Bible Study Numbers 28
‹ Numbers

Numbers 28 · WEB

Daily, Sabbath, and Festival Offerings

Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.

Tap a verse to copy it, open the Hebrew, or write a note.

Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2"Command the children of Israel and tell them, 'My offering, my food for my offerings made by fire, for a pleasant aroma to me, you shall observe to offer to me in its due season.'
3You shall tell them, 'This is the offering made by fire which you shall offer to Yahweh: male lambs a year old without defect, two each day, for a continual burnt offering.
4The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight;
5with one tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with one quarter of a hin of beaten oil.
6It is a continual burnt offering which was ordained in Mount Sinai for a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
7Its drink offering shall be one quarter of a hin for each lamb. You shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to Yahweh in the holy place.
8The other lamb you shall offer at twilight. As the meal offering of the morning and as its drink offering, you shall offer it, an offering made by fire, a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
9On the Sabbath day you shall offer two male lambs a year old without defect, with two tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with oil, and its drink offering.
10This is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.
11In the beginnings of your months you shall offer a burnt offering to Yahweh: two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without defect;
12and three tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with oil, for each bull; and two tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with oil, for the one ram;
13and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with oil, for each lamb; for a burnt offering of pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
14Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine for a bull, a third of a hin for a ram, and a quarter of a hin for a lamb. This is the burnt offering of every month throughout the months of the year.
15One male goat for a sin offering to Yahweh shall be offered, in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.
16In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, is Yahweh's Passover.
17On the fifteenth day of this month shall be a feast. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days.
18In the first day shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work;
19but you shall offer an offering made by fire, a burnt offering to Yahweh: two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old. They shall be without defect for you;
20with their meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil. Three tenths of an ephah you shall offer for a bull, and two tenths for a ram.
21You shall offer one tenth for each of the seven lambs;
22and one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you.
23You shall offer these in addition to the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering.
24In this way you shall offer daily throughout the seven days the food of the offering made by fire, for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh. It shall be offered in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.
25On the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work.
26Also on the day of the first fruits, when you offer a new meal offering to Yahweh in your feast of weeks, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work;
27but you shall offer a burnt offering for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh: two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs a year old;
28and their meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths for each bull, two tenths for the one ram,
29one tenth for each of the seven lambs;
30one male goat to make atonement for you.
31You shall offer them in addition to the continual burnt offering and its meal offering. They shall be without defect for you, with their drink offerings.
✶

Summary

As Israel prepares to enter Canaan, God reestablishes the full calendar of offerings: the daily morning and evening sacrifices (tamid), the additional Sabbath offerings, the New Moon offerings, the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost). Each occasion has specific, carefully calibrated offerings of bulls, rams, lambs, grain, oil, wine, and sin offerings. These offerings together create a rhythm of continual worship woven into Israel's daily, weekly, and annual life.

Themes

  • Worship as a structured, sustained rhythm throughout life
  • The "continual" offering as the baseline of Israel's relationship with God
  • Each sacred time having its specific, appropriate offerings
  • Atonement woven into every festival and gathering
  • God's desire for regular, unbroken communion with his people

Key verses

  • Num 28:10 — “This is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.”
  • Num 28:2 — “My offering, my food for my offerings made by fire, for a pleasant aroma to me, you shall observe to offer to me in its due season.”
  • Num 28:3 — “This is the offering made by fire which you shall offer to Yahweh: male lambs a year old without defect, two each day, for a continual burnt offering.”

Context & background

These offerings are reviewed for the new generation in the plains of Moab (modern central Jordan) before the conquest. The "continual burnt offering" (tamid) — two lambs daily, one at dawn and one at dusk — was the heartbeat of Israelite worship, providing a constant smoke and aroma before God that never ceased. Chapters 28-29 together form the comprehensive festival calendar, escalating from daily to weekly to monthly to annual observances. The New Moon sacrifice established the beginning of each month as a sacred time. Passover and Unleavened Bread (month one) and the Feast of Weeks/Pentecost (Shavuot, seven weeks after Passover) are covered here; chapter 29 addresses the seventh-month festivals. These chapters together gave Israel a worship calendar that structured their entire year around God's redemptive acts.

Cross-references

  • Acts 2:1-4 — Pentecost (Feast of Weeks) is the day the Holy Spirit was poured out — the day Israel always brought firstfruits
  • Ex 12:1-14 — The original Passover that this chapter calls Israel to observe annually
  • Ex 29:38-42 — The first prescription of the daily (tamid) burnt offering
  • Heb 10:1-14 — The author of Hebrews argues these repeated sacrifices pointed forward to Christ's once-for-all sacrifice
  • John 1:29 — "Behold, the Lamb of God" — Jesus as the fulfillment of all these lamb offerings

Check your reading

Log in to take the quiz and save your progress.

  1. Observe

    What was the "continual burnt offering" (vv. 3-4), and when was it offered?

  2. Observe

    How did the Sabbath offering relate to the daily offering (v. 10)?

  3. Interpret

    Why does God structure worship around a daily, unceasing rhythm rather than occasional bursts?

  4. Interpret

    Why does atonement appear at every sacred gathering?

  5. Apply

    What is your "continual offering" — a daily, regular practice keeping you in communion with God?

  6. Apply

    Do your weekly and annual rhythms reflect structured engagement with God?

Your journal

Write your own answers — they save automatically, and only you can see them.

Log in to write and save journal answers.

Apply (How does it apply to me?)

Personal notes (anything else about this chapter)