🔢WEB · Numbers 8:1
What does Numbers 8:1 mean?
"Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,"
— Numbers 8:1 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
“Speak to Aaron, and tell him, ‘When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lamp stand.’”
Aaron did so. He lit its lamps to light the area in front of the lamp stand, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
This was the workmanship of the lamp stand, beaten work of gold. From its base to its flowers, it was beaten work: according to the pattern which Yahweh had shown Moses, so he made the lamp stand.
Explanation
Numbers 8:1 is one of those short transitional statements found throughout the Pentateuch that simply announces that God is about to speak. In plain language, it says that Yahweh — the personal covenant name of God, translated "LORD" in most English Bibles — spoke to Moses. The verse itself contains no content of the message; it functions as an introduction to what follows, in this case the instructions in verses 2-4 concerning how Aaron was to set up the lamps on the golden lampstand in the tabernacle.
The book of Numbers records the experience of Israel during their forty years in the wilderness after leaving Egypt, and Moses is understood to be the human author and mediator through whom God's laws and instructions were delivered to the nation. This particular formula, "Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying," occurs dozens of times throughout Numbers, Leviticus, and Exodus. It marks a new section of divine instruction, distinguishing it from narrative or historical material. The setting is the wilderness
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