What Does Leviticus 2:11 Mean in the King James?
No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire.
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 offering is defined not only by what is brought near, but by what the fire is forbidden to receive.
THE MEANING
The verse says that nearness has a form: what is brought to the LORD is not unrestricted, and leaven and honey are held outside the fire. The boundary is part of the offering itself; approach includes what is withheld.
THE ROOT
תַּקְרִיבוּ
taqrivu
GROWS FROM
קרב
Approach, draw near.
The verb translated “bring” means to bring near. The same root forms the word for an offering, so the verse frames the offering as an act of approach, with a boundary around what enters that nearness.
ALSO GROWS
qorban: Offering; that which is brought near.
קָרְבָּן
This word makes explicit the root shared with “bring”: an offering is something brought near.
qarov: Near.
קָרוֹב
The root links the act of bringing an offering with nearness itself.
qerev: Inner part; midst.
קֶרֶב
The same root can also point to what is within, echoing the verse’s concern with what may enter the offering.
תַּקְטִירוּ
taqtiru
GROWS FROM
קטר
Make smoke rise; cause to smoke.
The word translated “burn” belongs to the root that also names smoke and incense. The verse describes the fire through the language of smoke rising, while setting a clear limit on what may be placed in it.
ALSO GROWS
qetoret: Incense.
קְטֹרֶת
This related word shows the root’s connection between burning and fragrant smoke.
qitor: Smoke; vapor.
קִיטֹר
This branch brings out the smoke that is inherent in the verb translated “burn.”
THE PATTERN
An offering’s approach is shaped by deliberate limits on what may enter it.
Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.It shall not be baken with leaven. I have given it unto them for their portion of my offerings made by fire; it is most holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering.Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.THE THREAD
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.The Hebrew verb translated “bring” here shares the root קרב (qarav, approach) with the noun qorban (offering). That root makes the offering an act of bringing near, so Leviticus 2:11’s prohibition marks a boundary around the material of approach itself.
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