What Does Leviticus 10:19 Mean in the King James?
And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD; and such things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin offering to day, should it have been accepted in the sight of 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
The Hebrew makes an offering an act of drawing near, so Aaron asks whether eating it in the condition that has befallen him would itself be good in the LORD’s sight.
THE MEANING
Your condition is not hidden behind the sacred act: what has befallen you stands in the same moment as what is brought before God. The question is whether eating the offering for the missing is good in the LORD’s sight under that condition. Drawing near includes the truth of the one drawing near.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the assumption that a sacred act is automatically fitting simply because it is prescribed.
THE ROOT
הִקְרִיבוּ
hiqrivu
GROWS FROM
קרב
q-r-b
Draw near; approach.
The verb translated offered means they caused the offering to draw near. The offering itself shares this root, so Aaron’s question concerns whether this approach is good in the LORD’s sight.
ALSO GROWS
qarav: Draw near; approach.
קָרַב
It reveals the movement inside the act of offering: coming near.
qorban: Offering; that which is brought near.
קָרְבָּן
It shares the root of the verb translated offered, connecting the gift with the act of approach.
חַטָּאת
chatat
GROWS FROM
חטא
ḥ-ṭ-ʾ
Miss; fail; incur fault.
“sin offering” in this verse is chatat. Chatat names both the missing and the offering associated with it. Hebrew keeps the offering joined to the condition it addresses: this is an offering for the missing.
ALSO GROWS
chata: To miss or fail.
חָטָא
It shows the action at the root of the offering’s name.
chet: A miss; a fault.
חֵטְא
It names the missing that the offering addresses.
THE PATTERN
What is brought near is tested by whether it is good in God’s sight; a prescribed offering does not erase the condition of the one approaching.
And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.THE THREAD
The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation.The same Hebrew word chatat (חַטָּאת, chatat) names both the offering and the missing it addresses, and this verse explicitly names eating it as the priest’s share. That makes Aaron’s question precise: he asks whether eating this offering, on a day marked by what has befallen him, would be good in the LORD’s sight.
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