also a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with a quarter of a hin of beaten oil.
English Standard Version (ESV)
While it looks like just flour and oil, the "beaten oil" was likely a precious commodity, symbolizing purity and consecrated service. This detail highlights that even the accompanying elements of worship weren't merely mundane ingredients but deliberately chosen components meant to honor God.
also a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with a quarter of a hin of beaten oil.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This passage is part of a larger section detailing the regular sacrifices required of the Israelites. It follows the instructions for the daily burnt offering and precedes the specific instructions for Sabbath and New Moon offerings. The focus is on ensuring that daily worship, including grain and drink offerings, is meticulously observed as part of the ongoing covenant relationship with God.
We often think of sacrifices as just animal offerings. But this verse highlights other elements that were crucial parts of worship.
The grain offering, made from fine flour mixed with oil, was an essential accompaniment to the daily burnt offering. It wasn't just a side dish; it represented sustenance and the produce of the land, acknowledging God as the provider of daily bread.
This verse isn't a standalone command. It's part of a larger picture of daily worship. What does that tell us about God's heart?
Numbers 28:1-8 describes the 'continual burnt offering' – sacrifices made every single day, morning and evening. The grain offering described in verse 5 was an integral part of this daily routine. This wasn't just a ritual; it was a consistent, daily acknowledgment of God's sovereignty and faithfulness.
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Understand the original words
ephah · Hebrew Noun
A specific dry measure used in the Bible, equivalent to about half a bushel, commonly used for measuring grain or flour in offerings.
minchah · Hebrew Noun
A tribute or sacrifice consisting of plant-based materials (flour, oil, etc.), signifying the consecration of the fruit of the land and human labor to God.
hin · Hebrew Noun
A unit of liquid measure used for oil, wine, or water in biblical offerings, derived from Egyptian and Hebrew metrology.
The detailed instructions for daily and monthly sacrifices, including the specific grain and oil offerings, highlight the structured and continuous worship God required of Israel. This emphasis on consistent observance underscores the importance of remembering and honoring God in the rhythm of everyday life, even as the nation faced shifts in their political and religious landscape, from the wilderness to the Temple and beyond.
c. 1440 BC
Exodus and Wilderness Journey
Following their liberation from Egypt, the Israelites embarked on a long journey through the wilderness. During this time, God established His covenant with them at Mount Sinai, giving them laws and instructions for worship.
c. 1440-1400 BC
Tabernacle Construction and Ritual Establishment
The Israelites constructed the Tabernacle, a portable sanctuary, and God meticulously ordained its worship, including the daily, weekly, monthly, and annual sacrifices detailed in Leviticus and Numbers.
c. 1400 BC— this verse
Setting of Numbers 28-30
These chapters, containing the verse in question, were given by God to Moses as detailed legislation for Israel's ongoing worship and observance. This legislation likely occurred as they prepared to enter the Promised Land or during their subsequent wandering.
c. 1000 BC
United Monarchy and Temple Construction
King David's son, Solomon, built the first permanent Temple in Jerusalem, centralizing worship and solidifying the sacrificial system established in the wilderness.
586 BC
Destruction of the First Temple
The Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple, ending the centralized sacrificial system as ordained in the wilderness and during the monarchy.
c. 516 BC
Rebuilding of the Second Temple
After the Babylonian exile, the Jewish people returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the Temple, re-establishing the sacrificial system, though with some differences from the original.
This passage, detailing the consecration of Aaron and his sons, also includes instructions for a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil as part of the grain offering, directly paralleling the ingredients specified for the daily sacrifice.
Leviticus 2:1This verse provides the general law for grain offerings, specifying fine flour mingled with oil, which lays the groundwork for understanding the specific quantities and purpose of the oil and flour in the Numbers passage.
Psalm 141:2This psalm connects prayer and praise to the evening sacrifice, illustrating how believers in later times spiritually applied the concept of the daily offerings as a symbol of their own devotion and communication with God.
Philippians 2:17This New Testament passage speaks of believers' faith being poured out as a drink offering, reflecting how the ancient libations of wine, though literal sacrifices then, find a spiritual parallel in Christian self-sacrifice and devotion.
calvinNumbers 28:1-15: "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,"
And their drink offerings shall be half an hin of wine unto a bullock, and the third part of an hin unto a ram, and a fourth part of an hin unto a lamb: this is the burnt offering of every month throughout the months of the year.
Haec autem libamina eorum e vino: dimidium hin etiam in singulos juvencos, et tertia pars hin in arietem, et quarta pars hin in singulos agnos. Hoc est holocaustum singulorum mensium per singulos menses…
ellicottNumbers 28:5: "And a tenth part of an ephah of flour for a meat offering, mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil."
(5) Beaten oil.— See Exodus 27:20 , and Note.
While it looks like just flour and oil, the "beaten oil" was likely a precious commodity, symbolizing purity and consecrated service. This detail highlights that even the accompanying elements of worship weren't merely mundane ingredients but deliberately chosen components meant to honor God.
This passage is part of a larger section detailing the regular sacrifices required of the Israelites. It follows the instructions for the daily burnt offering and precedes the specific instructions for Sabbath and New Moon offerings. The focus is on ensuring that daily worship, including grain and drink offerings, is meticulously observed as part of the ongoing covenant relationship with God.
This passage is part of a larger section detailing the regular sacrifices required of the Israelites. It follows the instructions for the daily burnt offering and precedes the specific instructions for Sabbath and New Moon offerings. The focus is on ensuring that daily worship, including grain and drink offerings, is meticulously observed as part of the ongoing covenant relationship with God.
"also a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with a quarter of a hin of beaten oil." — While it looks like just flour and oil, the "beaten oil" was likely a precious commodity, symbolizing purity and consecrated service. This detail highlights that even the accompanying elements of wor…
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Last reviewed October 2026