Numbers 29:4 — Word Study
WLCוְעִשָּׂר֣וֹן אֶחָ֔ד לַכֶּ֖בֶשׂ הָאֶחָ֑ד לְשִׁבְעַ֖ת הַכְּבָשִֽׂים׃
BSAand a tenth [of an ephah]ʻissârôwn [one-tenth part, a tithe, a unit of measurement, about 2/5 of a bushel] with eachʼechâd [separate, individual] of the sevenshebaʻ male lambskebes [young rams, sacrificial animals]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וְעִשָּׂר֣וֹן | and a tenth [of an ephah] | Conjunction, noun common masculine singular absolute |
| אֶחָ֔ד | one | Art, Adj |
| לַכֶּ֖בֶשׂ | for the lamb | Preposition, noun common masculine singular absolute |
| הָאֶחָ֑ד | one | Particle |
| לְשִׁבְעַ֖ת | for [the] seven | Preposition |
| הַכְּבָשִֽׂים׃ | the lambs | Particle, 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 seven male lambs. |
| KJV | And one tenth deal for one lamb, throughout the seven lambs: |
| ASV | and one tenth part for every lamb of the seven lambs; |
| YLT | and one-tenth deal for the one lamb, for the seven lambs; |
| WEB | and one tenth for every lamb of the seven lambs; |
| BBE | And a separate tenth part for every one of the seven lambs; |
Where they part company is in the translation of אֶחָד — see How Translations Differ.
The structure includes a main clause followed by phrases that provide additional details about the offering and 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 29:4
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 for the Feastgenerated
Numbers 29:4 is part of a larger description of the offerings to be made during the feasts. It outlines the specific amounts of grain and animals to be sacrificed, emphasizing the importance of proper worship and adherence to the commands given to the Israelites. This verse highlights the meticulous nature of the sacrificial system, where exact measurements and quantities are prescribed for each offering.
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. In this verse, it signifies a precise measurement of grain to accompany the offering.
This term is often used in the context of sacrifices, as seen in Leviticus 14:10, where it denotes a tenth of an ephah. The parsing as a noun indicates it is a common masculine singular, emphasizing its role as a specific unit of measure within the sacrificial system.
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 structured around the noun phrase עִשָּׂרוֹן, tenth, which serves as the object of the sentence, followed by a series of prepositional phrases that specify its relation to the lambs. The sentence is straightforward, presenting the measurement clearly alongside the lambs being referenced.
The structure emphasizes the importance of the specific quantity being offered, with the prepositional phrases clarifying the context of the offering in relation to the seven male lambs.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates עִשָּׂרוֹן as δέκατον (dekaton), which also means 'tenth'. This choice reflects a direct equivalence in measurement, maintaining the significance of the fractional part in the context of offerings.
The use of ἑπτά for שִׁבְעַת indicates a consistent understanding of the number seven as it relates to the lambs, reinforcing the connection between the Hebrew and Greek texts.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Numbers 29:4 specifies that a tenth of an ephah of grain is to be offered with each of the seven male lambs during the sacrificial ritual. This precise measurement highlights the importance of following God's instructions carefully in worship.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
An ephah is a unit of dry measure used in ancient Israel, approximately equivalent to 2/5 of a bushel.
A tenth, or tithe, represents a portion that is set aside for God, symbolizing gratitude and acknowledgment of His provision.
The number seven often symbolizes completeness or perfection in biblical texts, making the seven lambs particularly significant.
Young lambs are often seen as symbols of innocence and purity, making them suitable for sacrificial offerings.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- How can I apply the principle of giving a portion back to God in my own life?
- What does the significance of the number seven teach us about God's completeness?
- In what ways can I ensure that my worship is done with care and precision, as seen in this verse?
- How does understanding the sacrificial system enhance my appreciation for the concept of sacrifice in my faith?
Commentators on this verse — 2 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Numbers 29:4 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd ye shall offer a burnt offering for a sweet savour unto the LORD; one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year without blemish: No JFB commentary on these verses.
Read Robert Jamieson on Numbers 29 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the BibleTHE AT THE FEAST OF , Numbers 29:1-6. 1-6. Seventh month — Ethanim, (1 Kings 8:2,) Tisri — our September. It was the going out or revolution, the end and beginning of the civil and jubilee year.
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 seven male lambs.
and one tenth for every lamb of the seven lambs;
and a tenth of an ephah with each of the seven male lambs.
and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs,
Tyndale line
And one tenth deal for one lamb, throughout the seven lambs:
and one tenth part for every lamb of the seven lambs;
and one tenth part for every lamb of the seven lambs:
And one tenth-part for one lamb, throughout the seven lambs:
And one tenth deale vnto one lambe, for the seuen lambes,
Strictly literal
and one tenth part for each lamb of the seven lambs;
and one-tenth deal for the one lamb, for the seven lambs;
and one-tenth part for one lamb, for the seven lambs;
And one tenth part for every sheep, of the seven sheep;
and one-tenth for each lamb of the seven lambs.
From the Latin
One tenth to a lamb, which in all are seven lambs:
Simplified
and one tenth of an ephah for each of the seven male lambs.
And a separate tenth part for every one of the seven 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 Masoretic Text is supported by the Samaritan Pentateuch, which agrees word for word with the Hebrew text. The Septuagint matches the Hebrew closely in terms of content, although its word order differs.
וְעִשָּׂר֣וֹן אֶחָ֔ד לַכֶּ֖בֶשׂ הָאֶחָ֑ד לְשִׁבְעַ֖ת הַכְּבָשִֽׂים׃
6 of the 6 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 לשׁבעת הכבשׂים
Agrees with the Masoretic Text here, word for word.
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 29:4
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
Ephah
Gloom. (1.) One of the five sons of Midian, and grandson of Abraham (Gen. 25:4). The city of Ephah, to which he gave his name, is mentioned Isa. 60:6, 7. This city, with its surrounding territory, formed part of Midian, on the east shore of the Dead Sea. It abounded in dromedaries and camels (Judg. 6:5).
(2.) 1 Chr. 2:46, a concubine of Caleb.
(3.) 1 Chr. 2:47, a descendant of Judah.
Ephah, a word of Egyptian origin, meaning measure; a grain measure containing “three seahs or ten omers,” and equivalent to the bath for liquids (Ex. 16:36;
[WEIGHTS AND MEASURES AND MEASURES]
1. A measure of capacity used among the Hebrews, containing three pecks and three pints. The Ephah was a dry measure, as of barley, Ru 2:17; and meal, Nu 5:15 Jud 6:19; and was of the same capacity with the bath in liquids. See BATH, or Ephah.
2. The son of Midian, and grandson of Abraham, Ge 25:4, who settled and gave his name to a region in Arabia supposed to have been near Midian, Isa 60:6.
weary; tired
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 — Art · AdjHAcfsa
wun.
See NUMBER.
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
Art | 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)
HTd/Acfsa — ParticleHTd/Acfsa
wun.
See NUMBER.
שֶׁ֫בַע (sheba`) means 'seven' and is a cardinal number. It can also imply 'seven times' or refer to a week. The term appears in various contexts, including combinations like 17 or 700. Its Aramaic equivalent is שִׁבְעָה (shiv.ah), also meaning 'seven'.
שֶׁ֫בַע, שִׁבְעָה 394 n.m. et f. seven
base
H7651 שֶׁ֫בַע, שִׁבְעָה seven
7651 sheba` sheh'-bah
or (masculine) shibrah {shib-aw'}; from 7650; a primitive
cardinal number; seven (as the sacred full one); also
(adverbially) seven times; by implication, a week; by
extension, an indefinite number:--(+ by) seven(-fold),-s,
(-teen, -teenth), -th, times). Compare 7658.
see HEBREW for 07650
see HEBREW for 07658
שֶׁ֫בַע (she.va) — seven.
1) seven (cardinal number)
1a) as ordinal number
1b) in combination-17, 700 etc
Aramaic equivalent: shiv.ah (שִׁבְעָה "seven" H7655)
Prep | Adj — PrepositionHR/Acbsc
sev'-'-n (shebha`; hepta).
See NUMBER.
Seven
This number occurs frequently in Scripture, and in such connections as lead to the supposition that it has some typical meaning. On the seventh day God rested, and hallowed it (Gen. 2:2, 3). The division of time into weeks of seven days each accounts for many instances of the occurrence of this number. This number has been called the symbol of perfection, and also the symbol of rest. “Jacob’s seven years’ service to Laban; Pharaoh’s seven fat oxen and seven lean ones; the seven branches of the golden candlestick; the seven trumpets and the seven priests who sounded them; the seven days’ siege of Jericho; the seven churches, seven spirits, seven stars, seven seals, seven vials, and many others, sufficiently prove the importance of this sacred number” (see Lev. 25:4;
The frequent recurrence of certain numbers in the sacred literature of the Hebrews is obvious to the most superficial reader, but seven so far surpasses the rest, both in the frequency with which it recurs and in the importance of the objects with which it is associated, that it may fairly be termed the representative symbolic number. The influence of the number seven was not restricted to the Hebrews; it prevailed among the Persians, ancient Indians, Greeks and Romans. The peculiarity of the Hebrew view consists in the special dignity of the seventh, and not simply in that of seen. The Sabbath being the seventh day suggested the adoption of seven as the coefficient, so to say, for their appointment of all sacred periods; and we thus find the 7th month ushered in by the Feast of Trumpets, and signalized by the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles and the Great Day of Atonement; 7…
As from the beginning this was the number of days in the week, so it often has in Scripture a sort of emphasis attached to it, and is very generally used as a round or perfect number. Clean beasts were taken into the ark by sevens, Ge 7:1-24. The years of plenty and famine in Egypt were marked by sevens, Ge 41:1-57. With the Jews, not only was there a seventh day Sabbath, but every seventh year was a Sabbath, and after every seven times seven years came a jubilee. Their great feasts of unleavened bread and of tabernacles were observed for seven days; the number of animals in many of their sacrifices was limited to seven. The golden candlestick had seven branches. Seven priests with seven trumpets went around the walls of Jericho seven days, and seven times on the seventh day. In…
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
HTd/Ncmpa — Particle · noun common masculine plural absoluteHTd/Ncmpa
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]