What Does Exodus 29:18 Mean in the King James?
And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
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
What English calls a burnt offering is named for its ascent: the whole ram rises toward the LORD.
THE MEANING
The whole ram goes onto the altar fire, and its smoke rises to the LORD as an olah, an ascent. The verse holds that upward movement together with a “sweet savour,” described by a Hebrew word linked to rest or settling.
THE ROOT
עֹלָה
ʿōlāh
GROWS FROM
עלה
To go up or ascend.
“burnt offering” in this verse is ʿōlāh. The offering’s name carries the movement English leaves implicit: it rises. Here the whole ram is named through its upward motion toward the LORD.
ALSO GROWS
ʿālāh: To go up, ascend.
עָלָה
This verb shares the root and makes the movement inside olah explicit.
maʿălāh: An ascent, step, or degree.
מַעֲלָה
This branch also pictures rising, keeping the offering’s name connected to upward movement.
הִקְטַרְתָּ
hiqṭartā
GROWS FROM
קטר
To give off smoke or burn as incense.
The verb translated “burn” is specifically about producing smoke. Its root also names incense, so the act on the altar is linked to fragrance as well as fire.
ALSO GROWS
qəṭōret: Incense.
קְטֹרֶת
Incense belongs to the same smoke-producing root, linking the ram’s rising smoke with fragrant offering.
qiṭṭōr: Smoke.
קִטֹר
This branch names what the altar’s burning produces and makes the verse’s upward image tangible.
רֵיחַ נִיחֹחַ
rēaḥ nîḥōaḥ
GROWS FROM
נוח
To rest, settle, or come to rest.
“sweet savour” in this verse is rēaḥ nîḥōaḥ. The phrase’s second word, nichoach, is linked to the root for rest or settling. The scent is presented as more than pleasant: its Hebrew wording carries a sense of soothing rest.
ALSO GROWS
nûaḥ: To rest or settle.
נוּחַ
This verb shares the root and brings the sense of settling into the aroma’s description.
mənûḥāh: Rest or a resting place.
מְנוּחָה
This noun extends the root’s rest-language, illuminating the restful quality carried by nichoach.
THE PATTERN
An offering given to God is pictured as a fragrance that rises and is received.
And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.THE THREAD
And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.Genesis uses the same Hebrew phrase, רֵיחַ נִיחֹחַ (rēaḥ nîḥōaḥ), “a soothing aroma.” Its pairing of that scent with the LORD’s words about the ground opens this verse’s aroma beyond the fire itself.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us