What Does Leviticus 22:28 Mean in the King James?

And whether it be cow or ewe, ye shall not kill it and her young both in one day.

Leviticus 22:28 · 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.

THE KEY

The Hebrew calls the young “its son,” keeping kinship visible even in the act of slaughter.

THE MEANING

The boundary holds the mother and her young as a relationship, not just two animals available for use. The verse allows slaughter, yet draws a line at taking both lives in the same day. Its wording keeps that bond present now, even where life is treated as useful.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

It undoes the belief that once a life is available for use, its bonds no longer matter.

THE ROOT

בְּנוֹ

beno

GROWS FROM

בנה

banah

Build, establish; the noun for “son” is traditionally linked with this root.

The Hebrew says “its son” (⁨בְּנוֹ⁩, beno), using the same kinship word used for a human son. The word-family links son with building: the young is named as part of a continuing bond, not as an interchangeable thing.

ALSO GROWS

ben: son, child

בֵּן

This is the kinship word contained in beno; the verse names the animal’s young as a son.

banah: to build, establish

בָּנָה

Its traditional link with ben gives the son word an echo of building and continuation.

banim: sons, children

בָּנִים

The plural keeps the same family word in view, showing that beno belongs to a broader language of kinship.

THE PATTERN

Scripture places limits on using living creatures so that their relationships and lives remain visible.

The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.

Exodus 23:19 · KJVThe rule places a boundary around preparing food where the young animal’s dependence on its mother remains explicit.

But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.

Deuteronomy 22:7 · KJVThe mother is released while the young may be taken, making restraint part of the use of what is found.

For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?

1 Corinthians 9:9 · KJVThe command against muzzling an ox makes care for a working animal part of the passage’s reasoning.

THE THREAD

And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

Genesis 22:2 · KJV

The same word ⁨בֵּן⁩ (ben), “son,” names Isaac here and the animal’s young in Leviticus. In both verses, the kinship word stays explicit at the edge of sacrifice, making the Leviticus boundary reverberate across human and animal life.

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