🔢WEB · Numbers 7:12
What does Numbers 7:12 mean?
"He who offered his offering the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah,"
— Numbers 7:12 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because the service of the sanctuary belonged to them; they carried it on their shoulders.
The princes gave offerings for the dedication of the altar in the day that it was anointed, even the princes gave their offerings before the altar.
Yahweh said to Moses, “They shall offer their offering, each prince on his day, for the dedication of the altar.”
He who offered his offering the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah,
and his offering was: one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering;
one golden ladle of ten shekels, full of incense;
one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;
Explanation
Numbers 7:12 begins the account of a twelve-day ceremony in which the leaders of Israel's twelve tribes brought offerings to dedicate the altar after the tabernacle was completed and consecrated. This verse simply identifies the first man to present his tribe's gift: Nahshon, son of Amminadab, representing the tribe of Judah. He offered on the first day, and the chapter goes on to describe leaders from the other tribes following him on subsequent days, each bringing an identical set of offerings.
The book of Numbers was written to record Israel's organization and journey from Sinai toward the Promised Land, traditionally attributed to Moses. This particular chapter falls right after the tabernacle's completion (Exodus 40) and its consecration (Leviticus 8-9), and just before Israel breaks camp to march (Numbers 10). The twelve tribal leaders, having already been named in Numbers 1-2 as heads of their tribes for census and encampment purposes, now step forward one by one to dedicate the altar with gifts of silver, gold, animals for sacrifice, and grain offerings. Nahshon's placement as the first to offer is not incidental — Judah was positioned first among the tribes in the wilderness camp (Numbers 2:3), foreshadowing its later prominence as the tribe from which King David, and ultimately Christ, would come. Nahshon himself is also named elsewhere as an ancestor in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:4, Luke 3:32-33) and as
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