Lexical Summary
tenuphah: Wave offering
Original Word:תְּנוּפָה
Part of Speech:Noun Feminine
Transliteration:tnuwphah
Pronunciation:teh-noo-fah
Phonetic Spelling:(ten-oo-faw')
KJV: offering, shaking, wave (offering)
NASB:wave offering, offered by waving, brandishing weapons, offering, wave offerings
Word Origin:[fromH5130 (נוּף - wave)]
1. a brandishing (in threat)
2. (by implication) tumult
3. specifically, the official undulation of sacrificial offerings
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
offering, shaking, wave offering
Fromnuwph; a brandishing (in threat); by implication, tumult; specifically, the official undulation of sacrificial offerings -- offering, shaking, wave (offering).
see HEBREWnuwph
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
nuphDefinitiona swinging, waving, wave offering, offering
NASB Translationbrandishing weapons (1), offered by waving (2), offering (1), wave offering (24), wave offerings (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
30 ; — absolute
Isaiah 30:32 +; construct
Isaiah 19:16;
Exodus 35:22; plural construct
Numbers 18:11; —
a swinging, brandishing,Isaiah 19:16the brandishing of'shand (in hostility);Isaiah 30:32battles of brandishing (brandished weapons).
waving, wave-offering, technical term in P (H), originally of priest's share of sacrifice (compare ),Numbers 18:11; often as 2nd accusative afterExodus 29:25 5t.; even of LevitesNumbers 8:11,13,15,20 (on all see );Exodus 29:27the wave-breast, soLeviticus 7:34;Leviticus 10:14,15;Numbers 6:20 (all + )Numbers 18:18 (+ );Leviticus 23:15;Leviticus 23:17; aloneLeviticus 23:20 (all H); less accuratelyExodus 29:24;Leviticus 8:27;Leviticus 14:12,21,24 (seel.c.).
offering, of gold and brass for tabernacle,Exodus 35:22;Exodus 38:24,29. — On see DiLeviticus 7:30 BenzArchaeology 459 f. and especially NowArchaeology ii. 239 f; also .
II. (√ of following; compare Arabic
,
I, IV.overtop (Frey),
camel-hump (ib.);
high, lofty (of mountain and building, Lane3039).
Topical Lexicon
Overviewתְּנוּפָה (tenuphah) designates an offering that is lifted up and waved before the Lord in token of divine ownership and subsequent delegated use. Occurring about thirty times in the Old Testament, tenuphah never stands alone but is always attached to some object—sacrificial portions, agricultural produce, precious metals or even people—thereby highlighting a theology of consecration and shared fellowship.
Cultic Setting under the Mosaic Covenant
The wave offering is embedded in the sacrificial system revealed at Sinai. While burnt offerings ascended wholly in smoke, the wave offering was first presented to the LORD and then distributed to priests or returned to the offerer for consumption in a holy meal. In this way it functioned as a bridge between heaven and earth, affirming that every good gift is from God yet made available for the enjoyment and service of His people.
Representative Passages
• Priestly ordination: “Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and wave them before the LORD as a wave offering” (Exodus 29:24; cf.Leviticus 8:27–29).
• Fellowship sacrifice portions: “His own hands are to bring the offerings made to the LORD by fire—the fat together with the breast. He shall wave the breast as a wave offering before the LORD” (Leviticus 7:30; cf. 7:34; 10:14–15).
• Presentation of firstfruits: “The priest is to wave the sheaf before the LORD so that you may be accepted; the priest shall wave it on the day after the Sabbath” (Leviticus 23:11; cf. 23:20).
• Pentecost loaves: “You must bring two loaves…as a wave offering of firstfruits to the LORD” (Leviticus 23:17).
• Nazirite completion: “The priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the LORD. They are holy and belong to the priest” (Numbers 6:20).
• Dedication of the Levites: “Aaron is to present the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the Israelites, so that they may perform the service of the LORD” (Numbers 8:11; cf. 8:13, 8:15, 8:21).
• Voluntary gifts of gold and bronze: craftsmen “presented an offering of gold to the LORD, all the men and women whose hearts prompted them” (Exodus 35:22; cf. 38:24, 38:29), the same term signaling a freewill wave of precious metal for the Tabernacle.
Relationship to Other Offerings
Tenuphah frequently accompanies the minchah (grain offering), shelamim (peace/fellowship offering) and portions of the zevach (slaughtered sacrifice). Unlike the terumah (“heave offering”), which is lifted upward, the wave offering is moved back and forth—often understood as east-west before the altar—symbolizing both presentation and return. The two actions together proclaim that what is offered first rises to God and then flows outward in blessing to His covenant community.
Symbolism and Theological Themes
1. Divine Ownership and Human Stewardship
By waving the object before Yahweh, worshipers confessed God’s ultimate ownership. Only after that act were priests or lay participants permitted to partake, dramatizing the stewardship principle that undergirds biblical economics and worship.
2. Accepted Mediatorship
The breast and right thigh waved during fellowship offerings became food for the priesthood (Leviticus 7:31-34). Their reception signified the acceptability of both sacrifice and worshiper.
3. Firstfruits of a Greater Harvest
The waved sheaf at Passover and the two leavened loaves at Pentecost served as pledges that the entire harvest belonged to God. In Paul’s words, “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20), echoing the logic of tenuphah—initial presentation that guarantees the subsequent ingathering.
4. Consecration of Persons for Service
The Levites themselves were lifted “as a wave offering” (Numbers 8:11). Human lives, not merely objects, are to be placed wholly at God’s disposal—an Old Covenant pattern fulfilled in the living sacrifices urged inRomans 12:1.
Integration with Israel’s Agricultural Calendar
• Spring barley sheaf: beginning of harvest, waved on the day after the Sabbath during Unleavened Bread.
• Fifty days later, two wheat loaves: culmination of grain season, waved at Shavuot (Pentecost).
Together they framed the agricultural year, rooting Israel’s worship in the rhythm of divine provision.
Atonement, Fellowship, and Provision
Although the wave offering itself was not primarily expiatory, it stood in service of atonement by completing other sacrifices that did bear sin. Once blood atonement established peace, tenuphah celebrated restored fellowship at the covenant table. Simultaneously it provided sustenance for the priestly families, converting spiritual devotion into practical support for ministry.
Typological Connections to the Messiah and the Church
• Christ as the waved firstfruits sheaf anticipates the full resurrection harvest.
• The two leavened loaves may foreshadow Jew and Gentile united in one Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2).
• The breast and thigh—symbols of love and strength—assigned to the priest hint at the loving might of our High Priest who shares His blessings with His body.
• The Levites waved before God prefigure believers set apart for service: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9).
Continuing Ministry Implications
1. Worship begins with recognition that every resource—time, talent, treasure—belongs to the Lord and must be consciously presented to Him.
2. Christian giving should be celebratory and relational, mirroring the shared meal dynamics of the ancient wave offering.
3. Spiritual leaders who live from the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:13-14) stand in continuity with the priests who received waved portions.
4. The calendar of redemption culminates in the ultimate harvest at Christ’s return; present‐day consecration is therefore both testimony and anticipation.
Tenuphah thus weaves together worship, stewardship, fellowship, and eschatological hope, inviting God’s people in every age to lift their lives before the Lord and then extend His gifts to a watching world.
Forms and Transliterations
הַתְּנוּפָ֑ה הַתְּנוּפָ֔ה הַתְּנוּפָ֖ה הַתְּנוּפָ֗ה הַתְּנוּפָ֛ה הַתְּנוּפָ֜ה התנופה לִתְנוּפָ֖ה לתנופה תְּנוּפַ֥ת תְּנוּפַת֙ תְּנוּפָ֖ה תְּנוּפָ֗ה תְּנוּפָֽה׃ תְּנוּפָה֙ תְּנוּפָה֮ תְּנוּפֹת֮ תְנוּפָ֖ה תנופה תנופה׃ תנופת hat·tə·nū·p̄āh hattenuFah hattənūp̄āh liṯ·nū·p̄āh litnuFah liṯnūp̄āh tə·nū·p̄āh ṯə·nū·p̄āh tə·nū·p̄aṯ tə·nū·p̄ōṯ tenuFah tenuFat tenuFot tənūp̄āh ṯənūp̄āh tənūp̄aṯ tənūp̄ōṯ
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