🔢WEB · Numbers 28:10
What does Numbers 28:10 mean?
"this is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, besides the continual burnt offering, and its drink offering."
— Numbers 28:10 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Its drink offering shall be the fourth part of a hin for the one lamb. You shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to Yahweh in the holy place.
The other lamb you shall offer at evening. As the meal offering of the morning, and as its drink offering, you shall offer it, an offering made by fire, for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
“‘On the Sabbath day, you shall offer two male lambs a year old without defect, and two tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with oil, and its drink offering:
this is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, besides the continual burnt offering, and its drink offering.
“‘In the beginnings of your months, you shall offer a burnt offering to Yahweh: two young bulls, and one ram, seven male lambs a year old without defect;
and three tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with oil, for each bull; and two tenth parts of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with oil, for the one ram;
and one tenth part of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering to every lamb; for a burnt offering of a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
Explanation
Numbers 28:10 comes in the middle of a passage that lays out Israel's calendar of required offerings — daily, weekly, monthly, and at the annual festivals. In plain language, this specific verse says that on top of the regular daily burnt offering (a lamb sacrificed every morning and every evening, which Israel was to offer continually, without interruption), there was an additional burnt offering required specifically for the Sabbath day. Verse 9, just before this one, specifies that offering: two lambs without blemish, along with a grain offering and its accompanying drink offering. Verse 10 then summarizes that this doubled offering is what belongs to "every Sabbath," added on top of the standing daily sacrifice.
The book of Numbers records instructions given through Moses to the Israelites during their wilderness journey, and this chapter (Numbers 28) is part of a larger section reviewing the sacrificial system that God established for the nation's worship life once they were settled and continuing their communal life before him. This particular list was likely restated here, later in the wilderness period, as a reminder and consolidation of Israel's ongoing religious obligations — the "perpetual due" of worship that was to continue generation after generation, regardless of circumstances. The audience is the whole community, since these offerings were made on behalf of the nation, not just individuals, and were carried out by the priests representing the people.
Theologically, the doubling of the burnt offering on the Sabbath reflects the unique honor and rest given to that day within Israel's calendar. The daily burnt offering already symb
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