---
title: "Clarke"
description: "Verse Numbers 7:1. On the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle — The transactions mentioned in this chapter took place on the second day of the"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/numbers/7"
---

Verse [Numbers 7:1](../../../kjv/numbers/7/1). ***On the day that Moses had fully set up the**********tabernacle*** — The transactions mentioned in this chapter took place on the *second day* of the *second month* of the *second year* after their departure from Egypt; and the proper place of this account is immediately after the *tenth* chapter of *Leviticus*.

Verse [Numbers 7:3](../../../kjv/numbers/7/3). ***Six covered wagons*** — שש עגלת צב *shesh egloth tsab, six* *tilted wagons*, the Septuagint translate ἑξ ἁμαξας λαμπηνικας, with which the *Coptic* agrees; but what *lampenic chariots* were, no person pretends to know. *Covered* or *tilted* is probably the meaning of the original. The wagons were given for the more convenient exporting of the heavier parts of the tabernacle, which could not be conveniently carried on men's shoulders.

Verse [Numbers 7:5](../../../kjv/numbers/7/5). ***According to his service.*** — That is, distribute them among the Levites *as they may need them*, giving most to those who have the *heaviest burdens* to bear.

Verse [Numbers 7:7](../../../kjv/numbers/7/7). ***Two wagons - unto the sons of Gershon*** — The Gershonites carried only the *curtains, coverings*, and *hangings*, [Numbers 4:25](../../../kjv/numbers/4/25). And although this was a *cumbersome* carriage, and they needed the wagons, yet it was not a heavy one.

Verse [Numbers 7:8](../../../kjv/numbers/7/8). ***Four wagons - unto the sons of Merari*** — Because they had the *boards, bars, pillars*, and *sockets* of the tabernacle to carry, [Numbers 4:31-32](../../../kjv/numbers/4/31-32), therefore they had as many more wagons as the *Gershonites*.

Verse [Numbers 7:9](../../../kjv/numbers/7/9). ***Unto the sons of Kohath he gave none*** — Because they had the charge of the *ark, table, candlestick, altars*, c., [Numbers 4:5-15](../../../kjv/numbers/4/5-15), which were to be carried *upon their shoulders* for those sacred things must not be drawn by beasts.

Verse [Numbers 7:10](../../../kjv/numbers/7/10). ***And the princes offered*** — Every *prince* or *chief* offered in the *behalf*, and doubtless at the *expense*, of his whole tribe.

Verse [Numbers 7:13](../../../kjv/numbers/7/13). ***One silver charger*** — קערת *kaarath*, a *dish*, or *deep bowl*, in which they kneaded the paste. See [Exodus 25:29](../../../kjv/exodus/25/29).
***One silver bowl*** — מזרק *mizrak*, a *bason*, to receive the blood of the sacrifice in. [Exodus 27:3](../../../kjv/exodus/27/3).

Verse [Numbers 7:14](../../../kjv/numbers/7/14). ***One spoon*** — כף *caph*, a *censer*, on which they put the incense. See [Exodus 25:29](../../../kjv/exodus/25/29).
It is worthy of remark that the different tribes are represented here as bringing their offerings precisely in the same order in which they encamped about the tabernacle. See [Numbers 2:1-31](../../../kjv/numbers/2/1-31) and [Numbers 10:13-27](../../../kjv/numbers/10/13-27).
"Thus," says Mr. Ainsworth, "by sacrifices of all sorts, figuring the death of Christ, and the benefits that were to be received thereby, they reconciled and made themselves and theirs acceptable to God, and were made partakers of his grace, to remission of sins, and sanctification through faith, and in the work of the Holy Ghost, in the communion and feeling whereof they rejoiced before God."

Verse 48. ***On the seventh day*** — Both Jewish and Christian writers have been surprised that this work of offering went forward on the *seventh day*, which they suppose to have been a *Sabbath*, as well as on the other days. But
1. There is no absolute proof that this *seventh* day of offering was a *Sabbath*.
2. Were it even so, could the people be better employed than in thus consecrating themselves and their services to the Lord?
We have already seen that every act was a religious act; and we may rest assured that no day was too holy for the performance of such acts as are recorded here.

Verse [Numbers 7:72](../../../kjv/numbers/7/72). ***On the eleventh day*** — The Hebrew form of expression, here and in the [Numbers 7:78](../../../kjv/numbers/7/78); [Numbers 7:78](../../../kjv/numbers/7/78) verse, has something curious in it. ביום עשתי עשר יום *beyom ashtey asar yom, In the day, the* *first and tenth day*; ביום שנים עשר יום beyom sheneym asar yom, In *the day, two and tenth day*. But this is the idiom of the language, and to an original Hebrew our almost anomalous words *eleventh* and *twelfth*, by which we translate the original, would appear as strange as his, literally translated, would appear to us. In reckoning after *twelve*, it is easy to find out the composition of the words *thirteen*, as *three* and *ten, fourteen*, *four* and *ten*, and so on; but *eleven* and *twelve* bear scarcely any analogy to *ten* and *one*, and *ten* and *two*, which nevertheless they intend. But this is a subject of philology rather than of Biblical criticism.

Verse [Numbers 7:84](../../../kjv/numbers/7/84). ***This was the dedication of the altar, in the day,*** *c.*] Meaning here the *time* in which it was dedicated for as each tribe had a whole day for its representative or prince to present the offerings it had provided, consequently the dedication, in which each had his day, must have lasted *twelve* days: the words therefore, in this text, refer to the last day or *twelfth*, in which this dedication was completed.

Verse [Numbers 7:88](../../../kjv/numbers/7/88). ***After that it was anointed.*** — By the anointing the altar was consecrated to God; by this dedication it was solemnly appointed to that service for which it had been erected.

Verse [Numbers 7:89](../../../kjv/numbers/7/89). ***To speak with him*** — To confer with God, and to receive farther discoveries of his will.
***He heard the voice of one speaking unto him*** — Though Moses saw no similitude, but *only heard a voice*, yet he had the fullest proof of the *presence* as well as of the *being* of the Almighty. In this way God chose to manifest himself during that dispensation, till the fulness of the time came, in which the WORD *was made* *flesh, and* DWELT AMONG US. No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
***The mercy-seat*** — [Exodus 25:17](../../../kjv/exodus/25/17); [Exodus 25:17](../../../kjv/exodus/25/17). As God gave oracular answers from this place, and *spoke* to Moses as it were *face to face*, hence the place was called the ORACLE, דביר *debir*, or *speaking place*, from דבר *dabar*, he *spoke*, [1 Kings 6:23](../../../kjv/1-kings/6/23). And as this *mercy-seat* represented our blessed Redeemer, so the apostle says that God, *who* had *at sundry times, and in divers* *manners*, SPOKEN *in time past to the fathers by the prophets*, *hath, in these last days*, SPOKEN *unto us by his Son*. [Hebrews 1:1-2](../../../kjv/hebrews/1/1-2). Hence the *incarnated* Christ is the true דביר *debir* or *oracle*, in and by whom God *speaks* unto man.

By which we may at once see that though the *place* in which they now sojourned was a *wilderness*, as to *cities, villages*, and *regular inhabitants*, yet there was plenty of pasturage, else the Israelites could not have furnished these cattle, with all the sacrifices necessary for different occasions, and especially for the passover, which was celebrated during their sojourning in the desert, and which itself must have required an immense number of lambs, (see [Numbers 9:4-5](../../../kjv/numbers/9/4-5)), when each family of the 600,000 males was obliged to provide one for itself.

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/numbers/7#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/images/missing.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/images/missing.jpg","width":640,"height":370,"caption":"Clarke's Commentary -  Numbers 7"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/numbers/7#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/numbers/7","name":"Clarke's Commentary -  Numbers 7","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/numbers/7#primaryimage"},"datePublished":null,"dateModified":null,"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"Verse Numbers 7:1. On the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle — The transactions mentioned in this chapter took place on the second day of the","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/numbers/7#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/numbers/7"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/numbers/7#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries","name":"Commentaries"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary","name":"Clarke's Commentary"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/numbers","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/numbers","name":"Numbers"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/numbers/7","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/numbers/7","name":"7"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]}
```