What Does Leviticus 10:3 Mean in the King James?
Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.
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 LORD is shown as set apart among those who draw near, and that same presence bears weight before everyone.
THE MEANING
God’s nearness does not make the LORD familiar or manageable: the people closest to him are where his set-apartness is disclosed. That presence carries weight before everyone, and Aaron’s silence holds the gravity without resolving it. The verse lets the loss remain visible alongside the claim of holiness.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that being close to God guarantees safety or makes holiness easier to bear.
THE ROOT
אֶקָּדֵשׁ
’eqqādeš
GROWS FROM
קדשׁ
q-d-sh
Set apart; be recognized as set apart.
“sanctified” in this verse is ’eqqādeš. The Hebrew says that the LORD is shown as set apart among those near him. The ones who approach are where God’s distinctness becomes visible, and the verse carries that disclosure outward to the whole people.
ALSO GROWS
qādōsh: Set apart; holy.
קָדוֹשׁ
This describes the nature disclosed among those who draw near.
qōdeš: Set-apartness; sacred space or thing.
קֹדֶשׁ
The same root links the LORD’s set-apart nature with the place and things marked for encounter.
בִּקְרֹבַי
biqrovai
GROWS FROM
קרב
q-r-b
Approach; draw near.
“come nigh” in this verse is biqrovai. The phrase means “among my near ones,” from the root for approaching. קָרְבָּן (qorbān, an offering brought near) grows from the same root, linking nearness with what is brought into the presence of God. Here, those who draw near are the place where the LORD is revealed as set apart.
ALSO GROWS
qārav: Approach; draw near.
קָרַב
It names the movement toward the LORD that frames the verse.
qorbān: Offering; something brought near.
קָרְבָּן
It shows that the language of approach also names what is brought into divine presence.
אֶכָּבֵד
’ekkāvēd
GROWS FROM
כבד
k-b-d
Be heavy or weighty; be honored.
“glorified” in this verse is ’ekkāvēd. The Hebrew root holds the sense of weight alongside honor. כָּבוֹד (kāvōd, weight or glory) makes the public effect concrete: the LORD’s presence bears weight before all the people.
ALSO GROWS
kāvēd: Heavy; weighty.
כָּבֵד
It gives the root’s concrete sense of weight carried by the verse’s claim.
kāvōd: Weight; honor; glory.
כָּבוֹד
This branch links the LORD’s public honor with the weight of his presence.
THE PATTERN
The nearer people come to God’s presence, the more its set-apartness is disclosed and its weight felt.
And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.For our God is a consuming fire.THE THREAD
And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.Isaiah holds the same Hebrew roots together: קָדוֹשׁ (qādōsh, set apart) and כָּבוֹד (kāvōd, weight or glory). Leviticus locates that set-apartness among those who approach and its weight before the people; Isaiah lets the same pairing fill the whole earth.
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