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		Naso   (Num 4:21 - 7:89)

B'Midbar/Numbers 7:88   ... this was the dedication of the altar after it was anointed.

View whole verse and interlinear translation ...

Our text is matched with an almost identical phrase - זֹאת חֲנֻכַּת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ בְּיוֹם הִמָּשַׁח אֹתוֹ, "this was the dedication of the altar on the day it was anointed" (B'Midbar 7:84) - that together form an inclusio (akin to literary brackets) at the start and end of the five verses (84-88) that total the offerings brought by the twelve tribal chieftains over the past twelve days. Here, the opening phrase uses the word בְּיוֹם, "on the day", because the first offering came in the day the altar was anointed; the closing phrase uses the word אַחֲרֵי, "after", because the twelve identical offerings were completed after the altar had been anointed. This is a very common device in the Torah: to present a list of things - tribes, people, offerings - immediately followed by a summary or total of the listed items. As the Who Is ...

The Rashbam: Rabbi Samuel ben Asher (1085-1174 CE), a grandson of Rashi; lived in Northern France; worked from the plain meaning of the Hebrew text even when this contradicted established rabbinic interpretaton
Rashbam points out, "at the end of twelve days, when the dedication had been completed, the total amounted to such-and-such."

Jacob Milgrom observes that the What Is ...

Septuagint: Also known simply as LXX, the Septuagint is a translation of the whole of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, probably done during the 1^st century BCE by the Jewish community in Alexandria to have the Scriptures in their "first" tongue; the quality is mixed - some parts, such as the Torah, were in frequent use and are quite well rendered, in other less used parts the translation is rather patchy and shows signs of haste; it was widely deprecated by the early rabbis
Septuagint adds the phrase "after its inauguration", at the end of the verse, after out text. In Hebrew this would have looked like אחֲרֵי מִלֵּא יָדָם, literally "after its hands were filled" and, in a number of configurations appears several times in Tanakh usually coupled with anointing. For example, it appears in the instructions for making the garments to be work by the priests - "Put these on your brother Aaron and on his sons as well; anoint them, and ordain them and consecrate them to serve Me as priests" (Shemot 28:41, NJPS) - where the Hebrew "and fill their hands" is translated "and ordain them". It can also be applied to things as well as people, as the prophet Ezekiel does during his vision about the temple - "Seven days they shall purge the altar and cleanse it; thus shall it be consecrated (literally 'they shall fill his hands')" (Ezekiel 43:26, NJPS) - where the Hebrew literally talks of filling the hands of the altar.

B'Midbar chapter seven is given over to the gifts brought by the chieftains of the tribes of Israel, starting on the day when Moshe set up, anointed and consecrated the Tabernacle. First they bring carts and oxen that are assigned to the Levites who will be responsible for the transport of the heavy and bulky component of the Tabernacle: the curtains and coverings, boards, bars and pillars, together with all the pegs and ropes to hold them in place. Then the Torah tells us that "the chieftains also brought the dedication offering for the altar upon its being anointed" (B'Midbar 7:10, NJPS). Over the course of twelve days, each chieftain in turn brings an identical offering, which are totalled in verses 84-88: silver bowls and basins, gold ladles full of incense - twelve of each. They also bring animals for burnt offerings and peace-offerings, totalling "for burnt offerings, 12 bulls; of rams, 12; of yearling lambs, 12 -- with their proper meal offerings; of goats for sin offerings, 12; for sacrifices of well-being, 24 bulls; of rams, 60; of he-goats, 60; of yearling lambs, 60" (vv. 87-88, NJPS). Our text concludes the inventory by declaring, "that was the dedication offering for the altar after its anointing" (v. 88, NJPS).

In case we are overwhelmed by the numbers, we might compare that with the dedication offerings brought for the dedication of the first temple, built by Solomon: "The king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the L-RD. Solomon offered 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep as sacrifices of well-being to the L-RD. Thus the king and all the Israelites dedicated the House of the L-RD" (1 Kings 8:62-63, NJPS). The Chronicler adds that this was quite a party: "The priests stood at their watches; the Levites with the instruments for the L-RD's music that King David had made to praise the L-RD, 'For His steadfast love is eternal,' by means of the psalms of David that they knew. The priests opposite them blew trumpets while all Israel were standing" (2 Chronicles 7:6, NJPS). All the people joined in the dedication celebration. As with the Tabernacle in the wilderness, the Temple is their point of worship and access to The Name ...

HaShem: literally, Hebrew for 'The Name' - an allusion used to avoid pronouncing the Tetragrammaton, the so-called 'ineffable' name of G–d
HaShem.

After the return from the Babylonian exile, there is a dedication for the second temple, built by those who had returned: "The Israelites, the priests, and the Levites, and all the other exiles celebrated the dedication of the House of G-d with joy. And they sacrificed for the dedication of this House of G-d one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve goats as a purification offering for all of Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel" (Ezra 6:16-17, NJPS). Ezra also gives us an inventory of the gifts that have been given: "six hundred and fifty talents of silver, one hundred silver vessels of one talent each, one hundred talents of gold; also, twenty gold bowls worth one thousand darics and two vessels of good, shining bronze, as precious as gold" (8:26-27, NJPS). Again, the whole community gathered to celebrate the dedication of their means of worship and access to G-d.

All three synoptic gospels record the baptism of Yeshua. Although He was "without sin" (Hebrew 4:15), He submitted to baptism as an statement of identification; it was necessary to "fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15). Although the three reports all vary slightly in their wording, all three agree that this was an act of dedication and that immediately following His immersion in the waters of the Jordan, He was anointed by the Holy Spirit: "the Ruach descended on him in bodily form, like a dove" (Luke 3:22, ESV) accompanied by a verbal affirmation of acceptance and approval, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased" (Mark 1:9, ESV). This corresponds with the fire that fell upon the altar to consume the sacrifices offered by Aharon on his first day as Cohen Gadol: "fire came out from before the L-RD and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar" (Vayikra 9:24, NASB).

Following the pattern of an inventory coming after a dedication, while Mark simply reports that "the Spirit immediately drove Him out into the wilderness. And He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan" (Mark 1:12-13, ESV), Matthew and Luke both offer a catalogue of three temptations to which Yeshua was subjected: turning stones into bread, leaping from the highest point of the Temple and acknowledging Satan by bowing to him in worship. This is concluded by the statement that "Then the Adversary let Him alone, and angels came and took care of Him." (Matthew 4:11, CJB); the equivalent of our text in all three accounts. Submitting to the direction of the Spirit, enduring and overcoming three temptations, defeated the enemy and prepared the way for Yeshua's years of ministry and triumphant victory on the cross. It proved that He was completely dedicated and committed to the will of the Father: to fulfil His promises to Israel, to defeat the power of sin and death and to extend His kingdom to include those from the nations among His people.

This, then, as followers of Yeshua, Jew and Gentile together as the One New Man, is now our calling; this is what Yeshua calls us to do and has entrusted to us. We are to endure and overcome temptation, resist the enemy and prepare the way for Yeshua's return to judge the earth. We are to proclaim the fulfillment of G-d's promises to Israel, to "make Israel jealous" (Romans 11:11) and "thus save some of them" (v. 14); we are to declare Yeshua's defeat of sin and death in His crucifixion and resurrection, "to know nothing among you except Yeshua the Messiah and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2, ESV); and we are to extend the kingdom of G-d to all the corners of the earth by inviting people to know Yeshua and embrace His offer of salvation, eternal life and partnership in the work of the kingdom: "For the love of Messiah controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised" (2 Corinthians 5:14-15, ESV). These are the "good works, which G-d prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10, ESV), walking "in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of G-d" (Colossians 1:10, ESV).

Just as the altar was dedicated after it had been set up and anointed, so we as disciples of Yeshua have been set up - by our calling and our confession of Yeshua - and anointed, in the Holy Spirit, "the Spirit, whom those who believed in [Yeshua] were to receive" (John 7:39). Now it is our turn "to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share" (1 Timothy 6:18, ESV), so that we may store up treasure in heaven "where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal" (Matthew 6:20, ESV), so that we may hear Yeshua's words, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master" (Matthew 25:21, ESV). This is the dedication of G-d's people after they have been anointed.

Further Study: 2 Corinthians 1:12-14; Ephesians 4:1-3; Titus 3:8

Application: How do you show your dedication to Yeshua, to acknowledge your salvation and anointing in Him? What good works has He prepared for you to do to further the growth of the kingdom and bring glory to His name? Why not ask Him to show you how much progress you have made with His inventory for your life?

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© Jonathan Allen, 2024

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