The ephah was probably about 8 gallons, so the ‘ issârôn would be about 6½ pints (see further Kennedy, in DB. iv. 912b, near the bottom). fine flour ] Genesis 18:6 and often: as the material of a meal-offering Leviticus 2:1 ; Leviticus 2:4-5 ; Leviticus 2:7 , and elsewhere. mingled with … oil ] as v. 2, Leviticus 2:4-5 al. A ‘hin’ (Jos. Ant. iii. 8. 3) was 1/6 of the ‘bath’ (the equivalent for liquid measure of the ephah for dry measure, Ezekiel 45:11 ) = about 1⅓ gallon; ¼ of a hin would thus be about 2⅔ pints. For the oil of superior quality called beaten oil , see on Exodus 27:20 : this is the only minḥâh for which it is prescribed. a drink offering ] or libation ; also a frequent concomitant of the burnt-offering ( Numbers 15:5 ; Numbers 15:7 ; Numbers 15:10 ; cf. Numbers 28:9 ; Numbers 28:14 ; Numbers 29:18 ; Numbers 29:21 , &c.). According to Sir 50:15 it was poured out at the base of the altar. The amount, ¼ hin for a lamb, is the same as in Numbers 15:5 ; Numbers 28:14 ; for larger animals the amount was greater.