Paths in Biblical Studies

Book of Numbers · Chapter 15 of 36

Numbers 15: Verse-by-Verse Commentary (with Videos)

41 verses · 5 video commentaries from 5 courses · Berean Standard Bible

1Then the LORD said to Moses,

2“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: After you enter the land that I am giving you as a home

3and you present a food offering to the LORD from the herd or flock to produce a pleasing aroma to the LORD—either a burnt offering or a sacrifice, for a special vow or freewill offering or appointed feast—

4then the one presenting his offering to the LORD shall also present a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter hin of olive oil.

5With the burnt offering or sacrifice of each lamb, you are to prepare a quarter hin of wine as a drink offering.

6With a ram you are to prepare a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of olive oil,

7and a third of a hin of wine as a drink offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

8When you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice to fulfill a vow or as a peace offering to the LORD,

9present with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of olive oil.

10Also present half a hin of wine as a drink offering. It is a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

11This is to be done for each bull, ram, lamb, or goat.

12This is how you must prepare each one, no matter how many.

13Everyone who is native-born shall prepare these things in this way when he presents a food offering as a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

14And for the generations to come, if a foreigner residing with you or someone else among you wants to prepare a food offering as a pleasing aroma to the LORD, he is to do exactly as you do.

15The assembly is to have the same statute both for you and for the foreign resident; it is a permanent statute for the generations to come. You and the foreigner shall be the same before the LORD.

16The same law and the same ordinance will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing with you.”

17Then the LORD said to Moses,

18“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land to which I am bringing you

19and you eat the food of the land, you shall lift up an offering to the LORD.

20From the first of your dough, you are to lift up a cake as a contribution; offer it just like an offering from the threshing floor.

21Throughout your generations, you are to give the LORD an offering from the first of your dough.

22Now if you stray unintentionally and do not obey all these commandments that the LORD has spoken to Moses—

23all that the LORD has commanded you through Moses from the day the LORD gave them and continuing through the generations to come—

24and if it was done unintentionally without the knowledge of the congregation, then the whole congregation is to prepare one young bull as a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD, with its grain offering and drink offering according to the regulation, and one male goat as a sin offering.

25The priest is to make atonement for the whole congregation of Israel, so that they may be forgiven; for the sin was unintentional and they have brought to the LORD a food offering and a sin offering, presented before the LORD for their unintentional sin.

26Then the whole congregation of Israel and the foreigners residing among them will be forgiven, since it happened to all the people unintentionally.

27Also, if one person sins unintentionally, he is to present a year-old female goat as a sin offering.

28And the priest shall make atonement before the LORD on behalf of the person who erred by sinning unintentionally; and when atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven.

29You shall have the same law for the one who acts in error, whether he is a native-born Israelite or a foreigner residing among you.

30But the person who sins defiantly, whether a native or foreigner, blasphemes the LORD. That person shall be cut off from among his people.

31He shall certainly be cut off, because he has despised the word of the LORD and broken His commandment; his guilt remains on him.”

32While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day.

33Those who found the man gathering wood brought him to Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation,

34and because it had not been declared what should be done to him, they placed him in custody.

35And the LORD said to Moses, “The man must surely be put to death. The whole congregation is to stone him outside the camp.”

36So the whole congregation took the man outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

37And the LORD said to Moses,

38“Speak to the Israelites and tell them that throughout the generations to come they are to make for themselves tassels for the corners of their garments, with a blue cord on each tassel.

39These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all the commandments of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by following your own heart and your own eyes.

40Then you will remember and obey all My commandments, and you will be holy to your God.

41I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD your God.”

Numbers 15 Section and Chapter Commentary

Num 15:32-36

Jewish law on stoning and crucifixion

The assertion that Jewish law always required victims of stoning to be crucified (hanged on a tree) is false. Deuteronomy 21:21-23 states that a person hanged on a tree should not be left overnight, but it does not mandate hanging after stoning. Biblical accounts of stoning, such as in Leviticus 24, Numbers 15, Joshua 7, 1 Kings 12, 1 Kings 21, 2 Chronicles 24, and Acts 7 and 14, do not show victims being crucified or hanged afterward.

Summarized by AI · Did Jesus Really Exist? Evidence That Even Atheist Historians Accept · Lecture 2: Jesus and the Mythicists · watch the clip

Fourth Commandment: Sabbath Observance

The commandment to 'honor the Sabbath day' requires refraining from work on the seventh day of the week (Saturday), mirroring God's rest after creation. Violating the Sabbath was considered a serious offense, punishable by death in the Book of Numbers.

Summarized by AI · Finding Moses: What Scholars Know About the Exodus and the Jewish Law · Lecture 4: The Ten Commandments · watch the clip

Sabbath Work Prohibitions

The Pentateuch broadly prohibits "all manner of work" on the Sabbath, but only provides a few specific examples, such as plowing, reaping, kindling fire, gathering wood, and leaving one's place. This lack of detailed definition led to extensive debate among first-century Jews regarding what constituted prohibited work.

Summarized by AI · Judaism in the Time of Jesus: Torah Law and Everyday Life in First-Century Judea · Lecture 4: Daily Life II: Sabbath and Festivals · watch the clip

Num 15:37-41

The Ten Commandments in Second Temple Daily Ritual

The Mishnah, specifically M Tamid 5:1, describes the daily temple rituals where priests would recite the Ten Commandments along with the Shema. This practice, occurring twice daily, suggests that by the end of the Second Temple period, the Ten Commandments had attained significant importance in Jewish liturgy, on par with the central Shema prayer.

Summarized by AI · The Ten Commandments · Lecture 9: The Ten Commandments in Early Judaism and Christianity · watch the clip

Numbers 15 Verse Notes

Num 15:10

Fire Offering vs. Gift in Sacrificial Language

The term 'fire offering' in biblical texts, such as Numbers 15:10, was traditionally understood to refer to offerings burned with fire because the Hebrew word closely resembled the word for fire. However, the discovery of Ugaritic texts revealed a similar word meaning 'gift'. This reinterpretation clarifies passages describing libations, which are poured out rather than burned, suggesting that many 'fire offerings' were actually 'gift offerings' to the deity.

Summarized by AI · The Hebrew Bible: Exploring the Literature of Ancient Israel · Lecture 2: The Historical Critical Method Explained · watch the clip

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