And the number of the burnt offerings, which the congregation brought, was threescore and ten bullocks, an hundred rams, and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD.

2 CHRONICLES 29:32KJV
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2 Chronicles 29:32 (KJV)

What does 2 Chronicles 29:32 mean?

2 Chronicles 29:32 reports the total number of burnt offerings that the people brought to the temple: seventy bulls, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs, all given as burnt offerings to the LORD. This verse highlights the scale and seriousness of the congregation’s response in bringing sacrifices during a time of religious renewal.

King Hezekiah is leading a major restoration of worship in Jerusalem after a period of neglect. The people, responding to his call, gather and present these animals as burnt offerings, which were entirely consumed by fire as a sign of dedication to God. The verse gives a concrete record of their collective participation and the importance placed on restoring proper worship.

The Hebrew behind 2 Chronicles 29:32

  • קָהָל (qāhāl, H6951): This word means "assembly" or "congregation." Its use here emphasizes that the offerings were not just from priests or leaders, but from the gathered people as a whole.
  • עֹלָה (ʿōlāh, H5930): This is the word for "burnt offering," a sacrifice completely burned on the altar. The repetition of this term in the verse underlines that all these animals were dedicated entirely to God, not shared as food.
  • יָבִיא (yāḇî, H935): Translated as "brought," this verb stresses the active participation of the people in bringing their offerings, not just passively observing the ritual.
  • יְהוָה (YHWH, H3068): The name for the LORD, showing these offerings were specifically directed to Israel’s God, not just generic religious acts.

Why 2 Chronicles 29:32 matters

  • The verse clears up any idea that worship in Hezekiah’s time was a small or private affair; it shows a large, public, and communal act of devotion.
  • By listing the specific numbers and types of animals, the verse highlights both the generosity of the people and the seriousness of their renewed commitment to God.
  • This record connects to the wider chapter, which describes a turning point in Judah’s history, marking a move from neglect of the temple to a revival of proper worship practices.

Where else these words appear

“ten” Hebrew H7657 · used in 90 verses

  • Genesis 4:24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
  • Numbers 7:73 His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering:
  • 1 Chronicles 21:14 So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.

“lambs” Hebrew H3532 · used in 100 verses

  • Exodus 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
  • Numbers 7:53 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud.
  • Numbers 29:17 And on the second day ye shall offer twelve young bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs of the first year without spot:

“congregation” Hebrew H6951 · used in 116 verses

  • Genesis 28:3 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;
  • 1 Kings 8:22 And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:
  • Nehemiah 7:66 The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore,

“number” Hebrew H4557 · used in 129 verses

  • Genesis 34:30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.
  • Deuteronomy 32:8 When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
  • Ezra 3:4 They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required;