Tuesday - Numbers 7 - The Chiefs' Offerings

Once all of the preparations for worship and service had been completed, the princes of each of the 12 tribes (excluding Levi) brought six covered wagons and 12 oxen to the tabernacle as a gift to be used in the ministry of the holy things. These wagons became the possessions of the Levites. So, very practically, Moses assigned 2 of the wagons to the Gershonites to use in transporting the tabernacle cloth and the other four wagons to the Merarites for them to use in transporting the framework of the tabernacle. The Kohathites received none because they had been commanded by God to carry the furniture on their shoulders.

Each tribal chieftain offered a silver plate, a silver bowl; both of them full of flour mingled with oil (to be used as a meat offering), a golden spoon full of incense, burnt offerings (one young bull, one ram, one lamb), a sin offering (one goat), and peace offerings (two young bulls, five rams, five male goats and five lambs). Each tribal head offered the same offering on their designated day, beginning with Judah and following an order based upon the new camping layout as it was ordered in Numbers 2.

So, by my count, there were 36 young bulls, 72 rams, 72 goats and 72 lambs (for a total of 252 animals in all) given by the tribal heads for the dedication of the altar of God.