I am missing the ultra-literal translation for the last 4 or so passages. I also plan to change the handful of ten gold coins to a small golden mortar. I will fix all of this in the second draft.

Preface:    Number 7 describes the first public use of the brazen altar.

The Bible Summary of Numbers 7 (in 140 characters or less): The leader of each tribe brought a grain offering, a burnt offering, a sin offering and peace offerings. Moses spoke with the LORD.

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Numbers. By the third draft, this should be the most extensive examination of Numbers 7, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text. Every attempt has been made to make this both a complete and self-contained study. Therefore, all references, vocabulary, and related concepts should be found within this extensive study. Easy access links to more in-depth studies of some vocabulary words, concepts and doctrines are also provided.

Outline of Chapter 7:

Introduction

         vv.     1–

         vv. 

         vv. 

         vv. 

         vv. 

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Numbers 7 (by various commentators)

         Introduction         Brief, but insightful observations of Numbers 7 (various commentators)

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Numbers 7

         Introduction         The Prequel of Numbers 7

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Principals of Numbers 7

         Introduction         The Places of Numbers 7

         Introduction         By the Numbers

         Introduction         Timeline for Numbers 7

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Numbers 7

         Introduction         Outlines of Numbers 7 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Numbers 7 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction         The Big Picture (Numbers 1–15)

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions (for Numbers 7)

         Introduction 

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         v.      86              Mortar and Pestle (a photograph)

         v.      86              Four Gold Coins in a Hand (a photograph)

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         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why Numbers 7 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Numbers 7

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Numbers 7

         Summary            Brief Summation of the Levitical Offerings (by R. B. Thieme, Jr.)

         Summary            Edersheim Summarizes Numbers 7

         Summary 

         Addendum 

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Numbers 7

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Numbers 7

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Numbers 7

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Numbers 7

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An Introduction to Numbers 7

I ntroduction: Although there have been some things which priests and Levites have done related to their duties and to the Tabernacle, it is not yet open for business, as it were. The Tabernacle is going to become central to Israel’s life (as the Temple will become in the future). What has to happen is, there must be the first service, the first time that the public comes and offers up the things which God requires. This will be the first time that this takes place.

We do not know exactly who is there. Obviously, not all 2 million Israelites could come and observe this. However, let’s divide these Israelites into twelve tribes, and then cut each tribe in half to eliminate the women and children. On average, there are 80,000 adult males in each tribe. Now, this becomes a more manageable group, even though, obviously, not all of them can come and watch at the same time (even from just one tribe).

Each day, there is another set of animal sacrifices—if my arithmetic can be trusted, 21 animals would be offered up each day. So if we divide the adult males by 21, now we have about 4000 adult males. That is a number which is workable. All of the tribes are near to the Tabernacle (they surround the Tabernacle), and there is a new animal sacrifice every 15–20 minutes. With some careful organization, we could have just about every adult male come by and witness at least one animal offering.

In this chapter, the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel will be reintroduced. They have all been mentioned in previous chapters. They will all bring offerings before Yahweh. This is a chapter that, if you decided to read the entire Bible, and you got this far, you either went on fast forward or you fell asleep to this chapter. We will have the same six verses repeated almost verbatim twelve times. This is the longest and the most repetitive chapter of the entire Pentateuch. The challenge to a teacher or the challenge to a writer is just what the heck do you say about the exact same verse the tenth or eleventh time that you come across it? How can you even make a comment? If you will open your NASB—the Study Edition, you will notice that between vv. 16 and 83 there is not a single Scriptural reference. I don't know if this is true of any other portion of the Bible which is this extensive. This is God's Word and every part of it is important. However, this was so difficult, I had to resort to using God's Word in order to expand upon what is found here.

Timeline for Numbers

There is very little narrative in the book of Numbers; so this information may have been given to Moses in a few days or, at most, a few weeks; and Moses both wrote these things down and informed the people. Because of information previously studied in the introduction, we are not 100% certain if all of this material was given to Moses while in the newly erected Tabernacle. I would lean towards that being the case.

As I have done previously, since this chapters is what God is saying to Moses, I will begin and end the chapter with quotation marks. I will not insert a new set of quotation marks for each new paragraph.

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Here is how others have translated this passage:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac (= Aramaic) and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

The comparisons which I do are primarily between the English translations which are taken from the ancient tongues. For the most part, the variances are so minor that I rarely investigate them any further than that.

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. From http://www.becomingjewish.org/texts/targum/onkelos_Numbers.html and first published in 1862.

Occasionally, there is an obvious error in the English translation, and I correct those without additional mention or footnoting. For instance, the online version of the Targum of Onkelos which I use has gorund in Ex. 4:9; I simply corrected the text. This may occur once or twice in a chapter.

I attempt to include translations which are different in their vocabulary and phrasing. On many occasions, I may include a translation which is not substantially different than another listed translation.

Most of the translations can be found here.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so he is in a day [when] completed Moses to make stand the Tabernacle. And so he anoints him and so he declares holy him and all his furnishings and the altar and all his furnishings. And so he anoints them and so he declares holy them. And so bring near leaders of Israel, heads of a house of their fathers. They [are] leaders of the tribes. They [are] the ones taking a stand upon the [act of] being visited. And so bring near their offering to faces of Y^ehowah—six carts of covering and two-ten cattle, a cart upon two leaders and an ox for each one. And so they bring near them to faces of the Tabernacle.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (Onkelos)                  . Translation for Onkelos and Pseudo-Jonathan by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. (1862).

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Updated Douay-Rheims         .

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) And it came to pass in the day that Moses had finished the tabernacle, and set it up, and had anointed and sanctified it with all its vessels, the altar likewise and all the vessels thereof,

The princes of Israel and the heads of the families, in every tribe, who were the rulers of them who had been numbered, offered

Their gifts before the Lord, six wagons covered, and twelve oxen. Two princes offered one wagon, and each one an ox, and they offered them before the tabernacle.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        It happened on the day that Mosha had finished setting up the Tabernacle, and had anointed it and sanctified it, with all its furniture, and the altar with all its vessels, and had anointed and sanctified them;

that the princes of Yisrael, the heads of their fathers' houses, offered. These were the princes of the tribes. These are they who were over those who were numbered:

and they brought their offering before Mar-Yah, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for every two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they presented them before the Tabernacle.

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     .

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Samaritan Pentateuch           And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the instruments thereof, both the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them, and sanctified them;

That the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, who [were] the princes of the tribes, and were over them that were numbered, offered:

And they brought their offering before the LORD, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they brought them before the tabernacle.

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And it came to pass in the day in which Moses finished the setting up of the tabernacle, that he anointed it, and consecrated it, and all its furniture, and the altar and all its furniture; he anointed them, and consecrated them.

And the princes of Israel brought gifts, twelve princes of their fathers' houses: these were ten heads of tribes, these are they that presided over the numbering.

And they brought their gift before the Lord: six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon from two princes, and a calf from each; and they brought them before the tabernacle..

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             And when Moses had put up the House completely, and had put oil on it and made it holy, with all the things in it, and had made the altar and all its vessels holy with oil; 

Then the chiefs of Israel, the heads of their fathers' houses, made offerings; these were the chiefs of the tribes, who were over those who were numbered. 

And they came with their offerings before the Lord, six covered carts and twelve oxen; a cart for every two of the chiefs, and for every one an ox.

Easy English                          .

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  Moses finished setting up the Holy Tent. On that day he dedicated it to God. Moses anointed the Tent and everything in it. He also anointed the altar and all the things used with it. Then the leaders of Israel gave offerings to God. These men were the heads of their families and leaders of their tribes. These were the same men who were in charge of counting the people. These leaders brought gifts and gave them to the LORD in front of the Holy Tent. They brought six covered wagons and twelve oxen for pulling the wagons. Each leader gave an ox and joined with another leader to give a wagon.

God’s Word™                         When Moses finished setting up the tent, he anointed it and dedicated it and all the furnishings. He also anointed and dedicated the altar and all the utensils. Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of the households-those tribal leaders who helped in the census-came to give their offerings. They brought these gifts to the LORD: six freight wagons and twelve oxen, one wagon from every two leaders and one ox from each leader. They brought them in front of the tent.

Good News Bible (TEV)         On the day Moses finished setting up the Tent of the LORD's presence, he anointed and dedicated the Tent and all its equipment, and the altar and all its equipment. Then the clan chiefs who were leaders in the tribes of Israel, the same men who were in charge of the census, brought their offerings to the LORD: six wagons and twelve oxen, a wagon for every two leaders and an ox for each leader. After they had presented them,...

The Message                         .

Names of God Bible               .

NIRV                                      .

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             .

Contemporary English V.       When Moses had finished setting up the sacred tent, he dedicated it to the LORD, together with its furnishings, the altar, and its equipment. Then the twelve tribal leaders of Israel, the same men who had been in charge of counting the people, came to the tent with gifts for the LORD. They brought six strong carts and twelve oxen--one ox from each leader and a cart from every two.

The Living Bible                     .

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    .

New Living Translation           .

UnfoldingWord (Simplified)    When Moses had finished setting up the sacred tent, he poured oil on it, and set it apart for the honor of Yahweh. He also dedicated the things that are inside the sacred tent, and the altar for burning sacrifices, and all the things that would be used at the altar. Then the leaders of the twelve Israelite tribes, the same men who had helped Aaron and Moses to count the men who could fight in battles, came to the sacred tent, bringing gifts to Yahweh. They brought six sturdy carts and twelve oxen, one ox from each of the leaders and a cart from each of the two leaders.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          .

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       .

Translation for Translators     .

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Christian Standard Bible        .

Berean Study Bible                . registration

Conservapedia                       .

Revised Ferrar-Fenton Bible  .

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

The Heritage Bible                          And it was on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all its implements, the altar and all its implements, and had anointed them, and sanctified them,

That the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, who were the princes of the tribes, and were over them who were visited, came near,

And they brought their offering before the face of Jehovah, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for two of the princes, and for each one a bullock; and they brought them before the face of the tabernacle.

International Standard V        .

Lexham English Bible            .

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Word Literal Text   On the day that Moses completed the tabernacle, he anointed it and set it apart to Yahweh, together with all of its furnishings. He did the same for the altar and all its utensils. He anointed them and set them apart to Yahweh. On that day, the leaders of Israel, the heads of their ancestor's families, offered sacrifices. These men were leading the tribes. They had overseen the counting of the men in the census. They brought their offerings before Yahweh. They brought six covered carts and twelve oxen. They brought one cart for every two leaders, and each leader brought one ox. They presented these things in front of the tabernacle.

Urim-Thummim Version         When Moses had completely raised up the Tabernacle, anointing and consecrating it with all its implements, both the Altar and its vessels, then anointing and consecrating them. Then the chiefs of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, who were the commanders of the tribes, and were over them that were registered came near and they brought their offering before YHWH, 6 covered wagons and 12 oxen; a wagon for two of the commanders, and for each one an ox: and they brought them before the Tabernacle.

Wikipedia Bible Project          .

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Offering of wagons

On the day Moses finished setting up the Holy Tent, he anointed and consecrated it with all its furniture, as well as the altar and all its equipment. When he had anointed and consecrated it all, the leaders of Israel made an offering; these were the heads of the clans, who were leaders of tribes and had supervised the census. They brought their offering before Yahweh: six covered wagons and twelve oxen, one wagon for every two leaders and one ox each. They brought them before the Holy Tent. 40:17-33

New American Bible(2011)    .

The Catholic Bible                  .

New Jerusalem Bible             .

NRSV (Anglicized Cath. Ed.) .

Revised English Bible–1989            .

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           .

Eth Cepher Bible                    AND it came to pass on the day that Mosheh had fully set up the Tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the instruments thereof, both the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them, and sanctified them; That the princes of Yashar’el, heads of the house of their fathers, who were the princes of the tribes, and were over them that were numbered, offered: And they brought their offering before Yahuah, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they brought them before the Tabernacle.

exeGeses companion Bible   .

Hebraic Roots Bible               .

Kaplan Translation                 .

The Scriptures–2009              And it came to be, when Mosheh finished setting up the Dwelling Place, that he anointed it and set it apart and all its furnishings, as well as the slaughter-place and all its utensils. Thus he anointed them and set them apart.  And the leaders of Yisra’ěl, heads of their fathers’ houses who were the leaders of the tribes and over the ones registered, drew near,  and they brought their offering before יהוה: six covered wagons and twelve cattle, a wagon for every two of the leaders, and for each one a bull. And they brought them near before the Dwelling Place.

Tree of Life Version                When Moses finished setting up the Tabernacle, he anointed and consecrated it and all its implements, the altar and all its utensils, and he anointed and consecrated them.

Then the princes of Israel, heads of their ancestral houses—they were tribal princes in charge over those who were numbered—gave offerings.

They brought as their gift before Adonai six covered carts and twelve oxen. A cart came from every two princes and an ox from each one of them. They presented them before the Tabernacle.

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            AND IT CAME TO PASS IN THE DAY IN WHICH MOSES FINISHED THE SETTING-UP OF THE TABERNACLE, THAT HE ANOINTED IT, AND CONSECRATED IT, AND ALL ITS FURNITURE, AND THE ALTAR AND ALL ITS FURNITURE, HE EVEN ANOINTED THEM, AND CONSECRATED THEM.

AND THE PRINCES OF ISRAEL BROUGHT GIFTS, TWELVE PRINCES OF THEIR FATHERS' HOUSES: THESE WERE THE HEADS OF TRIBES, THESE ARE THEY THAT PRESIDED OVER THE NUMBERING.

AND THEY BROUGHT THEIR GIFT BEFORE JESUS, SIX COVERED WAGONS, AND TWELVE OXEN; A WAGON FROM TWO PRINCES, AND A CALF FROM EACH: AND THEY BROUGHT THEM BEFORE THE TABERNACLE.

Awful Scroll Bible                   The day Moses is to finish to set up the dwelling place, he was to anoint it, and was to set apart its implements, and the altar and its implements, even were they anointed and were set apart.

The lifted up ones of Contends-with-he-mighty the chiefs of the houses of their fathers, even the lifted up ones of the branches, are standing, they being reviewed, and were drawing near.

They were bringing in their offerings, turned before Sustains To Become six caravan carts and two and ten of the large cattle, a cart for two lifted up ones, and for each a plowing beast, even were they bringing them near, turned before the dwelling place.

Concordant Literal Version    It came to be on the day Moses finished setting up the tabernacle that he anointed it and hallowed it and all its furnishings, and the altar and all its furnishings. When he had anointed them and hallowed them, then the princes of Israel (the heads of their fathers' house, they, princes of the twelve stocks, they who had been standing over the ones being mustered) made an offering, and brought their approach present before Yahweh:six coach carts and twelve oxen, a cart for two of the princes and a bull for each one. They brought them near before the tabernacle.

exeGeses companion Bible   HANUKKAH OF THE TABERNACLE

And so be it

on the day Mosheh finishes raising the tabernacle,

he anoints it and hallows it

and all the instruments thereof

- the sacrifice altar and all the instruments thereof

and anoints them and hallows them;

that the hierarchs of Yisra El

- heads of the house of their fathers,

hierarchs of the rods,

stand over their mustered, and oblate:

and they oblate their qorban at the face of Yah Veh:

six covered wagons and twelve oxen;

a wagon for two of the hierarchs

and for each one an ox:

and they bring them at the face of the tabernacle.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And it came to pass on the day that Moshe had fully set up the Mishkan, and had anointed it, and set it apart as kodesh, and all the instruments thereof, both the Mizbe'ach and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them, and set them apart as kodesh,

That the Nasiim (Rulers) of Yisroel, heads of the Bais of their Avot, who were the Nasiim of the tribes, and were over them that were numbered, offered;

And they brought their korban before Hashem, six covered carts, and twelve oxen; a cart for two of the Nasiim, and for each one an ox; and they brought them before the Mishkan.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B.                   § 8. The Dedication of the Altar, and the Offerings of the Princes.

Chapter 7.

And it came to pass ≤on the day when Moses made an end of rearing up the habitationˎ and anointing itˎ and hallowing itˎ and all the furniture thereof, and the altar, and all the utensils thereof,—both of anointing themˎ and hallowing them≥ that the princes of Israel, the heads of their ancestral houses |made an offering|,—||theyʹ being princes of the tribes, theyʹ being the men who stood over them who were numbered||; yeaˎ then brought they inˎ as their offeringˎ before Yahweh—six covered waggonsˎ and twelve oxen, a waggon for every two of the princesˎ and an ox for each one,—yea they brought them near before the habitation.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                .

The Expanded Bible              .

International Standard V        Offerings by Leaders

The same day that Moses finished setting up, anointing, and consecrating the tent and its utensils, he also anointed and consecrated the altar and its utensils.

Then the presiding leaders of Israel, as heads of the ancestral houses, brought an offering. They were the leaders of the tribes who supervised the census. They brought their offering into the Lord’s presence, consisting of [The Heb. lacks consisting of] six covered carts and twelve oxen—one cart each from two leaders and an ox from each one.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    .

Lexham English Bible            The Leaders Make Offerings

On the day Moses finished setting up the tabernacle and appointed and consecrated it and all its vessels, and the altar and its vessels, and he appointed them and consecrated them, the leaders of Israel, the heads of the families, [Literally “the house of their fathers”] presented an offering; they were the leaders of the tribes and were the ones in charge of the counting. They brought their offering before the presence of [Or “before the face of”] Yahweh, six covered utility carts and twelve cattle, a utility cart for two of the leaders, and a bull for each; and they presented them before [Literally “before the face of”] the tabernacle.

Syndein/Thieme                     .

The Voice                               .

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           .

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kaplan Translation                 The Leaders' Offering

On the day that Moses finished erecting the Tabernacle, he anointed it and sanctified it along with all its furniture. He [also] anointed the altar and all its utensils and thus sanctified them.

The princes of Israel, who were the heads of their paternal lines, then came forward. They were the leaders of the tribes and the ones who had directed the census.

The offering that they presented to God consisted of six covered wagons and twelve oxen. There was one wagon for each two princes, and one ox for each one. They presented them in front of the Tabernacle. The Kaplan Translation, particularly in Numbers through Deuteronomy, takes note of historic rabbinic opinions.

On the day...

The first of Nissan (Exodus 40:17).

thus

(Chizzkuni).

leaders of the tribes.

Even in Egypt (Sifri; Rashi).

covered

(Targum; Sifri; Rashi; Septuagint). Tzabh in Hebrew. Or, 'fully equipped' (Sifri; cf. Targum Yonathan); 'full' (Ibn Ezra; Ramban); 'ox wagons' (Ibn Ezra); two-ox wagons (Radak, Sherashim); 'harnessed wagons' (Ibn Janach), or, 'service wagons' (Chizzkuni).

NET Bible®                             .

New American Bible(2011)    .

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. .

Updated ASV                         .

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

A Faithful Version                  .

C. Thomson Updated OT       .

Charles Thomson OT            Now on the day when Moses finished the rearing up of the tabernacle, he anointed it, and hallowed it, and all the implements thereof; and the altar, and all its utensils; and when he had anointed them, and hallowed them, the chiefs of Israel, the twelve chiefs of the houses of their head families who were the chiefs of the tribes, the same who attended at the review, made an offering, and brought as their gifts before the Lord, six covered waggons, and twelve oxen, a waggon from two chiefs, and an ox from each one. V. 3b will be placed with the next passage for context.

Context Group Version          On the day Moses had made an end of setting up the tabernacle, and had anointed it and made special it, and all the furniture, and the altar and all the vessels, and had anointed them and made special them; that the princes of Israel, the heads of their fathers' houses, offered. These were the princes of the tribes, these are the ones that were over those that were numbered: and they brought their offering before YHWH, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for every two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they presented them before the tabernacle.

English Standard Version      . consecrated

Green’s Literal Translation    .

Legacy Standard Bible           .

Literal Standard Version        And it comes to pass on the day [when] Moses [was] finishing to set up the Dwelling Place, that he anoints it, and sanctifies it, and all its vessels, and the altar, and all its vessels, and he anoints them, and sanctifies them, and the princes of Israel (heads of the house of their fathers, they [are] princes of the tribes, they who are standing over those numbered) bring near, indeed, they bring their offering before YHWH of six covered wagons and twelve oxen—a wagon for two of the princes, and an ox for one—and they bring them near before the Dwelling Place.

Modern English Version         .

Modern Literal Version 2020  And it happened on the day that Moses made an end of setting up the tabernacle, that he anointed it and made it holy and all the furniture of it and the altar and all the vessels of it and anointed them and made them holy.

Then the rulers of Israel, the heads of their fathers' houses, offered. These were the rulers of the tribes. These are those who were over those who were numbered.

And they brought their offering before Jehovah: six covered wagons and twelve oxen; a wagon for every two of the rulers and an ox for each one. And they presented them before the tabernacle.

New American Standard B.    .

New European Version          .

New King James Version       .

Niobi Study Bible                   . Title

Revised Mechanical Trans.    ...and it came to pass, in the day Mosheh finished making the dwelling rise, and he smeared him, and he set him apart and all his utensils, and the altar and all his utensils, and he smeared them, and set them apart, and the captains of Yisra'eyl brought near^[863] the heads of the house of their fathers, they are the captains of the branches, they are the ones standing over the registered ones, and they brought their donation to the face of YHWH, six covered carts and twelve cattle, a cart upon two of the captains and one ox^[864], and they will bring them near to the face of the dwelling...

863. The construction of this passage implies that the captains brought near the “heads of the house of their fathers,” but as the “heads” are the captains, we can assume that the captains “brought near” an offering, which is what we find in the next verse.

864. That is, “one cart and one ox for each of the two captains.”

Updated ASV                         Offerings of the Leaders

Now it came about on the day that Moses finished setting up the tabernacle that he anointed it and sanctified it with all its furnishings and the altar and all its utensils; he anointed them and sanctified them. Then the chieftains of Israel, the heads of the house of their fathers, made an offering. They were the chieftains of the tribes, who were over those who were numbered, and they brought their offering before Jehovah, six covered wagons and twelve cattle, a wagon for two chieftains and an ox for each one; and they presented them before the tabernacle.

Updated Bible Version 2.17   . oblation

A Voice in the Wilderness      .

Webster’s Bible Translation  .

World English Bible                .

Young's Literal Translation     .

Young's Updated LT              .

The gist of this passage: 

1-3

Translation: And so it is when Moses completed to make stand the Tabernacle.

Near as I can follow, Numbers appears to be a separate document developed to track nation Israel from around Sinai to their final months in the desert-wilderness.

That Moses has completed and made the Tabernacle to stand, takes us back to the final chapter of Exodus. It is the final chapter of Exodus when the Tabernacle is completed. These words seem to take us right to that time.

However, bear in mind that the priests have to be up and running, ready to do what God wants them to do. Much of that is described in the book of Leviticus.

We cannot simply complete the Tabernacle and bring these leaders in to make their sacrifices unless there is someone there to stand between them and the Tabernacle. So the priests had to first be prepared and they had to be guided in their movements and actions for any public worship service.

Translation: And so anoints it and declares it [to be] holy,...

It is likely Moses who takes some sacred oil and smears this somewhere on the Tabernacle, thus sanctifying the Tabernacle or setting it aside for holy service.

Translation: ...along with all its furnishings,...

The furnishings inside of the Tabernacle would also have received a smearing of oil. This would be for the basin and the brazen altar outside of the Tabernacle and the table of showbread, the table of incense and the golden lampstand.

This ritual of smearing with oil commits the Holy Spirit to these things, that they might teach salvation to the people of God.

We, as believers, come to all of this knowing what all of these things represent. We know that the Messiah of the Old Testament is Jesus Christ Whose 1^st advent will be in the New. However, the people of Israel knew some of these things, but they did not necessarily tie everything together. For instance, when they offered up a bull, slicing its carotid and letting it bleed out—they did not fully understand that this bull represents their Messiah, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53. The worship services and the doctrines which Israel learned was a very cohesive meaningful set of information, which we can tie together today—but they did not pull it all together (nor did God expect them to).

There are others who are observing what is taking place at the Tabernacle. There is all angelic creation, but fallen and elect angels, and they know everything which God is teaching to Israel, but even they do not have all of it neatly tied together into one package.

When Jesus is born, these things all begin to come together and coalesce, but even the angels did not understand everything that was taking place. Satan will take an active role in getting Jesus to the Roman cross. Now, would he do this, knowing that the offering of Jesus for our sins would be the great event in human history, potentially saving all mankind and simultaneously condemning him? Certainly not! By this, the greatest genius in history did not pull all of the Scriptures together to understand all that God was doing.

After the crucifixion and resurrection, all of a sudden, all that God had taught Israel was pulled together into a perfect theological package. And God even used Satan himself to bring this about.

What about individual salvation in the Old Testament? No one fully understood Messiah or what was going to take place. They had a piece here and a piece there, but even the greatest theologian of the Old Testament could not put it altogether. What was required was individual trust. All one had to do was believe God (the God of Israel) in pretty much anything, and that was enough to save any individual in the Old Testament.

As we have previously studied, there are types strewn throughout the Old Testament, telling us what was to come, telling us about Jesus—and yet, these types did not get it. They did not understand. These types, at best, believed God in this or that and were saved.

Abraham, when he offered up his son Isaac, did not know that this represent Jesus Christ, the Son of God., being offered up for our sins. Abraham simply acted out of faith. He was blessed for his faith and his obedience. But he did not understand what it all meant.

Translation: ...along with the altar and all its furnishings.

Moses also smeared oil on the altar and all of its utensils or artifacts.

Translation: And so he anoints them and declares them [to be] holy.

Moses anointed all of these things and declared them to be holy or set apart to God. All of these things were put into service for God’s glory.

Numbers 7:1 And so it is when Moses completed to make stand the Tabernacle. And so anoints it and declares it [to be] holy, along with all its furnishings, along with the altar and all its furnishings. And so he anoints them and declares them [to be] holy. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Anointing with oil means that Moses recognized the power of the Holy Spirit in evangelism and in spiritual growth, with things the tabernacle and its furnishings facilitated, as they revealed Yahweh, the God of Israel, and the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Setting these things apart meant that they had the exclusive use for spiritual things.

Obviously, Moses did not himself, personally, set up the entire tabernacle, any more than Bob Builder, the builder of Bob Builder Homes, builds the homes. The builder of any given house may not pick up the hammer even one time to build a particular home. He oversees the work and sub-contracts out the work. Moses saw that everything was organized and set up correctly.

Translation: And so the leaders of Israel bring near [their sacrifices].

Approach is in the Hiphil (causative) stem; Moses ordered them, by God's Word, to approach, after he had set up the Tabernacle. The word which I have consistently rendered approach, is in the 3^rd masculine plural. That is, the princes of Israel were caused to approach. They were not caused to offer anything in this sentence. They will approach Yahweh with their offerings.

There was to be a great service take place. The leaders of Israel were to bring near their sacrifices. They would bring forth the sacrifices exactly as God determined.

Translation: [These are] the heads of their patriarch’s house;...

These leaders are the heads of their homes.

Translation: ...they [are] the leaders of the tribes;...

These leaders are the leaders of the tribes—one man for each tribe.

The Levites would likely be a part of this, but their leader would not be a part of the twelve. The leader of the Levites would be either Moses or Aaron, depending upon the situation.

Translation: ...and they [are] the ones standing, having been personally contacted.

Although several translations relate this to a census, that census has already been taken. There will be two great censuses taken for Israel—at the beginning of the forty years and at the end—and the purpose of the census was to determine the size of their army.

Numbers 7:2 And so the leaders of Israel bring near [their sacrifices]. [These are] the heads of their patriarch’s house; they [are] the leaders of the tribes; and they [are] the ones standing, having been personally contacted. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Translation: And so they bring their offering near to Y^ehowah...

These leaders all had offerings which they would bring near to the altar, which is bringing the offering near to Y^ehowah.

Translation: ...—six covered carts and twelve oxen,...

They had come there in six covered carts along with twelve oxen. It seems logical that oxen (or whatever kind of livestock they were) traveled behind the carts with two other animals pulling the carts (so that the carts could be returned to their tribe or to wherever after this ceremony).

Translation: ...a cart by two leaders and an ox for each one.

Two leaders were taken in each cart; and each had an ox (or other large animal) to be offered up.

Translation: And so they bring them near to the Tabernacle. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

All of this was brought near to the Tabernacle.

Numbers 7:3 And so they bring their offering near to Y^ehowah—six covered carts and twelve oxen, a cart by two leaders and an ox for each one. And so they bring them near to the Tabernacle. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

What we have here are a great many sacrifices to God. It is not that God is overjoyed to see hundreds of innocent animals offered to Him—however, this communicated the gospel to all of Israel and God the Holy spirit spoke to the next generation of Jews through these sacrifices.

Numbers 7:1–3 And so it is when Moses completed to make stand the Tabernacle. And so anoints it and declares it [to be] holy, along with all its furnishings, along with the altar and all its furnishings. And so he anoints them and declares them [to be] holy. And so the leaders of Israel bring near [their sacrifices]. [These are] the heads of their patriarch’s house; they [are] the leaders of the tribes; and they [are] the ones standing, having been personally contacted. And so they bring their offering near to Y^ehowah—six covered carts and twelve oxen, a cart by two leaders and an ox for each one. And so they bring them near to the Tabernacle. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Numbers 7:1–3 And it came to pass, after Moses oversaw the construction and standing up of the Tabernacle, that Moses anointed it with oil along with all of its furnishings. He anointed the tent, the altar and its furnishings and the furniture and their utensils. Moses anointing these things and declared them set apart to God for service. On this day, the leaders of Israel were to make their sacrifices at the Tabernacle. These were the heads of their houses, the leaders of the tribes, and they came and stood before all Israel, having already been personally contacted. The twelve leaders arrived in six covered carts, with two oxen behind each cart. Each man was read to bring his ox before God to be sacrificed. (Kukis paraphrase)

——————————

Here is how others have translated this passage:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so says Y^ehowah unto Moses, to say, “Take [these sacrifices] from them and they will be for a work of a Tent of Appointed time. And give them unto the Levites, a man as a mouth of his labor.”

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Targum (Onkelos)                  .

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   .

Aramaic Targum                    .

The Psalms Targum              .

Updated Douay-Rheims         .

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) And the Lord said to Moses:

Receive them from them to serve in the ministry of the tabernacle, and thou shalt deliver them to the Levites according to the order of their ministry.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        Mar-Yah spoke to Mosha, saying,

"Accept these from them, that they may be used in doing the service of the Tabernacle; and you shall give them to the Levites, to every man according to his service."

Original Aramaic Psalms        .

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Plain English Aramaic Bible   .

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     .

Samaritan Pentateuch           And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying

Take [it] of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service.

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Take of them, and they shall be for the works of the services of the tabernacle of witness; and you shall give them to the Levites, to each one according to his ministration.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             And the Lord said to Moses, 

Take the things from them, to be used for the work of the Tent of meeting; and give them to the Levites, to every man what is needed for his work.

Easy English                          .

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  The LORD said to Moses, "Accept these gifts from the leaders. These gifts can be used in the work of the Meeting Tent. Give them to the Levites to help them do their work."

God’s Word™                         The LORD said to Moses, "Accept these gifts from them to use in the work done for the tent of meeting. Give them to the Levites to use wherever they need these gifts for their work."

Good News Bible (TEV)         After they had presented them, the LORD said to Moses, "Accept these gifts for use in the work to be done for the Tent; give them to the Levites according to the work they have to do." The last phrase from v. 3 is included for context.

The Message                         .

Names of God Bible               .

NIRV                                      .

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             .

Contemporary English V.       The LORD said to Moses, "Accept these gifts, so the Levites can use them here at the sacred tent for carrying the sacred things."

The Living Bible                     .

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    .

New Living Translation           .

The Passion Translation        .

Unfolding Bible Simplified      Then Yahweh said to Moses,  "Accept these gifts, in order that the descendants of Levi can use them for carrying the sacred items that are here at the sacred tent."

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          .

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       .

Translation for Translators     .

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Berean Study Bible                .

Christian Standard Bible        .

Conservapedia Translation    .

Revised Ferrar-Fenton Bible  .

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

The Heritage Bible                          And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

Take it of them that they may be to do the work of the tent of appointed meeting; and you shall give them to the Levites, to every man according to his work.

International Standard V        After they presented them in front of the tent, the Lord told Moses, “Take these gifts from them and use them in service at the Tent of Meeting. Present them to the descendants of Levi, distributing them to each person according to his work.” A portion of v. 3 is included for context.

H. C. Leupold                         .

Lexham English Bible            .

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Bible Literal Text    Then Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, "Accept the offerings from them and use the offerings for the work in the tent of meeting. Give the offerings to the Levites, to each one as his work needs them."

Urim-Thummim Version         YHWH spoke to Moses saying, Take it from them that they may be used for the service of the Tabernacle at the Appointed Place, and you will give them to the Levites, to every man according to his service.

Wikipedia Bible Project          .

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Yahweh then spoke to Moses and said, “Accept these from them, and let them be set apart for the service of the Tent of Meet ing. You are to give them to the Levites, to each as his duties require.”

New American Bible (2011)   .

The Catholic Bible                  .

New Jerusalem Bible             .

NRSV (Anglicized Cath. Ed.) .

Revised English Bible–1989   .

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           .

Eth Cepher Bible                    .

exeGeses companion Bible   And Yahuah spoke unto Mosheh, saying, Take it of them, that they may be to do the service of the Tabernacle of the assembly; and you shall give them unto the Leviyiym, to every man according to his service.

Hebraic Roots Bible               .

Kaplan Translation                 God said to Moses, 'Take [the offering] from them, and let [the wagons and oxen] be used for the Communion Tent's service. Give them to the Levites, as appropriate for each [family's] work'..

The Scriptures–2009              And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying, “Accept these from them, and they shall be used in doing the service of the Tent of Appointment. And you shall give them to the Lěwites, each one according to his service.”

Tree of Life Version                Adonai spoke to Moses saying, Accept these from them to use in the service of the Tent of Meeting. Give them to the Levites to use as each man’s work requires.”

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            . MINISTRATION

Awful Scroll Bible                   Sustains To Become was to speak to Moses, to the intent: Be taking them from them, they are to work the service of the tent of the appointed place. You is to have given them to the Levites, each by the mouth of his service.

Concordant Literal Version    Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, Take them from them so that they will come to serve for the service of the tent of appointment, and give them to the Levites, to each man corresponding to his service.

exeGeses companion Bible   And Yah Veh says to Mosheh, saying,

Take it from them

to serve the service of the tent of the congregation;

and give them to the Leviym,

to every man according to the mouth of his service.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,

Take it of them, that they may be for the service of the Ohel Mo'ed; and thou shalt give them unto the Levi'im, to every man according to his service.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                .

The Expanded Bible              .

International Standard V        .

Kretzmann’s Commentary    

Lexham English Bible            Yahweh said to Moses, saying, “Take them, [Literally “Take from them”] and they will be used to do the work of the tent of the assembly; and you will give them to the Levites, each according to his required service.” [Literally “according to the mouth of his work”]

Syndein/Thieme                     .

The Voice                               .

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           .

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kaplan Translation                 .

NET Bible®                             .

New American Bible (2011)   .

New Catholic Bible                 .

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. .

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. Then spake Yahweh unto Mosesˎ saying:

Take [them] of them, so shall they be for doing the laborious work of the tent of meeting,—and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to the need^f of his laborious work.

^f Lit.: “mouth.”

Updated ASV                         .

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

A Faithful Version                  . congregation

C. Thomson Updated OT       .

Charles Thomson OT            And when they had brought them before the Lord, the Lord spoke to Moses saying, Receive them from them, and they shall be for the works of the service of the tabernacle of the testimony; and thou shalt give them to the Levites, to each community according to their service. The last portion of v. 3 is included for context.

Context Group Version          .

English Standard Version      .

Green’s Literal Translation    .

Legacy Standard Bible           .

Literal Standard Version        .

Modern English Version         .

Modern Literal Version 2020  And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Take it from them, that they may be used in doing the service of the tent of meeting. And you will give them to the Levites, to every man according to his service.

New American Standard B.    .

New European Version          .

New King James Version       .

Niobi Study Bible                   .

Owen's Translation                .

Revised Mechanical Trans.    ...and YHWH said to Mosheh saying, take from them, and they will exist to serve at the service of the appointed tent, and you will give them to the ones of the Lewi, each according to the mouth of his service,...

Updated ASV                         .

Updated Bible Version 2.17   .

A Voice in the Wilderness      .

Webster’s Bible Translation  .

World English Bible                .

Young's Literal Translation     .

Young’s Updated LT             .

The gist of this passage: 

4-5

Translation: And so Y^ehowah speaks to Moses, saying,...

Sometimes God speak to Moses and the rest of the chapter is all that God said. There is one thing that God says to Moses and the remainder of this chapter is narrative (albeit, repetitive narrative).

One chief difference between Leviticus and Numbers is, Leviticus is mostly God speaking and Numbers is primarily narrative, essentially recording what Israel does after Moses speaks with God. Numbers covers a period of 38 years, if memory serves.

We don't know if these leaders of the tribes of Israel had been instructed to bring these offerings to Yahweh or if they just chose to do so.

Translation: ...“Take [these sacrifices] from them...

God tells Moses to take or receive from the leaders of each tribe their sacrifices.

Translation: ...and they [the sacrifices] will be for the service of the Tent of Assembly.

These sacrifices will be for the work or service of the Tent of Meeting (or Tent of Assembly, which is the Tabernacle). The Levites and the priests will be in charge of these animal sacrifices.