What Does Ezekiel 42:14 Mean in the King James?
When the priests enter therein, then shall they not go out of the holy place into the utter court, but there they shall lay their garments wherein they minister; for they are holy; and shall put on other garments, and shall approach to those things which are for the people.
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 garment change makes holiness a boundary: what belongs to ministry in the holy place is laid down before the priests approach the people.
THE MEANING
The priests minister in the holy place wearing one set of garments, then leave those garments there and change before approaching what is for the people. The verse makes the transition visible: sacred service and approach to the people happen in different garments.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It unsettles the assumption that sacred service is carried into every encounter unchanged: here, the priests change garments before approaching what is for the people.
THE ROOT
קֹדֶשׁ
qōdesh
GROWS FROM
קדשׁ
q-d-sh
Set apart, dedicate as sacred.
English can make “holy” sound like an invisible quality, but this root also names what is set apart and the space kept sacred. Here the garments belong within that boundary; changing them makes the movement from ministry to the people visible.
ALSO GROWS
qādash: Set apart, consecrate.
קָדַשׁ
The verb shows holiness as an act of marking something for a distinct use, which is what the garment change makes visible.
miqdāsh: Sanctuary, a place set apart as sacred.
מִקְדָּשׁ
The same root names the sacred space where the priests leave their ministry garments.
יִגְּשׁוּ
yiggəšu
GROWS FROM
נגשׁ
n-g-sh
Draw near, approach, come close.
This word presents approach as movement into nearness. The priests change before that movement toward the people, so the garment boundary marks a change in how they come close.
ALSO GROWS
vayyiggash: And he drew near.
וַיִּגַּשׁ
In Genesis 18:23, Abraham draws near before speaking; the root describes an embodied step toward another.
higgish: Bring near, present.
הִגִּישׁ
This related form makes nearness something enacted by bringing a person or matter within reach.
THE PATTERN
Garments set apart for sacred service remain within their appointed space, and a change marks the move into another kind of approach.
And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments.THE THREAD
And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments.The same Hebrew root, קדשׁ (q-d-sh), appears as “holy” in Ezekiel 42:14 and “sanctify” in 44:19. The shared root links the garments’ set-apart purpose to the boundary that keeps them from being worn among the people.
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