What Does Leviticus 16:26 Mean in the King James?
And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.
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
Release does not erase contact: the one who sends the goat away washes before crossing back into the camp.
THE MEANING
The verse holds release and return in one sequence: the goat is sent away, while the person who sends it washes his clothes and body before entering the camp. Cleansing marks the crossing back into shared space.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that letting something go leaves the one who releases it untouched; the verse includes washing before return.
THE ROOT
הַמְשַׁלֵּחַ
ham-shallēaḥ
GROWS FROM
שלח
shalach
To send forth or release.
“let go” in this verse is ham-shallēaḥ. The Hebrew verb for letting the goat go carries the sense of sending it away. English can make this sound like simple abandonment, while the root holds the deliberate act of dispatch and release.
ALSO GROWS
shiluach: Sending away or dismissal.
שִׁלּוּחַ
This branch makes explicit that the goat’s departure is an act of sending away.
shaliach: One who is sent; an envoy or messenger.
שָׁלִיחַ
This branch shows that the same root links release with being sent forth.
THE PATTERN
Cleansing marks the passage from uncleanness toward restored approach and shared life.
And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.THE THREAD
Intreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.The Hebrew verb behind “let go” here and “I will let you go” in Exodus is שׁלח (shalach), meaning to send forth or release. The same root names the goat’s dispatch and a people’s release from Pharaoh’s hold, joining ritual removal with liberation.
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