What Does Leviticus 14:16 Mean in the King James?

And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD:

Leviticus 14:16 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

The oil is rooted in the language of richness, so the repeated sprinkling brings abundance into a scene of restoration.

THE MEANING

The verse places restoration in a precise, embodied gesture before the LORD. Oil moves from the priest’s left hand to his right finger and is sprinkled seven times; the Hebrew word for oil also belongs to a root-family of richness and fatness.

THE ROOT

שֶׁמֶן

shemen

GROWS FROM

שמן

be fat; grow rich

The word shemen comes from ⁨שמן⁩ (sh-m-n), a root that also carries the sense of being fat or rich. English names the substance as oil, while Hebrew keeps its connection to richness close at hand, bringing the language of abundance into this repeated act.

ALSO GROWS

shamen: fat, rich

שָׁמֵן

This adjective makes the root’s connection between oil and richness visible.

mishman: fatness, rich food

מִשְׁמַן

This noun carries the same root into images of richness as nourishment and plenty.

THE PATTERN

Restoration is marked through a repeated act of sprinkling in the presence of God.

And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the vail of the sanctuary.

Leviticus 4:6 · KJVBlood is sprinkled seven times before the LORD, echoing the measured repetition in this verse.

And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:

Numbers 19:18 · KJVWater is sprinkled across people and objects as a visible act of cleansing.

And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

Hebrews 12:24 · KJVThe image of sprinkled blood appears again as a sign that speaks into the present.

THE THREAD

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Psalm 23:5 · KJV

The phrase “with oil” uses the same Hebrew word ⁨שֶׁמֶן⁩ (shemen, oil) as Leviticus. Here the oil stands beside a prepared table and an overflowing cup, making the root-family’s richness audible in a scene of welcome and plenty.

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