And you shall offer for the drink offering half a hin of wine, as a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
English Standard Version (ESV)
It's easy to skim over the wine offering, but the text emphasizes it's part of the "food offering" and "pleasing aroma" to the Lord. This shows that even the liquid aspects of worship, the things poured out and consumed, were meant to be a fragrant gift and expression of devotion to God.
And you shall offer for the drink offering half a hin of wine, as a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
English Standard Version (ESV)
God is giving specific instructions about the accompanying offerings – flour, oil, and wine – that are to be presented alongside burnt offerings and sacrifices. This follows earlier commands about the main sacrifices and emphasizes that even these smaller components must be offered in precise amounts and in a pleasing way to the Lord. The passage also clarifies that these rules apply equally to native Israelites and resident foreigners who wish to worship God.
In ancient Israel, worship wasn't just about the 'main course.' Even the 'drink offering' had a profound purpose.
The verse mentions a 'drink offering' of wine, specifically 'half a hin.' While it might seem like just pouring out some wine, this was a significant part of the sacrificial system.
Not for God's Thirst
It's important to understand that God doesn't literally drink the wine. The Bible often uses 'food offering' and 'pleasing aroma' to describe sacrifices. This language helps us grasp God's delight and acceptance of the worshipper's devotion, not His personal need.
A Symbol of Joy and Life
Wine, in the ancient world, was associated with joy, celebration, and the richness of life. Offering wine alongside the animal sacrifice and grain offering symbolized the worshipper bringing their entire life – their sustenance (grain), their devotion (animal), and their joy and vitality (wine) – before the Lord. It was an offering of a full life poured out in gratitude.
Did you know that both Israelites and foreigners had the same rules for worship? This verse hints at a bigger picture.
The regulations for offerings, including the specific measurements for wine and oil, weren't just for native-born Israelites. As the broader context of Numbers 15:1-16 shows, these laws applied equally to foreigners who lived among them and wished to worship the LORD.
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One Law, One People
This principle of inclusivity was radical for its time. It meant that anyone who chose to follow the God of Israel, regardless of their background, was to be integrated into the worship system with the same standards. There was 'one law and one manner' for both the Israelite and the sojourner.
Foreshadowing God's Grace
This unity in worship served as a powerful foreshadowing of the even greater inclusivity to come. The New Testament reveals how the gospel breaks down all ethnic and social barriers, inviting people from every nation into one family in Christ. The Old Testament practice points to this New Testament reality.
Understand the original words
isheh · Hebrew Noun
A term often used in Leviticus and Numbers to describe an offering made by fire, indicating that the sacrifice is consumed or transformed by flame as a demonstration of its surrender to the Lord.
The specific amounts for drink offerings, detailed in Numbers 15, highlight that even in a wilderness or newly conquered land, worship was meant to be orderly and consistent, not improvised. This shows God's desire for His people to approach Him with prescribed reverence, whether in times of hardship or new beginnings.
c. 1446 BC
Wilderness Wanderings Begin
After the Exodus from Egypt, the Israelites began their 40-year journey through the Sinai desert. This period was marked by dependence on God for provision and specific instructions for worship.
c. 1445 BC— this verse
Tabernacle Construction and Laws
The Tabernacle, God's dwelling place among the people, was constructed. Laws for sacrifices, including detailed instructions for grain and drink offerings, were given to guide Israel's worship.
c. 1406 BC
Conquest of Canaan Begins
Under Joshua's leadership, the Israelites began the conquest of the Promised Land. The detailed laws of worship were to be carried into their new homeland.
This passage also details specific instructions for drink offerings, highlighting the importance of wine as a pleasing aroma to the LORD alongside burnt offerings.
Leviticus 23:13This verse describes the grain offering and drink offering for the Passover lamb, showing a similar pattern of prescribed measures for these components of worship.
Jeremiah 31:12This prophetic passage speaks of a future time of joy and abundance, where people will 'come and rejoice in the goodness of the LORD,' with imagery of wine and grain, echoing the celebratory nature of the offerings.
Philippians 4:18Paul describes sacrifices and offerings as 'acceptable, well-pleasing to God,' connecting the concept of pleasing aromas in the Old Testament to the spiritual sacrifices of the New Testament.
calvinNumbers 15:1-16: "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,"
And will make an offering by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, or a sacrifice in performing a vow, or in a freewill offering, or in your solemn feasts, to make a sweet savour unto the LORD, of the herd, or of the flock:
Et facere voletis oblationem ignitam Jehovae holocaustum vel sacrificium, ut solvatis votum aut sponte vestra, ant in solennitatibus vestris, ut faciatis odorem quietis Jehovae de bobus aut ex pecudibus:
Th…
gillNumbers 15:10: "And thou shalt bring for a drink offering half an hin of wine, for an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD."
And thou shalt bring for a drink offering half an hin of wine,.... The same quantity as of oil, and a little more: for an offering made by fire of a sweet savour unto the Lord: this, according to Jarchi, refers only to the meat offering and the oil: for the wine was not a fire offering, not being put upon the fire.
It's easy to skim over the wine offering, but the text emphasizes it's part of the "food offering" and "pleasing aroma" to the Lord. This shows that even the liquid aspects of worship, the things poured out and consumed, were meant to be a fragrant gift and expression of devotion to God.
God is giving specific instructions about the accompanying offerings – flour, oil, and wine – that are to be presented alongside burnt offerings and sacrifices. This follows earlier commands about the main sacrifices and emphasizes that even these smaller components must be offered in precise amounts and in a pleasing way to the Lord. The passage also clarifies that these rules apply equally to native Israelites and resident foreigners who wish to worship God.
God is giving specific instructions about the accompanying offerings – flour, oil, and wine – that are to be presented alongside burnt offerings and sacrifices. This follows earlier commands about the main sacrifices and emphasizes that even these smaller components must be offered in precise amounts and in a pleasing way to the Lord. The passage also clarifies that these rules apply equally to native Israelites and resident foreigners who wish to worship God.
"And you shall offer for the drink offering half a hin of wine, as a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD." — It's easy to skim over the wine offering, but the text emphasizes it's part of the "food offering" and "pleasing aroma" to the Lord. This shows that even the liquid aspects of worship, the things pou…
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Last reviewed October 2026