Numbers 29:15 — Word Study
WLCוְעִשָּׂרׄוֹן֙ עִשָּׂר֔וֹן לַכֶּ֖בֶשׂ הָאֶחָ֑ד לְאַרְבָּעָ֥ה עָשָׂ֖ר כְּבָשִֽׂים׃
BSAand a tenth [of an ephah]ʻissârôwn [separate, one tenth of an ephah, a tithe, 10% of something] with eachʼechâd [one, individual] of the fourteenʼarbaʻ [four and ten] lambskebes [young rams, sacrificial animals]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וְעִשָּׂרׄוֹן֙ | and a tenth | Conjunction, noun common masculine singular absolute |
| עִשָּׂר֔וֹן | a tenth | Noun common, masculine singular absolute |
| לַכֶּ֖בֶשׂ | for the lamb | Preposition, noun common masculine singular absolute |
| הָאֶחָ֑ד | one | Particle |
| לְאַרְבָּעָ֥ה | for [the] four- | Preposition |
| עָשָׂ֖ר | teen | |
| כְּבָשִֽׂים׃ | lambs | Noun common, masculine plural absolute |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | and a tenth of an ephah with each of the fourteen lambs. |
| KJV | And a several tenth deal to each lamb of the fourteen lambs: |
| ASV | and a tenth part for every lamb of the fourteen lambs; |
| YLT | and a several tenth deal to the one lamb, for the fourteen lambs, |
| WEB | and one tenth for every lamb of the fourteen lambs; |
| BBE | And a separate tenth part for every one of the fourteen lambs; |
Where they part company is in the rendering of כְּבָשִֽׂים — see How Translations Differ.
The main clause introduces the offering, with a prepositional phrase specifying its application to the lambs.
2 commentators on this verse
Jamieson, Whedon & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Numbers 29:15
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Offerings During the Festivalgenerated
Numbers 29:15 details the specific offerings to be made during the festival, emphasizing the importance of precise measurements in sacrificial practices. This verse highlights the requirement for a tenth of an ephah to accompany each of the fourteen lambs, which signifies the dedication of these animals for sacrifice. The context of the chapter includes various offerings and their specifications, illustrating the structured approach to worship.
Cross References
The Key Word — עִשָּׂרוֹן, ve.'i.sa.rOngenerated
The word עִשָּׂרוֹן (issarown) refers to a fractional measure, specifically a tenth part or tithe. It is derived from a root meaning to divide, indicating a portion taken from a larger whole. This term is used in contexts such as Leviticus 14:10, where it denotes a tenth of an ephah, reinforcing its significance in sacrificial offerings.
In this verse, it highlights the act of giving a specific, measurable portion, which reflects the careful and intentional nature of the offerings made to God.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main clause is governed by the noun phrase עִשָּׂרוֹן, a tenth, which is followed by a prepositional phrase indicating the offering's purpose: with each of the fourteen lambs. The structure emphasizes the specific measurement required for each lamb, highlighting the importance of each offering.
The Hebrew word order places emphasis on the measurement first, followed by the lambs, which underlines the significance of the quantity in the sacrificial system.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates עִשָּׂרוֹן as δέκατον (dekaton), which directly conveys the meaning of a tenth. This choice aligns closely with the Hebrew, maintaining the focus on the fractional measure required for the offerings.
This consistent translation underscores the importance of precise measurements in sacrificial offerings, a theme that resonates throughout both the Hebrew and Greek texts.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Numbers 29:15 specifies that a tenth of an ephah is to be offered with each of the fourteen lambs. This shows the importance of precise measurements in the sacrificial system, as each lamb requires a specific portion as part of the offering.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
A tenth of an ephah represents a specific measurement used in offerings, equivalent to a tithe or 10% of a larger quantity.
The number of lambs signifies the completeness and fullness of the offering during the festival.
Lambs are often used in sacrifices as symbols of innocence and purity, making them suitable for offerings to God.
These offerings are a way for the people to express their devotion and obedience to God, following the guidelines set forth in the law.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- How does understanding the specific measurements of offerings enhance your view of worship?
- In what ways can you apply the principle of giving a 'tenth' in your own life?
- What does the symbolism of the lambs convey about sacrifice and innocence?
- How can you ensure that your offerings, whether material or spiritual, are given with intentionality?
Commentators on this verse — 2 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Numbers 29:15 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd on the fifteenth day of the seventh month ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: On the fifteenth day - was to be held
Read Robert Jamieson on Numbers 29 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the BibleTHE FEAST OF — , Numbers 29:12-40.The cycle of Jewish feasts culminated in this, the grandest and most joyful of all.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Numbers 29 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
and a tenth of an ephah with each of the fourteen lambs.
and one tenth for every lamb of the fourteen lambs;
and a tenth of an ephah with each of the fourteen lambs.
and one-tenth for each of the fourteen lambs,
Tyndale line
And a several tenth deal to each lamb of the fourteen lambs:
and a tenth part for every lamb of the fourteen lambs;
and a several tenth part for every lamb of the fourteen lambs:
And a several tenth-part to each lamb of the fourteen lambs:
And one tenth deale vnto eche of ye fourteene lambes,
Strictly literal
and one tenth part for each lamb of the fourteen lambs;
and a several tenth deal to the one lamb, for the fourteen lambs,
and a tenth—a tenth part for one lamb, for the fourteen lambs;
And a tenth part each for every sheep of the fourteen sheep.
and a tenth of an ephah for each of the fourteen lambs.
From the Latin
And the tenth of a tenth to every lamb, being in all fourteen lambs:
Simplified
and one tenth of an ephah for each of the fourteen lambs.
And a separate tenth part for every one of the fourteen lambs;
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The other witnesses largely agree with the Masoretic Text. The Septuagint matches the Hebrew word-for-word, while the Samaritan Pentateuch introduces a variant with the addition of נסכיהם (libation), indicating a difference in the accompanying offerings. The Dead Sea Scrolls contain fragments that confirm parts of the verse but are incomplete.
וְעִשָּׂרׄוֹן֙ עִשָּׂר֔וֹן לַכֶּ֖בֶשׂ הָאֶחָ֑ד לְאַרְבָּעָ֥ה עָשָׂ֖ר כְּבָשִֽׂים׃
7 of the 7 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
ועשׂרון עשׂרון לכבשׂ האחד לארבעה עשׂר הכבשׂים ונסכיהם
1 word differs from the Masoretic Text: נסכיהם (libation)
[הכבשים] [ונסכי׳הם]
2 words of the verse are on this fragment — 2 supplied entire by an editor.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Numbers 29:15
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
עִשָּׂרוֹן (issarown) refers to a fractional measure, specifically a tenth part or tithe. It is derived from the root meaning to divide, and is used in contexts such as Leviticus 14:10, where it denotes a tenth of an ephah. The entries consistently emphasize its meaning related to a tenth.
H6241 עִשָּׂרוֹן
6241 `issarown is-saw-rone'
or oissaron {is-saw-rone'}; from 6235; (fractional) a tenth
part:--tenth deal.
see HEBREW for 06235
עִשָּׂרוֹן (is.sa.ron) — tenth.
tenth part, tithe
Conj | N-ms — Conjunction · noun common masculine singular absoluteHC/Ncmsa
See TITHE.
עִשָּׂרוֹן (issarown) refers to a fractional measure, specifically a tenth part or tithe. It is derived from the root meaning to divide, and is used in contexts such as Leviticus 14:10, where it denotes a tenth of an ephah. The entries consistently emphasize its meaning related to a tenth.
H6241 עִשָּׂרוֹן
6241 `issarown is-saw-rone'
or oissaron {is-saw-rone'}; from 6235; (fractional) a tenth
part:--tenth deal.
see HEBREW for 06235
עִשָּׂרוֹן (is.sa.ron) — tenth.
tenth part, tithe
HNcmsa — Noun common · masculine singular absoluteHNcmsa
See TITHE.
כֶּ֫בֶשׂ (*kebes*) means 'lamb' and can also refer to a young ram or sheep. The word is derived from an unused root suggesting a meaning related to dominance. It appears in various contexts in the Old Testament, primarily denoting young sheep.
כֶּ֫בֶשׂ 107 n.m. lamb
base
H3532 כֶּ֫בֶשׂ lamb
3532 kebes keh-bes'
from an unused root meaning to dominate; a ram (just old
enough to butt):--lamb, sheep.
כֶּ֫בֶשׂ (ke.ve.s) — lamb.
lamb, sheep, young ram
N-mp — Preposition · noun common masculine singular absoluteHRd/Ncmsa
Lamb
(1.) Heb. kebes, a male lamb from the first to the third year. Offered daily at the morning and the evening sacrifice (Ex. 29:38-42), on the Sabbath day (Num. 28:9), at the feast of the New Moon (28:11), of Trumpets (29:2), of Tabernacles (13-40), of Pentecost (Lev. 23:18-20), and of the Passover (Ex. 12:5), and on many other occasions (1 Chr. 29:21; 2 Chr. 29:21; Lev. 9:3; 14:10-25).
The young of the sheep, and also the kid of the goat, Ex 12:5, Christ is the Lamb of God, Joh 1:29, as being the accepted sacrifice for human sin. The sacrifices of the Old Testament were an ordained and perpetual foreshadowing not only of his spotless holiness and his unresisting meekness, Isa 53:4-9. He is described in Re 5:6 12:11, as wearing the form of a sacrificial lamb in heaven itself. See PASSOVER and SACRIFICES.
→ Offering of Ex 29:38-41; Le 3:7; 4:32; 5:6; 22:23; 23:12; Nu 6:12; 7:15,21; 28:3-8
→ Not to be seethed (boiled) in its own mother's milk Ex 23:19
אֶחָד (echad) means 'one' and is derived from a numeral. It encompasses meanings such as each, every, a certain, and can serve as an indefinite article. It is also used as an ordinal to denote 'first' and appears in various combinations, including eleven. The entries consistently emphasize its numerical and qualitative aspects.
אֶחָד 972 adj.num. one
one
= each, every
= a certain
= indef. art.
only, & (fem.) once
one … another, one … the other
as ordinal first
in combin.
base
H259 אֶחָד one . one
. = each, every
. = a certain
. = indef. art.
. only, & (fem.) once
. one … another, one … the other
. as ordinal first
. in combin.
259 'echad ekh-awd'
a numeral from 258; properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an
ordinal) first:--a, alike, alone, altogether, and,
any(-thing), apiece, a certain, (dai-)ly, each (one), +
eleven, every, few, first, + highway, a man, once, one, only,
other, some, together,
see HEBREW for 0258
אֶחָד (e.chad) — one.
1) one (number)
1a) one (number)
1b) each, every
1c) a certain
1d) an (indefinite article)
1e) only, once, once for all
1f) one...another, the one...the other, one after another, one by one
1g) first
1h) eleven (in combination), eleventh (ordinal)
Art | Adj — ParticleHTd/Acfsa
wun.
See NUMBER.
אַרְבַּע (arba) means 'four' in Hebrew. It is a masculine noun derived from the root associated with the number four. The entries consistently affirm this meaning without any significant disagreement among lexicons.
אַרְבַּע, אַרְבָּעָה four
base
H702 אַרְבַּע, אַרְבָּעָה four
702 'arba` ar-bah'
masculine oarbaah {ar-baw-aw'}; from 7251; four:--four.
see HEBREW for 07251
אַרְבַּע (ar.ba) — four.
four
Prep | Adj — PrepositionHR/Acbsa
for ('arba`; tessares): "Four" (cardinal number) was a sacred and complete number with the Hebrews, as well as with several other peoples. It occurs very frequently in the Old Testament and the New Testament.
(1) It indicates completeness. We have the four rivers of Paradise (Ge 2:10); the four winds of heaven (Eze 37:9; Da 7:2; 8:8; 11:4; Zec 6:5, the Revised Version, margin "spirits"; /APC 2Esdras 13:5); "the four winds" (Mt 24:31; Mr 13:27); "the four corners of the earth" (Isa 11:12;
עָשָׂר (asar) means 'ten' and is used exclusively in combination with other numbers to form the teen numbers (11-19), both as cardinal and ordinal forms. The entries indicate that it is derived from another Hebrew root, but do not elaborate on its etymology.
עָשָׂר, עֶשְׂרֵה ten, only after units to make num. 11-19, both cardinal and ordinal
base
H6240 עָשָׂר, עֶשְׂרֵה ten, only after units to make num. 11-19, both cardinal and ordinal
6240 `asar aw-sawr'
for 6235; ten (only in combination), i.e. -teen; also
(ordinal) -teenth:--(eigh-, fif-, four-, nine-, seven-,
six-, thir-)teen(-th), + eleven(-th), + sixscore thousand, +
twelve(-th).
see HEBREW for 06235
עָשָׂר (a.sar) — ten.
1) ten, -teen (in combination with other numbers)
1a) used only in combination to make the numbers 11-19
HAcbsc — HAcbsc
כֶּ֫בֶשׂ (*kebes*) means 'lamb' and can also refer to a young ram or sheep. The word is derived from an unused root suggesting a meaning related to dominance. It appears in various contexts in the Old Testament, primarily denoting young sheep.
כֶּ֫בֶשׂ 107 n.m. lamb
base
H3532 כֶּ֫בֶשׂ lamb
3532 kebes keh-bes'
from an unused root meaning to dominate; a ram (just old
enough to butt):--lamb, sheep.
כֶּ֫בֶשׂ (ke.ve.s) — lamb.
lamb, sheep, young ram
HNcmpa — Noun common · masculine plural absoluteHNcmpa
are the young of sheep, but originally included also the young of goats. They formed an important part of almost every sacrifice. (Exodus 29:38-41; Numbers 28:9,11; 29:2,13-40) etc. [On the paschal lamb see PASSOVER]