What Does Ezekiel 46:4 Mean?
And the ascending offering that the lifted one offers to the LORD on the sabbath day is six whole lambs, and a whole ram.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And the burnt offering that the prince shall offer unto the LORD in the sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish.THE KEY
The “burnt offering” is an ascent: on the Sabbath, what is whole rises toward the LORD.
THE MEANING
The verse presents the Sabbath offering in concrete terms: six lambs and a ram, each without blemish, offered to the LORD. Its language brings together a set-apart day, an act of drawing near, and animals described as whole.
THE ROOT
עֹלָה
ʿōlāh olah
GROWS FROM
עלה
to go up, ascend
“ascending offering” in this verse is ʿōlāh olah. English names a ritual category, while עֹלָה carries the sense of ascent. The offering is pictured as rising toward the LORD, a motion already present in the Hebrew word.
ALSO GROWS
ʿālāh: to go up, ascend
עָלָה
This verb is the seed of עֹלָה; it makes the offering’s upward movement audible in the verse.
ʿalīyāh: ascent, going up
עֲלִיָּה
This noun shares the root’s movement and reinforces the image held within the word for burnt offering.
יַקְרִיב
yaqriv
GROWS FROM
קרב
to draw near, approach
“shall offer” in this verse is yaqriv. The Hebrew verb translated “offer” also carries the movement of bringing near. Alongside עֹלָה, the verse holds two directions together: what is offered draws near to the LORD and rises.
ALSO GROWS
qorbān: offering; something brought near
קָרְבָּן
This offering word shares the root and makes the approach contained in “shall offer” more visible.
qārōv: near, close
קָרוֹב
This branch names the nearness toward which the act of offering moves.
תְּמִימִם
temimim
GROWS FROM
תמם
to be complete, whole
“Without blemish” describes the animals as physically whole and without defect. The Hebrew word also carries the sense of completeness, so the offering’s ascent and approach are joined to wholeness.
ALSO GROWS
tām: whole, complete; blameless
תָּם
This related form shows the root’s range from physical completeness to integrity.
tōm: completeness, integrity
תֹּם
This noun carries the same seed of wholeness, clarifying the depth behind “without blemish.”
THE PATTERN
Approach to the LORD is pictured through an offering brought near in wholeness and within an appointed rhythm.
And on the sabbath day, two whole lambs of the first year, and two tenths of flour for a gift, mixed with oil, and its poured offering.If his drawing near from the herd is a rising offering, he shall bring near a whole male to the opening of the tent of appointed meeting, and he shall bring it near of his own pleasure before the face of the LORD.Let us draw near with a true heart in the fullness of trust, our hearts sprinkled from a burdened shared sight, and our bodies bathed in clean waters.THE THREAD
If his drawing near from the herd is a rising offering, he shall bring near a whole male to the opening of the tent of appointed meeting, and he shall bring it near of his own pleasure before the face of the LORD.The Hebrew word עֹלָה (olah), “burnt offering” or “ascent,” appears in both verses. Read together, they make the image clear: the offering rises toward the LORD, and it is described as whole.
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