Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Vulgate Text: Numbers 7:1-89
1. Now it came to pass on the day when Moses had completed the tabernacle, and had erected it, and anointed and sanctified it with all its vessels, and the altar likewise with all its vessels: 2. the princes of Israel and the heads of the families, who were the captains in each tribe, and had presided over those who had been numbered, 3. offered gifts before the Lord: six covered wagons with twelve oxen. Two leaders offered one wagon, and each one offered one ox, and they presented them before the tabernacle. 4. And the Lord said to Moses: 5. Receive these from them, that they may serve in the ministry of the tabernacle, and you shall deliver them to the Levites according to the order of their ministry. 6. So when Moses had received the wagons and the oxen, he delivered them to the Levites. 7. Two wagons and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to what they needed; 8. four other wagons and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their duties and service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest; 9. but to the sons of Kohath he gave no wagons and oxen, because they serve in the Sanctuary, and carry their burdens on their own shoulders. 10. Therefore the leaders offered for the dedication of the altar, on the day it was anointed, their oblation before the altar. 11. And the Lord said to Moses: Let each leader offer his gifts on successive days for the dedication of the altar. 12. On the first day Nahshon the son of Amminadab of the tribe of Judah offered his oblation; 13. and in it were a silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty shekels, a silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the weight of the Sanctuary, both full of fine flour mixed with oil for a sacrifice; 14. a golden mortar of ten shekels full of incense; 15. an ox from the herd, and a ram, and a yearling lamb for a holocaust, 16. and a he-goat for sin; 17. and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five yearling lambs: this was the oblation of Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 18. On the second day Nethanel the son of Zuar, leader of the tribe of Issachar, offered: 19. a silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty shekels, a silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the weight of the Sanctuary, both full of fine flour mixed with oil for a sacrifice; 20. a golden mortar of ten shekels, full of incense; 21. an ox from the herd, and a ram, and a yearling lamb for a holocaust, 22. and a he-goat for sin; 23. and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five yearling lambs: this was the oblation of Nethanel the son of Zuar. 24. On the third day the prince of the sons of Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon, 25. offered a silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty shekels, a silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the weight of the Sanctuary, both full of fine flour mixed with oil for a sacrifice; 26. a golden mortar weighing ten shekels, full of incense; 27. an ox from the herd, and a ram, and a yearling lamb for a holocaust, 28. and a he-goat for sin; 29. and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five yearling lambs: this was the oblation of Eliab the son of Helon. 30. On the fourth day the prince of the sons of Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur, 31. offered a silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty shekels, a silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the weight of the Sanctuary, both full of fine flour mixed with oil for a sacrifice; 32. a golden mortar weighing ten shekels, full of incense; 33. an ox from the herd, and a ram, and a yearling lamb for a holocaust, 34. and a he-goat for sin; 35. and for the peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five yearling lambs: this was the oblation of Elizur the son of Shedeur. 36. On the fifth day the prince of the sons of Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, 37. offered a silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty shekels, a silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the weight of the Sanctuary, both full of fine flour mixed with oil for a sacrifice; 38. a golden mortar weighing ten shekels, full of incense; 39. an ox from the herd, and a ram, and a yearling lamb for a holocaust, 40. and a he-goat for sin; 41. and for the peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five yearling lambs: this was the oblation of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 42. On the sixth day the prince of the sons of Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel, 43. offered a silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty shekels, a silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the weight of the Sanctuary, both full of fine flour mixed with oil for a sacrifice; 44. a golden mortar weighing ten shekels, full of incense; 45. an ox from the herd, and a ram, and a yearling lamb for a holocaust, 46. and a he-goat for sin; 47. and for the peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five yearling lambs: this was the oblation of Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 48. On the seventh day the prince of the sons of Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud, 49. offered a silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty shekels, a silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the weight of the Sanctuary, both full of fine flour mixed with oil for a sacrifice; 50. a golden mortar weighing ten shekels, full of incense; 51. an ox from the herd, and a ram, and a yearling lamb for a holocaust, 52. and a he-goat for sin; 53. and for the peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five yearling lambs: this was the oblation of Elishama the son of Ammihud. 54. On the eighth day the prince of the sons of Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, 55. offered a silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty shekels, a silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the weight of the Sanctuary, both full of fine flour mixed with oil for a sacrifice; 56. a golden mortar weighing ten shekels, full of incense; 57. an ox from the herd, and a ram, and a yearling lamb for a holocaust, 58. and a he-goat for sin; 59. and for the peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five yearling lambs: this was the oblation of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 60. On the ninth day the prince of the sons of Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni, 61. offered a silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty shekels, a silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the weight of the Sanctuary, both full of fine flour mixed with oil for a sacrifice; 62. and a golden mortar weighing ten shekels, full of incense; 63. an ox from the herd, and a ram, and a yearling lamb for a holocaust, 64. and a he-goat for sin; 65. and for the peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five yearling lambs: this was the oblation of Abidan the son of Gideoni. 66. On the tenth day the prince of the sons of Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, 67. offered a silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty shekels, a silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the weight of the Sanctuary, both full of fine flour mixed with oil for a sacrifice; 68. a golden mortar weighing ten shekels full of incense; 69. an ox from the herd, and a ram, and a yearling lamb for a holocaust, 70. and a he-goat for sin; 71. and for the peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five yearling lambs: this was the oblation of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 72. On the eleventh day the prince of the sons of Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran, 73. offered a silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty shekels, a silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the weight of the Sanctuary, both full of fine flour mixed with oil for a sacrifice; 74. a golden mortar weighing ten shekels, full of incense; 75. an ox from the herd, and a ram, and a yearling lamb for a holocaust, 76. and a he-goat for sin; 77. and for the peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five yearling lambs: this was the oblation of Pagiel the son of Ochran. 78. On the twelfth day the prince of the sons of Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan, 79. offered a silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty shekels, a silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the weight of the Sanctuary, both full of fine flour mixed with oil for a sacrifice; 80. a golden mortar weighing ten shekels, full of incense; 81. an ox from the herd, and a ram, and a yearling lamb for a holocaust, 82. and a he-goat for sin; 83. and for the peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five yearling lambs: this was the oblation of Ahira the son of Enan. 84. These things were offered at the dedication of the altar by the princes of Israel, on the day it was consecrated: twelve silver dishes, twelve silver bowls, twelve golden mortars; 85. so that one silver dish weighed one hundred and thirty shekels, and one bowl weighed seventy shekels, that is, all the silver vessels together amounted to two thousand four hundred shekels, by the weight of the Sanctuary. 86. Twelve golden mortars full of incense, each weighing ten shekels by the weight of the Sanctuary, that is, altogether one hundred and twenty gold shekels: 87. oxen from the herd for holocaust, twelve; rams, twelve; yearling lambs, twelve, with their libations; he-goats for sin, twelve. 88. For the peace offerings: twenty-four oxen, sixty rams, sixty he-goats, sixty yearling lambs. These things were offered at the dedication of the altar, when it was anointed. 89. And when Moses entered the tabernacle of the covenant to consult the oracle, he heard the voice of One speaking to him from the propitiatory which was over the ark of the testimony between the two Cherubim: and from there He spoke to him.
Verse 1: On the Day When Moses Completed the Tabernacle
And had erected it — not by himself, but through Bezalel and his companions: whence it is clear that there is a hysteron proteron here. For the offering of the princes, which is narrated in this chapter, was made before the census of the people described in chapter 1. For the erection and consecration of the tabernacle was completed on the first day of the first month of the second year, as is clear from Exodus 40:18. And on that same day the consecration of Aaron the high priest and his sons the priests was performed, as is clear from the same chapter of Exodus. On that same day also the offering of the princes began, being made in the tabernacle already erected, as is stated here. Therefore, according to the order of history, this chapter should have been placed immediately after Exodus. Hence here it is not so much the order of history as of subject matter that is observed: for since Moses had described the tabernacle and the altars in Exodus, he appended in Leviticus the description of the sacrifices, the consecrations of the priests, and the duties to be performed in the tabernacle and at its altars; then in Numbers he added the census of the people and of the Levites, to distinguish their ministries, then the rite and offering of the Nazirites: for the Nazirites were consecrated to God, just as the priests and Levites were; and finally, on the occasion of the offerings prescribed for the Nazirites, he aptly transitions, indeed returns, to the offering of the princes, although it had been made long before. We shall see a similar hysteron proteron in the two following chapters.
Therefore what Rabbi Solomon, and following him Lyranus, propose — namely a twofold erection of the tabernacle: one daily, which was done each day during the first seven days of the consecration of the priests; the other stable and permanent, which was done on the eighth day after the first erection of the tabernacle, when the consecration of the priests was completed; and that therefore this oblation of the twelve princes should be reckoned as beginning from this stable erection, that is, from the eighth day — this, I say, seems fictitious, and contrary to Sacred Scripture in this passage. For that daily erection of the tabernacle would have been useless and exceedingly troublesome, indeed with so many boards, columns, and curtains, nearly impossible, as Abulensis rightly shows.
Objection of Lyranus: Who Sacrificed During the First Seven Days?
Lyranus objects: Before the eighth day the consecration of Aaron and his priestly sons was not yet completed; therefore during the first seven days, Moses, not Aaron nor his sons — whose consecration was not yet finished — had to sacrifice the victims of the princes: but Moses alone could not do this; for each prince offered twenty-one victims to be sacrificed daily.
I reply: During the first seven days Moses alone sacrificed, that is, he slaughtered and killed the victims, which he could easily do by himself: but Aaron and his sons, after the victim was slaughtered, would skin it, cut it up, wash it, and place it on the altar. For the Levites could also do these things at that time, when the priests were not sufficient for the task, as is clear from II Chronicles 29:34.
Note: The Twelve Days of the Princes' Offering
Since there were twelve princes of the 12 tribes, this offering of theirs lasted for the same number of days; for each day one prince offered his gifts. Therefore during the first seven days, when the consecration of Aaron and his sons was not yet completed, Moses by himself offered the sacrifices of seven princes: but on the eighth day, when the prince of the sons of Manasseh offered — namely Gamaliel — then Aaron, as now a consecrated high priest, offered both his and the remaining four princes' sacrifices. So says Abulensis.
Verse 2: The Princes of Israel Offered
The princes of Israel, and the captains of those who had been numbered — that is to say: the 12 princes, who were the captains of the twelve tribes, namely of all the Israelites who had been reviewed and numbered — not here in chapter 1, for that numbering was later than this offering of the princes, as I have already said, but earlier, namely in the prior census of the people, which was taken in Exodus 38:25. These 12 princes, or captains, therefore offered together on the first day to the Lord (for transporting the vessels of the tabernacle through the desert) six covered wagons. — "Covered," lest these sacred vessels be seen by the people, and lest they be damaged by rain, hail, etc.
Verse 3: With Twelve Oxen
For each wagon was drawn by two oxen. For the Jews used oxen and donkeys, rather than horses, as I said at Exodus 13:13.
Two leaders offered one wagon. — Two princes: for since six wagons were offered by twelve princes, it follows that every two princes offered one wagon. But the oxen individually — that is, twelve of them — were offered by each prince individually.
Verse 8: Four Wagons to the Sons of Merari
He gave four other wagons and eight oxen to the sons of Merari, — because they had heavier burdens, namely of all the columns, besides the other burdens of the boards, bases, etc., to such a degree that Abulensis thinks all their burdens could not have been loaded onto these four wagons, but that some had to be carried by them. See what was said at Exodus 38, at the end.
Service — that is, ministry; for in Hebrew this is aboda.
Under the hand (under the care, authority, and supervision) of Ithamar — that is, Ithamar presided over the Gershonites and the Merarites, and their vessels.
Verse 9: To the Sons of Kohath He Gave No Wagons
Because they serve in the Sanctuary. — "In the Sanctuary," that is, in the Holy Place and in the Holy of Holies, meaning: the Kohathites serve the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, by guarding the vessels that were in the Holy Place and in the Holy of Holies; therefore I will that these vessels be carried not on wagons, but on their shoulders, and this on account of the sanctity and reverence due to the vessels.
Verse 11: Each Leader Shall Offer on Successive Days
Let each leader offer his gifts on successive days for the dedication of the altar — namely of holocausts, which besides the anointing common to it and the other vessels of the tabernacle, had another special dedication over seven days, namely the daily anointing and sacrifices prescribed in Exodus chapter 29, verses 36 and 37. Whence also each day, for the dedication of the whole tabernacle indeed, but especially of this altar, the princes offered their gifts in turn and individually.
The Order and Purpose of the Princes' Offerings
This offering therefore began on the first day of the erection and consecration of the tabernacle, and lasted for 12 days. For there were twelve princes offering, of whom each day one offered his gifts. For the common gifts, namely the six wagons and twelve oxen, all the princes offered together on the first day. Moreover, these princes offered their gifts in the order that existed in the camps themselves and the standards, Numbers 2: whence on the first day the prince of the tribe of Judah offered; on the second, the prince of Issachar; on the third, the prince of Zebulun, and so on. Finally, they offered the same gifts, lest any rivalry or ambition arise among them.
On the Liberality Befitting Princes
God commanded the princes, in the name of their tribes, to offer these gifts, first, to sharpen in them a zeal for religion and sacred things; second, to show that laypeople and the populace are obliged by natural divine law to provide these victims, and to furnish the expenses necessary both for the tabernacle and for sustaining the priests. For the priests performed the sacred duties in the name of the whole people: therefore they had to be supported by them, and receive all the expenses necessary for the worship of God. Finally, to teach that liberality especially becomes princes. Artaxerxes, called Longimanus because one of his hands was longer than the other, used to say that "it is more kingly to give than to take away." Therefore let kings and princes be open-handed in giving. For this reason the Hebrews call princes nedibim, from the root nadab, that is, he was spontaneous, generous, liberal. Nedibim therefore means the same as benefactors, that is, beneficent ones. And this is what Christ says, Luke 22:25: "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called benefactors." Benefactors, in Hebrew nedibim, that is, princes, because beneficence especially becomes them. Thus Ptolemy, king of Egypt, was surnamed Euergetes, that is, Benefactor, because he had brought back to Egypt by arms the ancestral idols carried off by Cambyses.
Verse 14: The Golden Mortar
A mortar. — In Hebrew it is caph, which our Interpreter elsewhere translates as "bowl"; but because another word meaning "bowl" has preceded here, our Interpreter translates caph as "mortar," as if you were to say, a small bowl for holding incense. For caph signifies a small curved and concave vessel (for caphaph signifies "to curve"), in which frankincense, or incense, or something of the sort was placed. So Vatablus and others.
Verse 15: An Ox from the Herd — The Twenty-One Victims
Besides the vessels, each prince offered 21 victims, and of every kind, namely: an ox, a ram, and a lamb for holocaust; a he-goat for sin; and for the peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five lambs: which during the first seven days Moses sacrificed; but on the eighth day Aaron began to exercise the priesthood, and sacrificed the victims of the eighth prince. On the same day Aaron also sacrificed the people's victims, which the people offered on account of the new consecration of the priests. On the same day also fire came from heaven, which consumed Aaron's sacrifices. On the same day, finally, Nadab and Abihu were struck dead, Leviticus 9 and 10.
Verse 18: On the Repetition of the Offerings
On the second day Nethanel offered. — He "offered" the same things, or such as Nahshon had offered on the first day: which, in the Hebrew manner, are here recounted and repeated at length for each prince. Whence the Hebrews in their text do not here substitute dots, since they substituted them once at the beginning in Nahshon's first oblation. So we see in Exodus, everything that was commanded to be made in the construction of the tabernacle in chapters 25, 26, 27, 28, repeated and narrated at length as already accomplished in chapters 36, 37, 38, 39. The same custom of repeating is found among Orientals, Muscovites, and other peoples.
Verse 84: The Total Offerings at the Dedication
These things were offered at the dedication of the altar by the princes, on the day it was consecrated. — "On the day," that is, at the time of the consecration, or "on the day they were offered," that is, they began to be offered: for this offering lasted twelve days; but the consecration of the altar was completed on the first day.
Verse 89: Moses Hearing the Voice from the Propitiatory
And when Moses entered the tabernacle of the covenant to consult the oracle — namely of God sitting in the Holy of Holies, above the propitiatory. From this it is clear that Moses always had access to the Holy of Holies in times of doubt, whereas otherwise only the high priest had entrance to the Holy of Holies once a year, namely on the Day of Atonement. For Moses was the lawgiver and the constant ambassador of God to the people: whence God spoke with Moses in a human and audible voice, issuing from the propitiatory, as is stated here.
On Rulers Consulting God Through Prayer
By this God signified that Princes, Prelates, and Pastors, in order to govern the people well, must frequently have recourse to God through prayer, so as to be instructed by Him in doubtful matters. For thus Moses had recourse to the oracle, as St. Gregory teaches, Pastoral Rule, Part II, chapter 5. So Minos, the lawgiver and king of the Cretans, was a conversant of Jupiter for nine years, says Plato; for the Gentiles invented this about him.
Plutarch relates in the Banquet of the Seven Sages that they asked among themselves: "Who would be a good and happy prince?" The first, Solon, said in reply: He who converts the rule of one man into a popular constitution for the citizens. Bias added: He who first obeys the laws of his country. The third, Thales: He who dies old in the natural order. The fourth, Anacharsis: He who alone is prudent. The fifth, Cleobulus: He who trusts none of his household. The sixth, Pittacus: He who so trains his subjects that they fear not him, but his cause. The last, Chilon, gave the best answer: He who meditates on nothing mortal, but on all things immortal. This Moses learned by constantly abiding with God in the tabernacle. So Blessed Thomas More, the most wise and upright Chancellor of England, daily devoted much time to prayer, pious reading, and meditation, conversing with God: and so when some difficult matter had to be dealt with, he would receive Holy Communion, so that he might be directed as if by an oracle and strengthened to accomplish that matter rightly and faithfully according to God's law and mind; so Stapleton testifies in his Life of More.
The Three Obstacles to Approaching God's Sanctuary
Furthermore, for anyone to approach the Sanctuary and the oracle of God, three obstacles must be removed. "There are three things," says St. Bernard, Sermon 5 On the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, "that confuse the eye of the understanding and shut it out from the contemplation of the true light: namely the darkness of sins, the memory of the same, and the care of earthly affections. Against this threefold disease there is a threefold remedy. For the first is cured by confession, the second by prayer, the third by quiet."
The same saint says in Sermon 23 on the Song of Songs: "Into this secret place, and into this sanctuary of God" — namely of prayer and contemplation — "if it should happen that any of you at some hour should be so rapt and so hidden that the active sense does not distract or disturb you (as in a sick person), nor pricking care, nor gnawing guilt, nor certainly those phantasms of rushing bodily images that are more difficult to remove; such a one, when he returns to us, may indeed glory and say: The king has brought me into his chamber."
Whence Cassian, Conferences X, chapters 9 and 13, admonishes: "that such as we wish to be found when praying, such we should be before the time of prayer: for the mind must necessarily be formed during the time of its supplication from its present state." "For when," as St. Gregory says, Morals X, chapter 17, "the mind has raised itself to the study of prayer, it suffers the rebound of images of those things by which, when idle, it was willingly pressed."