Numbers 7 Footnotes

7:1-11 The time frame after the construction of the tabernacle is almost a year after the exodus from Egypt—that is, on the first day of the first month in the second year (Ex 40:17; Nm 9:15). This indicates that the first part of Numbers is a theological presentation rather than a chronological sequencing of events. This literary device is called “anticipatory explanation,” a common feature of Hebrew narrative. The dedication ceremony recorded here took place one month prior to the military census of chap. 1. Chapters 7–10 are concerned with celebration and consecration as the nation prepares for the journey from Mount Sinai to the promised land. This section provides information about the means (covered oxcarts) by which the Gershonites and Merarites (Levites) transported their respective portions of the tabernacle structure as outlined in 4:24-28,31-33.

7:12-89 On successive days a representative of one of the twelve tribes presented, in turn, the items required in the Israelite celebration, including covered oxcarts, sacrificial implements, and sacrificial elements for each of the three types of offering—whole burnt, sin, and fellowship/peace offerings. The tedious (to us) repetition of identical sets of gifts underscores the participation of each tribe in providing for the needs of the sanctuary with its various celebrations and commemorations. This was important to note as a statement of the tribes’ unity in the covenant with the Lord. The collective tribes contributed equally to the support of the priesthood, a pattern that is broken in the Korah rebellion of chaps. 16–17.