Numbers 28:7

Num 28:7. In the holy place — Upon the altar of burnt-offerings, which was in the court of the priests, nigh to the entrance into the sanctuary, (Exo 29:42,) and was, with respect to those places of the camp, which were more remote from the tabernacle, the holy place. Strong wine to be poured unto the Lord — The original word signifies any strong drink: it was not necessary it should be wine of grapes; it might be made of dates, or other fruits. But it behooved that it should be the best of the kind; it being but reasonable that the best should be offered to God.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 7. Strong wine] Sikera; See Clarke on Le 10:9, where this is largely explained.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(7) Shalt thou cause the strong wine to be poured . . . —Better, pour out the drink offering of strong drink. The word shecar, which is here rendered “strong wine,” denotes any kind of intoxicating drink, whether made from grapes, honey, or grain; but it is more frequently used to denote a drink which is not made from grapes, as, e.g., in Lev_10:9, where the command is given to Aaron and his sons not to drink “wine nor strong drink” (shecar) when they went into the tent of meeting. In the parallel passage in Exodus, the drink offering was to consist of “the fourth part of an hin of wine” (Num_29:40). (Comp. Num_15:5.) In Exo_30:9 it is forbidden to pour any drink offering upon the altar of incense, from which passage it has been inferred that the drink offerings were poured upon the altar of burnt sacrifice.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the drink offering thereof shall be the fourth part of an hin for the one lamb,.... For the lamb offered in the morning, along with the meat offering of which went a drink offering, which was of wine, and strong wine too, as the next clause expresses it; the quantity of which was the fourth part of an hin, which was about a quart and half a pint of our measure:

in the holy place shalt thou cause the strong wine to be poured unto the Lord for a drink offering; that is, in the court of the tabernacle upon the altar of burnt offering, which stood there: the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem interpret it of old choice wine, old wine being reckoned best, see Luk 5:39, and though this wine was poured out on the altar, and not properly drank by any, yet it was to be the strongest, best, and choicest that could be got, as it was reasonable it should; since it was poured out as a libation or drink offering to the Lord, which was his way of drinking it, as the burning of the sacrifice was his way of eating that; all which was typical of the sufferings, sacrifice, and bloodshed of Christ, which are well pleasing and acceptable to the Lord; see Isa 53:10.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The original of the word “strong wine” שׁכר shêkār is a term usually employed to describe strong drink other than wine (Lev 10:9 note). The Israelites in the wilderness had, in their lack of wine, substituted shechar made from barley for it. They had thus observed the spirit, though not the letter of the ordinance. The drink-offering was either poured round the foot of the altar; or on the altar, and so upon the flesh of the sacrifice by which the altar was covered (compare Exo 30:9).

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

In the. Hebrew, "in the holy thou shalt cause the shecar to be poured out unto the Lord, a drink-offering." See chap. iv. 8, on the meaning of shecar. (Haydock) --- Some believe, that artificial wine of palm-trees, &c., might serve for libations. In this sacrifice, the priests furnished the liquor; so that all was to be poured out on the altar of holocausts, which stood in the court. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

In the holy place, i.e. upon the altar of burnt-offerings, which was in the court of the priests nigh to the entrance into the sanctuary. See Exo 29:42; 2Ch 29:7.

Strong wine, Heb. shecar, which though it signify in the general all kinds of strong drink, yet is here put for the most famous of that kind, to wit, for wine, which alone was used in offerings, as appears below, Num 28:14; Exo 29:40.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7. The drink offering — Lev_23:13, note.

In the holy place — Not in the priests’ apartment, the so called holy place, but, as Josephus says, “about the altar.”

Strong wine — Hebrew, shecar, does not here mean intoxicating drink, but strong drink in distinction from water. Lev_10:9, note.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In the holy place. vdQoB. Septuagint, en tw agiw . Josephus paraphrases this by peri ton ("Ant.," 3:10), and so the Targum of Onkelos; Jonathan and the Targum of Palestine render, "from the vessels of the sanctuary." The former would seem to be the real meaning of the original. There is nowhere any specific direction as to the ritual of the drink offering, (see on Le 23, and Num_15:7, Num_15:10) nor is it certain whether it was poured at the foot of the altar (as apparently stated in Ecclus. 1. 15) or poured upon the flesh of the sacrifice on the altar. (as seems to be implied in Php_2:17) The strong wine. rkve.

Septuagint, sikera . The Targums render it "old wine," because the drink offering was in every other instance ordered to be made with wine. (Exo_29:40, &c.); Shecar, however, was not wine, but strong drink other than wine (such as we call "spirits"), and it is invariably used in that sense in contradistinction to wine. (see on Lev_10:9 Num_6:3, &c.); It can only be supposed that the difficulty of procuring wine in the wilderness had caused the coarser and commoner liquor to be substituted for it. It is certainly remarkable that the mention of shecar should be retained at a time when wine must have been easily obtainable, and was about to become abundant. (Deu_8:8) As it would seem impossible that shecar should have been substituted for wine after the settlement in Canaan, its mention here may be accepted as evidence of the wilderness-origin of this particular ordinance. The quantity ordained (about a quart for each lamb) was very considerable.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In the holy place - Upon the altar of burnt offerings, which was in the court of the priests, nigh to the entrance into the sanctuary.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

"In the sanctuary," i.e., περὶ τὸν βωμόν (round about the altar), as Josephus paraphrases it (Ant. iii. 10); not "with (in) holy vessels," as Jonathan and others interpret it. "Pour out a drink-offering, as שׁכר for Jehovah." Shecar does not mean intoxicating drink here (see at Lev 10:9), but strong drink, in distinction from water as simple drink. The drink-offering consisted of wine only (see at Num 15:5.); and hence Onkelos paraphrases it, "of old wine."

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

ונסכו (more lit., its pouring forth — i.e. its offering that was poured forth) — wine (cf. Numbers 15:5).

בקדש הסך CAUSING IT TO BE POURED FORTH ON THE HOLY SPOT — upon the altar they shall be poured out.

נסך שכר A POURING FORTH OF STRONG DRINK — wine that has intoxicating power. This excludes wine straight out of its vine press (new wine which is non-intoxicating) (Bava Batra 97a).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

AND THE DRINK-OFFERING THEREOF — “of wine. IN THE HOLY PLACE THOU SHALT POUR — upon the altar they shall be poured out. A POURING FORTH OF STRONG DRINK — wine which has an intoxicating power. This excludes wine straight from the [wine-]press.” This is the language of Rashi. But it is not correct, for the Rabbis have already said: “Wine straight from the wine-press one may not bring [for the drink-offering, since it is non-intoxicating], but if one did bring [such wine], it is valid” [and there is no need to bring other wine]. Thus [we see that] wine straight from the wine-press is not excluded on the basis of a [Scriptural] verse [for in that case, he would have to bring other wine instead of it], but it is merely a prohibition of the Rabbis to be observed as a rule directly [but if not observed, it does not invalidate the drink-offering]. However, [the correct interpretation is]: 143. “Strong drink, to exclude wine which is diluted [with water],” which is invalid even if already brought [so that one must bring other wine which is undiluted]. And this is how it is interpreted in the Sifre. 143. And there they [furthermore] said: “In the holy place thou shalt pour — it was to be poured in the holy place, and in the holy place it was absorbed.” Now Scripture mentions in the [case of the] Daily Whole-offering and [the Additional Offerings of] your New Moons the amount of fine flour in the meal-offering [which accompanied them], and the amount of wine in the drink-offerings [which accompanied them], but in the [case of the Additional Offerings of the] Sabbath, the Festival[s] of Unleavened Bread, Weeks, the New Year, the Day of Atonement, and the first day of the Festival of Tabernacles, He mentioned the amount of the meal-offering, but did not specify the amount of the drink-offerings. The reason for this is that although in the section [dealing with] the drink-offerings He commanded how much the meal-offerings and the drink-offerings should be for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, in vow-offerings, freewill offerings, and [the offerings of] the festivals, we find a double meal-offering for the lamb brought with the sheaf [of barley], and on the day of Atzereth. — Ibid., Verse 17. [they brought] two tenth-parts of an ephah [baked] with leaven,. — Ibid., Verse 17. and so also we find [unleavened cakes, wafers, and cakes of leavened bread] in a thanks-offering, which were a meal-offering., 7:12-13. Therefore Scripture had to specify [here] in the case of all the festivals that their meal-offering does not change, as it changed in these [above-mentioned cases]. But the drink-offerings never varied; therefore He mentioned them at first in [the case of the] Daily Whole-offering, and did not refer to them afterwards in the case of [the Additional Offering of] the Sabbath. He did refer to them again [when speaking] of the New Moon, in order to mention also the drink-offerings of the bullocks and the rams, but afterwards He did not have to mention them at all. [Likewise] He mentioned on the first day of Tabernacles the amount of the meal-offering, 29:14. and it was [therefore] no longer necessary to mention it in connection with the other days of the festival, except [to state], and their meal-offering and their drink-offerings … according to their number, after their ordinance, meaning to say: “after their ordinance on the first day [of the festival] as mentioned [previously].”

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.