🔢WEB · Numbers 15:4
What does Numbers 15:4 mean?
"then he who offers his offering shall offer to Yahweh a meal offering of one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with the fourth part of a hin of oil."
— Numbers 15:4 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you have come into the land of your habitations, which I give to you,
and will make an offering by fire to Yahweh, a burnt offering, or a sacrifice, to accomplish a vow, or as a freewill offering, or in your set feasts, to make a pleasant aroma to Yahweh, of the herd, or of the flock;
then he who offers his offering shall offer to Yahweh a meal offering of one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with the fourth part of a hin of oil.
You shall prepare wine for the drink offering, the fourth part of a hin, with the burnt offering, or for the sacrifice, for each lamb.
“‘Or for a ram, you shall prepare for a meal offering two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with the third part of a hin of oil;
and for the drink offering you shall offer the third part of a hin of wine, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
Explanation
Numbers 15:4 gives a specific instruction about what must accompany certain sacrifices offered to God. In plain language, it says that whenever someone brings an offering to the Lord, they are also required to bring a grain offering alongside it — a measured amount of fine flour, about one-tenth of an ephah (roughly two quarts), mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil (about one quart). This was not a separate, optional gift but a required addition that had to accompany the primary sacrifice.
To understand the context, this passage comes from the book of Numbers, traditionally attributed to Moses, written for the Israelites during their wilderness wanderings after the exodus from Egypt. Chapter 15 specifically addresses instructions God gave for when the Israelites would finally enter the Promised Land and begin offering sacrifices in a settled, agricultural society rather than a nomadic one. The chapter follows the account of the spies' failed mission and the people's unbelief in chapter 14, which resulted in that generation being barred from the land. God's giving of these detailed worship instructions right after this judgment is significant — it reaffirms that the promise of the land still stands and that a future generation will indeed enter it and worship there. The regulations detail how burnt offerings, sacrifices, and peace offerings were to be accompanied by grain and drink offerings, with amounts scaled according to the size of the animal being sacrificed.
Theologically, this verse reflects the comprehensive and orderly nature of worship under the Mosaic covenant. The grain offering
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