Numbers 7:59

Summary

This verse lists the animals brought as the shelamim ("peace offerings", H8002) by Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, prince of the tribe of Manasseh, during the tribal offerings at the dedication of the tabernacle. The list specifies two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five year-old lambs, closing with a formulaic identification of the donor.

Key words

• Zevach ("[the] sacrifice of", H2077) — masculine singular construct noun, linking directly to ha-shelamim ("the peace offerings", H8002) to form the phrase "sacrifice of the peace offerings."
• she.la.Mim ("peace offerings", H8002) — masculine plural noun with definite article, naming the specific category of offering to which the listed animals belong.
• chamishah ("five", H2568) — cardinal number repeated three times, each time governing a different plural noun of animals (rams, goats, lambs), showing the fixed quantity pattern for this offering type.
• bene shanah ("sons of a year", H1121H + H8141) — construct phrase meaning animals one year old, modifying kevasim ("lambs", H3532).
• korban ("[was] [the] offering of", H7133A) — masculine singular construct noun introducing the closing formula that attributes the entire offering to a named individual.

What the text says

The verse opens with the conjunction u- ("and", H9002) attached to le-zevach ("to [the] sacrifice of", H9005 + H2077), marking this as a continuation of a longer list of offerings begun earlier in the chapter. The construct chain zevach ha-shelamim ("sacrifice of the peace offerings") identifies the category, after which four animal types are listed in sequence, each followed by its numeral: baqar shenayim ("oxen, two", H1241 + H8147), 'eilim chamishah ("rams, five", H0352A + H2568), 'atudim chamishah ("goats, five", H6260 + H2568), and kevasim bene shanah chamishah ("lambs, sons of a year, five", H3532 + H1121H + H8141 + H2568). The Hebrew places the noun before its numeral in each case (noun-numeral order), a pattern distinct from ordinary Hebrew numeral-noun sequencing, which gives the list a formulaic, tabulated feel appropriate to a ritual inventory.

The closing formula uses the demonstrative zeh ("this", H2088) followed by korban ("[the] offering of", H7133A) in construct with the personal name Gamli'el ("Gamaliel", H1583), then a second construct chain ben Pedah-tzur ("son of Pedahzur", H1121A + H6301) identifying the donor's father. This same closing structure appears throughout Numbers 7 for each tribal leader's offering, marking the end of his individual contribution before the next leader's list begins.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders baqar ("oxen", H1241) as δαμάλεις ("heifers"), a feminine form, where the Hebrew term is common gender and typically denotes cattle generally, often male oxen in sacrificial contexts. The LXX also renders kevasim ("lambs", H3532), a masculine plural, as ἀμνάδας ("ewe lambs"), a feminine form, differing from the Hebrew's grammatical gender for this animal term. The Vulgate's agnos anniculos ("year-old lambs") and the Hebrew kevasim bene shanah ("lambs, sons of a year") align closely in meaning, unlike the LXX's shift in gender noted above.