Numbers 15 · The Lantern

Laws about Offerings

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them: When you come into the land of your dwellings, which I am giving you,

and you make a fire offering to the LORD — a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or at your appointed times, to make a soothing aroma to the LORD, from the herd or from the flock —

then the one who brings near his offering to the LORD shall bring near a grain offering of a tenth of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil;

and wine for the drink offering, a quarter of a hin, you shall prepare with the burnt offering or for the sacrifice, for each lamb.

Or for a ram you shall prepare a grain offering of two tenths of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil;

and wine for the drink offering, a third of a hin, you shall bring near — a soothing aroma to the LORD.

And when you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow, or as peace offerings to the LORD,

then with the young bull one shall bring near a grain offering of three tenths of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil;

and wine you shall bring near for the drink offering, half a hin — a fire offering of a soothing aroma to the LORD.

Thus it shall be done for each ox, or for each ram, or for a lamb among the sheep or the goats.

According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do for each one, according to their number.

Every native shall do these things in this way, in bringing near a fire offering of a soothing aroma to the LORD.

And when a sojourner sojourns with you, or whoever is in your midst throughout your generations, and would make a fire offering of a soothing aroma to the LORD — as you do, so he shall do.

As for the assembly: one statute for you and for the sojourner who sojourns — a statute forever throughout your generations. As you are, so shall the sojourner be before the LORD.

One instruction and one judgment there shall be for you and for the sojourner who sojourns with you.”

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them: When you come into the land where I am bringing you,

and it shall be, when you eat of the bread of the land, you shall lift up a contribution to the LORD.

Of the first of your dough you shall lift up a cake as a contribution; as the contribution of the threshing floor, so you shall lift it up.

Of the first of your dough you shall give to the LORD a contribution, throughout your generations.

Offerings for Unintentional Sins

And when you go astray, and do not do all these commandments that the LORD has spoken to Moses —

all that the LORD has commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day the LORD commanded and onward, throughout your generations —

then it shall be, if it was done unintentionally, hidden from the eyes of the congregation, that all the congregation shall prepare one young bull as a burnt offering, for a soothing aroma to the LORD, with its grain offering and its drink offering according to the judgment, and one male goat as a sin offering.

And the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and they shall be forgiven; for it was unintentional, and they have brought their offering, a fire offering to the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their unintentional wrong.

And all the congregation of the sons of Israel shall be forgiven, and the sojourner who sojourns in their midst — for it happened to all the people unintentionally.

And if one soul sins unintentionally, then she shall bring near a female goat a year old as a sin offering.

And the priest shall make atonement for the soul who went astray, in sinning unintentionally before the LORD — to make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven.

For the native among the sons of Israel and for the sojourner who sojourns in their midst: one instruction there shall be for you, for the one who acts unintentionally.

But the soul who acts with a high hand, whether native or sojourner — the LORD it is he reviles; and that soul shall be cut off from the midst of her people.

For he has despised the word of the LORD, and broken his commandment; that soul shall surely be cut off — her iniquity is on her.”

A Sabbath-Breaker Stoned

And while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the sabbath day.

I find, in taking up the Holy Scripture, that in the Old and New Testament stubbornness toward God is clearly condemned not in consideration of the number or heinousness of transgressions but in terms of a single violation of any precept whatsoever, and, further, that the judgment of God covers all forms of disobedience.

We have in fact noticed that even for less serious faults some people have suffered the very sentence of death by which those who we said were the authors of sacrilegious prevarication were also punished.

When a man of the Israelite community gathered wood on the sabbath, he was killed, and this by the judgment and order of God, a judge most loving and merciful and who doubtless preferred to spare rather than kill him if the reason for severity had not overcome the reason for mercy. One man who was more unmindful perished, lest many be undone afterwards through lack of caution.

And those who found him gathering wood brought him near to Moses and to Aaron, and to all the congregation.

And they put him in custody, because it had not been declared what should be done to him.

And the LORD said to Moses, “The man shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.”

And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died — as the LORD had commanded Moses.

The Law of Tassels

And the LORD said to Moses, saying,

“Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them that they make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations; and put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue.

And it shall be a tassel for you, and you shall see it and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and you shall not go spying after your own heart and after your own eyes, after which you go whoring —

so that you remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God.