What Does Deuteronomy 17:1 Mean in the King James?
Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The verse treats a defective offering as more than an imperfect gift: its condition makes the act itself an abomination before God.
THE MEANING
The offering comes before God with its actual condition intact: a bull or sheep bearing a blemish, or marked by evil, is an abomination to God. The verse speaks now: what is presented to God is not separated from the state in which it is offered.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that calling something an offering makes its condition irrelevant; the verse says the defect matters to God.
THE ROOT
רָע
raʿ
GROWS FROM
רָעַע
raʿaʿ
To be bad, harmful, or evil
“evilfavouredness” in this verse is raʿ. The Hebrew phrase is kol davar ra, “any evil thing”: the verse pairs a physical blemish with a word that names badness or harm. The same ra appears in Malachi 1:8, where bringing the lame or sick as an offering is itself called evil.
ALSO GROWS
raʿ: Bad or evil; the quality named in “any evil thing.”
רַע
It describes the quality of what is offered, not only the animal’s appearance.
raʿah: Evil, harm, or calamity.
רָעָה
This form carries the root into harm and calamity, echoing the verse’s judgment on an offering marked by evil.
תִּזְבַּח
tizbaḥ
GROWS FROM
זבח
z-b-ḥ
To slaughter or sacrifice
Under “sacrifice” stands a verb of slaughter; the related Hebrew word for altar is built from the same root. The act and the place belong to one word-family, grounding the verse in a concrete offering whose condition cannot be separated from it.
ALSO GROWS
zebaḥ: Sacrifice or offering.
זֶבַח
This noun names the offering made through the act described by the verb in the verse.
mizbeaḥ: Altar.
מִזְבֵּחַ
The altar’s name shares the root, joining the place of offering to the act of sacrifice.
THE PATTERN
An offering’s integrity is part of what makes it fit to be brought before God.
And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein.And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:THE THREAD
And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.Deuteronomy names “any evil thing” with the Hebrew word ra; Malachi uses that same word when it calls the offering of blind, lame, and sick animals evil. The shared word links the defect in the gift to the character of the offering itself.
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