🔢WEB · Numbers 28:2
What does Numbers 28:2 mean?
"“Command the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘See that you present my offering, my food for my offerings made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to me, in their due season.’"
— Numbers 28:2 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
“Command the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘See that you present my offering, my food for my offerings made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to me, in their due season.’
You shall tell them, ‘This is the offering made by fire which you shall offer to Yahweh: male lambs a year old without defect, two day by day, for a continual burnt offering.
You shall offer the one lamb in the morning, and you shall offer the other lamb at evening;
with one tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil.
Explanation
Numbers 28:2 records God's instruction to Moses, to be passed on to the people of Israel, concerning the regular offerings they were to bring at their appointed times. In plain language, God is saying: make sure you consistently and faithfully bring the sacrifices I have commanded—offerings burned on the altar—because they are pleasing to me when offered properly and on schedule. The verse introduces a chapter that goes on to detail the daily burnt offerings, the Sabbath offerings, the monthly offerings, and the offerings for the various feasts throughout the year.
The book of Numbers records the experiences of Israel during their wilderness journey after leaving Egypt, and this particular section comes near the end of the book, as the second generation of Israelites prepares to enter the Promised Land. Moses is the mediator through whom God communicates his commands, and the audience is the whole covenant community. This chapter reiterates and organizes sacrificial regulations already given earlier (in Exodus and Leviticus), likely to remind the new generation of their covenant obligations as they stand on the verge of settling in Canaan and establishing ongoing worship practices.
Theologically, the verse emphasizes several important ideas. First, it underscores that worship is not incidental or optional but is something commanded by God with specific expectations regarding timing ("in their due season") and manner. Second, the language of "food" and "pleasant aroma" reflects ancient Near Eastern sacrificial imagery, where offerings were pictured as a kind of meal presented to God—not because God liter
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