Numbers 7:10

The Time of Presentation

7:10 The leaders offered ¹  gifts ²  for ³  the dedication ⁴  of the altar when it was anointed. ⁵  And the leaders presented ⁶  their offering before the altar.

Numbers 31:4

31:4 You must send to the battle a thousand men from every tribe throughout all the tribes of Israel.” ⁷ 

[7:10]  ¹ tn The verse begins with the preterite and vav (ו) consecutive: “and they offered.”

[7:10]  ² tn The direct object, “gifts,” is implied but not actually stated in the Hebrew text. It has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.

[7:10]  ³ tn The sign of the accusative here must indicate an adverbial accusative and not the direct object; they offered their gifts for the dedication of the altar.

[7:10]  ⁴ sn Some commentators take the word “dedication” in the sense of a dedication gift, and so make it the direct object. Many modern scholars assume that this is a late word, belonging only in P, the Chronicler, and the heading of Ps 30 (a Davidic psalm).

[7:10]  ⁵ tn The adverbial clause uses the Niphal infinitive construct as the main verb. The word is the well-known מָשַׁח (mashakh, “to anoint, smear”).

[7:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “offered,” but this is redundant and has been translated as “presented” for stylistic reasons. The same phrase occurs in vv. 11 and 12.

[31:4]  ⁷ sn Some commentators argue that given the size of the nation (which they reject) the small number for the army is a sign of the unrealistic character of the story. The number is a round number, but it is also a holy war, and God would give them the victory. They are beginning to learn here, and at Jericho, and later against these Midianites under Gideon, that God does not want or need a large army in order to obtain victory.