Numbers 28:22 — Word Study
WLCוּשְׂעִ֥יר חַטָּ֖את אֶחָ֑ד לְכַפֵּ֖ר עֲלֵיכֶֽם׃
BSAInclude oneʼechâd [single, unique] male goatsâʻîyr [hairy, a wild goat or satyr] as a sin offeringchaṭṭâʼâh [guilt, punishment for sin, sacrifice, purification] to make atonementkâphar [to cover, coat] for youʻal [upon, on your behalf]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וּשְׂעִ֥יר | and a male goat of | Conjunction, noun common masculine singular construct |
| חַטָּ֖את | a sin offering | Noun common, feminine singular absolute |
| אֶחָ֑ד | one | Adj |
| לְכַפֵּ֖ר | to make atonement | Preposition, verb piel infinitive construct common |
| עֲלֵיכֶֽם׃ | on you | Preposition, suffix |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you. |
| KJV | And one goat for a sin offering, to make an atonement for you. |
| ASV | and one he-goat for a sin-offering, to make atonement for you. |
| YLT | and one goat, a sin-offering, to make atonement for you. |
| WEB | and one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you. |
| BBE | And one he-goat for a sin-offering to take away your sin. |
Where they part company is in the terminology used for the sin offering, particularly in the use of שְׂעִ֥יר.
The structure is straightforward, with a main clause followed by descriptive phrases that clarify the nature and purpose of the offering.
4 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Cambridge, Whedon & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Numbers 28:22
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — Instructions for Offeringsgenerated
Numbers 28:22 provides detailed instructions for offerings to be made, including the sin offering of a male goat. This is part of the broader sacrificial system established in the Law, emphasizing the need for atonement for the community's sins. The surrounding verses outline additional offerings, highlighting the importance of ritual purity and obedience to God's commands.
Cross References
The Key Word — כַפֵּ֖ר, le.kha.Pergenerated
The Hebrew word כִּפֶּר (kaphar) means 'to cover' and is often used in the context of atonement. It implies making amends or seeking forgiveness through a sacrificial act. The verb form indicates a continuous action, emphasizing the ongoing nature of atonement in the sacrificial system.
This word is central to understanding the concept of sin and purification in the Hebrew Bible. It denotes not just the act of covering sin, but also the restoration of relationship with God through the prescribed offerings.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
Translations generally agree on the wording, with the BSB, KJV, ASV, YLT, WEB, and BBE all rendering the phrase similarly, indicating a male goat as a sin offering for atonement.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main verb of the verse is כַפֵּ֖ר, to make atonement, which governs the structure. The sentence includes a noun phrase indicating the offering, a prepositional phrase describing the purpose, and the subject of the sentence.
The order emphasizes the action of atonement as central, with the offering specified immediately before the purpose, highlighting the sacrificial nature of the act.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates כַפֵּ֖ר with a term that indicates a similar concept of atonement, suggesting continuity in the understanding of sacrificial practices between the Hebrew text and the Greek translation.
The choice of words in the Septuagint reflects a consistent interpretation of the necessity of offerings for sin, aligning closely with the Hebrew text.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Numbers 28:22 instructs to include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for the people. This offering is part of the sacrificial system that seeks to address sin and restore the relationship between the community and God.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Making atonement involves offering a sacrifice to cover sin and restore a right relationship with God.
The male goat is a traditional sacrificial animal, representing purity and the community's need for forgiveness.
Sin offerings are crucial in the sacrificial system, serving as a means to address guilt and maintain holiness among the people.
This verse highlights the importance of specific offerings in the Law, which were intended to provide a way for the community to atone for their sins.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What does this verse teach about the nature of sin and the need for atonement?
- How can understanding the significance of offerings deepen our appreciation for the sacrificial system in the Bible?
- In what ways can we apply the concept of atonement in our own lives today?
- Why is it important to recognize the specific requirements for offerings as outlined in the Law?
Commentators on this verse — 4 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Numbers 28:22 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd one goat [for] a sin offering, to make atonement for you.
Read John Gill on Numbers 28 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd in the fourteenth day of the first month is the passover of the LORD. In the fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover.
Read Robert Jamieson on Numbers 28 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and CollegesChapters 28, 29. P The amounts of public offerings at the sacred seasons The following are the seasons for which offerings are enjoined:—(1) every morning and evening (Numbers 28:3-8), (2) the Sabbath (Numbers 28:9 f.), (3) the first day of each month (Numbers 28:11-15) [the Passover is mentioned Numbers 28:16), but no offering is commanded], (4) the seven days of Unleavened Cakes (Numbers 28:17-25), (5) the Feast of Weeks (Numbers 28:26-31), (6) the first day of the sacred seventh month, i.e. the Feast of Trumpets (Numbers 29:1-6), (7) the tenth day of the seventh month, i.e. the Day of Atonement (Numbers 29:7-11), (8) the fifteenth to the twenty-first day of the seventh month, i.e. the…
Read Cambridge on Numbers 28 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible22. A sin offering — The rabbins say that it was eaten on the second day of the passover, the sixteenth of Nisan.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Numbers 28 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you.
and one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you.
Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you.
as well as one goat for a purification offering, to make atonement for you.
Tyndale line
And one goat for a sin offering, to make an atonement for you.
and one he-goat for a sin-offering, to make atonement for you.
and one he-goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you.
And one goat for a sin-offering, to make an atonement for you.
And an hee goate for a sinne offering, to make an atonement for you.
Strictly literal
and a he-goat as a sin-offering, to make atonement for you.
and one goat, a sin-offering, to make atonement for you.
and one goat [for] a sin-offering, to make atonement for you.
And one goat for a sin-offering, to make an atonement for you.
and one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for yourselves.
From the Latin
And one buck goat for sin, to make atonement for you,
Simplified
Also present a male goat as a sin offering to make you right.
And one he-goat for a sin-offering to take away your sin.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text is consistent with the Septuagint in most of the wording, with the Samaritan Pentateuch differing by using the word for 'goat' as עזים instead of שְׂעִ֥יר. This indicates a variation in terminology but does not alter the overall meaning of the verse.
וּשְׂעִ֥יר חַטָּ֖את אֶחָ֑ד לְכַפֵּ֖ר עֲלֵיכֶֽם׃
4 of the 5 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
ושׂעיר עזים אחד לחטאת לכפר עליכם
1 word differs from the Masoretic Text: עזים (goat)
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Numbers 28:22
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
שָׂעִר (sa`iyr) means 'hairy' and refers to a he-goat or buck, often in a sacrificial context. It can also denote a satyr or demon, suggesting a creature with goat-like features. The word is built from the root meaning 'shaggy' and appears in various contexts, including references to demonic beings.
שָׂעִר adj. hairy
base
שָׂעִיר 63 n.m. he-goat, buck (hairy one)
base
שָׂעִיר n.m. satyr, demon (with he-goat’s form, or feet)
base
H8163a שָׂעִר hairy H8163b שָׂעִיר he-goat, buck H8163c שָׂעִיר satyr, demon
8163 sa`iyr saw-eer'
or sabir {saw-eer'}; from 8175; shaggy; as noun, a he-goat;
by analogy, a faun:--devil, goat, hairy, kid, rough, satyr.
see HEBREW for 08175
שָׂעִר (sa.ir) — hairy.
adj
hairy
שָׂעִיר (sa.ir) — he-goat.
1) he-goat, buck
1a) as sacrificial animal
שָׂעִיר (sa.ir) — satyr.
satyr, may refer to a demon possessed goat like the swine of Gadara (Mt 8:30-32)
Conj | N-ms — Conjunction · noun common masculine singular constructHC/Ncmsc
ov:
(1) In Anglo-Saxon, had the meaning "from," "away from" (as the strengthened form "off" has still), and was not used for genitive or possessive relations, these being expressed by special case-forms. In the Norman period, however, "of" was taken to represent the French de (a use well developed by the time of Chaucer), and in the Elizabethan period both senses of "of" were in common use. But after about 1600 the later force of the word became predominant, and in the earlier sense (which is now practically obsolete) it was replaced by other prepositions. In consequence the King James Version (and in some cases the Revised Version (British and American)) contains many uses of "of" that are no longer familiar--most of them, to be sure, causing no difficulty, but there still being a few responsible for real obscurities.
OF, preposition ov. [Gr.]
1. From or out of; proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing.
I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you. 1 Corinthians 11:1.
For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Joshua 11:1.
It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.
Lamentations 3:1.
The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:1.
Go, inquire of the Lord for me. 2 Chronicles 34:2.
That holy thing that shall be born of thee. Luke 1:1.
Hence of is the sign of the genitive case, the case that denotes production; as the son of man, the son proceeding from man, produced from man. This is the primary sense, although we now say, produced by man. 'Part of these were slain; ' that is, a number separate, for part denotes a division; the sense then is, a number from or out of the whole were slain. So also, 'some of these were slain; ' that is…
חַטָּאָה (chatta'ah) refers to sin and encompasses various aspects such as the condition of sin, guilt, punishment, and sin-offering. It can denote both the act of sinning and the consequences, including purification from ceremonial uncleanness. The term is built from the root word for offense and is used in contexts relating to sin and its expiation.
H2403a חַטָּאָה sin, sin-offering(?) . sin
. sin-offering
H2403b חַטָּאת sin, sin-offering . sin
. condition of sin, guilt of sin
. punishment for sin
. sin-offering
. purification from sins of ceremonial uncleanness
2403 chatta'ah khat-taw-aw'
or chattacth {khat-tawth'}; from 2398; an offence (sometimes
habitual sinfulness), and its penalty, occasion, sacrifice, or
expiation; also (concretely) an offender:--punishment (of
sin), purifying(-fication for sin), sin(-ner, offering).
see HEBREW for 02398
חַטָּאָה (chat.ta.ah) — sin.
sin, sinful thing
חַטָּאת (chat.tat) — sin.
: sin
1) sin, sin offering
1a) sin
1b) condition of sin, guilt of sin
1c) punishment for sin
1d) sin-offering
1e) purification from sins of ceremonial uncleanness
חַטָּאת (chat.tat) — sin: sin offering.
: sin_offering
1) sin, sin offering
1a) sin
1b) condition of sin, guilt of sin
1c) punishment for sin
1d) sin-offering
1e) purification from sins of ceremonial uncleanness
חַטָּאת (chat.tat) — sin: punishment.
: punishment/purification
1) sin, sin offering
1a) sin
1b) condition of sin, guilt of sin
1c) punishment for sin
1d) sin-offering
1e) purification from sins of ceremonial uncleanness
N-fs — Noun common · feminine singular absoluteHNcfsa
Sin-offering
(Heb. hattath), the law of, is given in detail in Lev. 4-6:13; 9:7-11, 22-24; 12:6-8; 15:2, 14, 25-30; 14:19, 31; Num. 6:10-14. On the day of Atonement it was made with special solemnity (Lev. 16:5, 11, 15). The blood was then carried into the holy of holies and sprinkled on the mercy-seat. Sin-offerings were also presented at the five annual festivals (Num. 28, 29), and on the occasion of the consecration of the priests (Ex. 29:10-14, 36). As each individual, even the most private member of the congregation, as well as the congregation at large, and the high priest, was obliged, on being convicted by his conscience of any particular sin, to come with a sin-offering, we see thus impressively disclosed the need in…
אֶחָד (echad) means 'one' and is derived from a numeral. It encompasses meanings such as each, every, a certain, and can serve as an indefinite article. It is also used as an ordinal to denote 'first' and appears in various combinations, including eleven. The entries consistently emphasize its numerical and qualitative aspects.
אֶחָד 972 adj.num. one
one
= each, every
= a certain
= indef. art.
only, & (fem.) once
one … another, one … the other
as ordinal first
in combin.
base
H259 אֶחָד one . one
. = each, every
. = a certain
. = indef. art.
. only, & (fem.) once
. one … another, one … the other
. as ordinal first
. in combin.
259 'echad ekh-awd'
a numeral from 258; properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an
ordinal) first:--a, alike, alone, altogether, and,
any(-thing), apiece, a certain, (dai-)ly, each (one), +
eleven, every, few, first, + highway, a man, once, one, only,
other, some, together,
see HEBREW for 0258
אֶחָד (e.chad) — one.
1) one (number)
1a) one (number)
1b) each, every
1c) a certain
1d) an (indefinite article)
1e) only, once, once for all
1f) one...another, the one...the other, one after another, one by one
1g) first
1h) eleven (in combination), eleventh (ordinal)
Adj — AdjHAcfsa
wun.
See NUMBER.
The Hebrew word כִּפֶּר (kaphar) is built from a root meaning 'to cover.' It encompasses a range of meanings including to atone, pacify, and make propitiation, often in a legal or ritual context. The word also appears in a more literal sense, such as covering with pitch. There is a distinction between its uses in different grammatical forms, indicating various nuances in meaning.
כִּפֶּר vb. Pi. etc. denom. cover over (fig.), pacify, make propitiation
Pi.
cover over, pacify, propitiate
cover over, atone for sin, without sacrifice
cover over, atone for sin and persons by legal rites
Pu. be covered over, atoned for
Hithp. the iniquity of the house of Eli shall not be covered by peace-offering or minchah
Niph. and the blood shall be covered for them
base
כָּפַר vb. denom. Gn 6:14 and thou shalt pitch it with pitch (P).
ref
H3722a כִּפֶּר vb. denom. cover over (fig.), pacify, make propitiation H3722b כָּפַר vb. denom. and thou shalt pitch it with pitch
3722 kaphar kaw-far'
a primitive root; to cover (specifically with bitumen);
figuratively, to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel:--
appease, make (an atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be
merciful, pacify, pardon, purge (away), put off, (make)
reconcile(-liation).
כִּפֶּר (ki.pher) — to atone.
1) to cover, purge, make an atonement, make reconciliation
1a) (Piel)
1a1) to cover over, pacify, propitiate
1a2) to cover over, atone for sin, make atonement for
1a3) to cover over, atone for sin and persons by legal rites
1b) (Pual)
1b1) to be covered over
1b2) to be atoned for
1c) (Hithpael) to be covered
כָּפַר (ka.phar) — to cover.
(Qal) to coat or cover with pitch
Prep | V-Piel-Inf-a — Preposition · verb piel infinitive construct commonHR/Vpcc
a-ton'-ment: Translates kaphar; chaTa'; ratsah, the last employed only of human relations (1Sa 29:4); translates the following Greek stems hilas-, simple and compounded with various prepositions; allag- in composition only, but with numerous prepositions and even two at a time, e. g. Mt 5:24; lip- rarely (Da 9:24).
I. Terms Employed.
1. Hebrew and Greek Words:
The root meanings of the Hebrew words, taking them in the order cited above, are, to "cover," hence expiate, condone, cancel, placate; to "offer," or "receive a sin offering," hence, make atonement, appease, propitiate; "effect reconciliation," i. e. by some conduct, or course of action. Of the Greek words the meanings, in order, are "to be," or "cause to be, friendly"; "to…
Atonement
This word does not occur in the Authorized Version of the New Testament except in Rom. 5:11, where in the Revised Version the word “reconciliation” is used. In the Old Testament it is of frequent occurrence.
The meaning of the word is simply at-one-ment, i.e., the state of being at one or being reconciled, so that atonement is reconciliation. Thus it is used to denote the effect which flows from the death of Christ.
The satisfaction offered to divine justice for the sins of mankind by the death of Jesus Christ; by virtue of which all true penitents believing in Christ are reconciled to God, are freed from the penalty of their sins, and entitled to eternal life. The atonement by Jesus Christ is the great distinguishing peculiarity of the gospel, and is presented in a great variety of terms and illustrations in both the Old Testament and the New. See REDEMPTION, SACRIFICES.
The English word atonement originally denoted the reconciliation of parties previously at variance. It is used in the Old Testament to translate a Hebrew word which means a covering; implying that by a Divine propitiation the sinner is covered from the just anger of God. This is actually effected by the death of Christ; while the ceremonial offerings of the Jewish church only secured from impending temporal judgments, and typified…
→ For tabernacle and furniture Le 16:15-20,33
→ In consummation of the Levites Nu 8:21
→ For those defiled by the dead Nu 6:11
→ Made for houses Le 14:53
→ For sin, see below
→ By meat offerings Le 5:11-13
→ By jewels Nu 31:50
→ By money Ex 30:12-16; Le 5:15,16; 2Ki 12:16
→ By incense Nu 16:46-50
→ By animals, see below
The Hebrew word עַל (*al*) is a preposition meaning 'upon' and encompasses a wide range of meanings, including 'on account of,' 'beside,' 'above,' and 'against.' It can indicate physical placement, emotional burdens, or duties imposed on a person. The entries also note its use in idiomatic expressions and with verbs of motion. There is a mention of its function as a conjunction in certain contexts.
כִּי עַל כֵּן forasmuch as
base
עַל, עָ֑ל
subst. height
As prep. upon, and hence on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against
Upon, of the substratum upon which an object in any way rests, or on which an action is performed
—
of clothing, etc., which any one wears
With verbs of covering or protecting, even though the cover or veil be not over or above the thing covered, but around or before it
Of what rests heavily upon a person, or is a burden to him
Of a duty, payment, care, etc., imposed upon a person, or devolving on him
על is used idiom. to give pathos to the expression of an emotion, by emphasizing the person who is its subject, and who, as it were, feels it acting upon him
חָיָה עַל to live upon (as upon a foundation or support)
H5921a עַל, עָ֑ל . As prep. upon, and hence on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against . Upon, of the substratum upon which an object in any way rests, or on which an action is performed . — . of clothing, etc., which any one wears
. With verbs of covering or protecting, even though the cover or veil be not over or above the thing covered, but around or before it
. Of what rests heavily upon a person, or is a burden to him
. Of a duty, payment, care, etc., imposed upon a person, or devolving on him
. על is used idiom. to give pathos to the expression of an emotion, by emphasizing the person who is its subject, and who, as it were, feels it acting upon him
. חָיָה עַל to live upon (as upon a foundation or support)
5921 `al al
properly, the same as 5920 used as a preposition (in the
singular or plural often with prefix, or as conjunction with a
particle following); above, over, upon, or against (yet always
in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great
variety of applications (as follow):--above, according
to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, X as, at, because
of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, X both
and, by (reason of), X had the charge of, concerning for, in
(that), (forth, out) of, (from) (off), (up-)on, over, than,
through(-out), to, touching, X with.
see HEBREW for 05920
עַל (al) — upon.
prep
1) upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against
1a) upon, on the ground of, on the basis of, on account of, because of, therefore, on behalf of, for the sake of, for, with, in spite of, notwithstanding, concerning, in the matter of, as regards
1b) above, beyond, over (of excess)
1c) above, over (of elevation or pre-eminence)
1d) upon, to, over to, unto, in addition to, together with, with (of addition)
1e) over (of suspension or extension)
1f) by, adjoining, next, at, over, around (of contiguity or proximity)
1g) down upon, upon, on, from, up upon, up to, towards, over towards, to, against (with verbs of motion)
1h) to (as a dative)
[כִּי] עַל [כֵּן] ([ki] al [ken]) — as.
conj
Prep | Suff — Preposition · suffixHRd/Sp2mp