Offerings from the Leaders

¹On the day Moses finished setting up the tabernacle, he anointed and consecrated it and all its furnishings, along with the altar and all its utensils. After he anointed and consecrated these things,[#7:1 Ex 39:32; 40:17; Nm 9:15]

²the leaders of Israel, the heads of their ancestral families, presented an offering. They were the tribal leaders who supervised the registration.[#7:2 Lit the house of their fathers; #7:2 Nm 1:4–16]

³They brought as their offering before the Lord six covered carts and twelve oxen, a cart from every two leaders and an ox from each one, and presented them in front of the tabernacle.

⁴The Lord said to Moses,

⁵‘Accept these from them to be used in the work of the tent of meeting, and give this offering to the Levites, to each division according to their service.’

⁶So Moses took the carts and oxen and gave them to the Levites.

⁷He gave the Gershonites two carts and four oxen corresponding to their service,[#7:7 Nm 4:23–28,32]

⁸and gave the Merarites four carts and eight oxen corresponding to their service, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.[#7:8 Nm 3:36–37; 4:30–33]

⁹But he did not give any to the Kohathites, since their responsibility was service related to the holy objects carried on their shoulders.[#7:9 Nm 4:4–16; #7:9 Nm 3:28–31; 4:4–20]

¹⁰The leaders also presented the dedication gift for the altar when it was anointed. The leaders presented their offerings in front of the altar.[#7:10 Nm 7:11,84,88; 1Kg 8:62–64; 2Ch 7:4–9; Neh 12:27]

¹¹The Lord told Moses, ‘Each day have one leader present his offering for the dedication of the altar.’[#7:11 Ex 40:10]

⁸⁴This was the dedication gift from the leaders of Israel for the altar when it was anointed: twelve silver dishes, twelve silver basins, and twelve gold bowls.[#7:84 Nm 7:1,10]

⁸⁵Each silver dish weighed 1.5 kilograms, and each basin 800 grams. The total weight of the silver articles was 28 kilograms measured by the standard sanctuary shekel.[#7:85 Lit 130 (shekels); #7:85 Lit 70 (shekels); #7:85 Lit 2,400 (shekels)]

⁸⁶The twelve gold bowls full of incense each weighed 115 grams measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. The total weight of the gold bowls was 1.4 kilograms.[#7:86 Lit 120 (shekels)]

⁸⁷All the livestock for the burnt offering totalled twelve bulls, twelve rams, and twelve male lambs a year old, with their grain offerings, and twelve male goats for the sin offering.[#7:87 Lv 1:1–13; 6:8–13; #7:87 Lv 4:22–26; 6:24–30; Nm 28:11–15]

⁸⁸All the livestock for the fellowship sacrifice totalled twenty-four bulls, sixty rams, sixty male goats, and sixty male lambs a year old. This was the dedication gift for the altar after it was anointed.[#7:88 Lv 3:1–17; 7:11–21]

⁸⁹When Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord , he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim. He spoke to him that way.[#7:89 Nm 12:8; #7:89 Ex 25:10–22; 37:1–9; 1Kg 6:25]