Dedication of the altar by Israel's tribal leaders

After Moses had set up and sanctified the Tabernacle and its altar, the princes of Israel brought gifts for its service and presented a dedication-offering, one leader each day. The repeated offerings made the twelve tribes’ participation visible in a common ritual, while their wagons and oxen were assigned according to the Levites’ distinct duties.

Gifts for the Tabernacle

The tribal leaders first presented six covered wagons and twelve oxen: each pair of princes supplied a wagon, and each prince supplied an ox. The LORD directed Moses to accept these gifts for the service of the tent of meeting and distribute them to the Levites according to their work.

Moses gave two wagons and four oxen to the Gershonites, and four wagons and eight oxen to the Merarites, whose service was under Ithamar. The Kohathites received no wagons or oxen because they carried the holy objects on their shoulders. The allocation therefore reflected practical differences in sanctuary service rather than an identical share for every group.

Twelve Days of Offerings

The dedication-offering began on the day the altar was anointed, but the LORD ordered the princes to present their gifts separately, one each day. Nahshon of Judah offered first; Nethanel of Issachar followed on the second day, then Eliab of Zebulun, Elizur of Reuben, Shelumiel of Simeon, Eliasaph of Gad, Elishama of Ephraim, Gamaliel of Manasseh, Abidan of Benjamin, Ahiezer of Dan, Pagiel of Asher, and Ahira of Naphtali on the twelfth day.

Each prince brought the same inventory: a silver dish weighing 130 sanctuary shekels and a silver basin weighing 70, both filled with fine flour mixed with oil; a ten-shekel gold pan filled with incense; a young bull, a ram, and a yearling lamb for a burnt-offering; a male goat for a sin-offering; and animals for a peace-offering—two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five yearling lambs. The repeated schedule and matching gifts give the ceremony its measured, collective form while preserving each tribe’s place in it.

The Collective Total and Its Setting

The recorded total makes the scale of the dedication explicit: twelve silver dishes and twelve basins, together weighing 2,400 sanctuary shekels; twelve gold pans, each weighing ten shekels and together weighing 120; twelve bulls, twelve rams, and twelve yearling lambs for burnt-offerings; and twelve male goats for sin-offerings. The peace-offerings comprised twenty-four bulls, sixty rams, sixty he-goats, and sixty yearling lambs.

The ceremony follows the setting up and sanctification of the Tabernacle and its furnishings. It joins the leaders’ material contribution to the provision of sanctuary service, and the altar’s dedication closes with the detailed account of the gifts offered by all twelve princes.