What Does Leviticus 27:22 Mean in the King James?

And if a man sanctify unto the LORD a field which he hath bought, which is not of the fields of his possession;
Leviticus 27:22 · 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

Setting a field apart does not erase the difference between what was purchased and what is held as a possession.

The verse distinguishes a field acquired by purchase from a field within a person’s holding. The purchased field can still be set apart to the LORD. Its dedication changes its status without changing how it came into the person’s hands.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

It undoes the belief that only what belongs to your inherited holding can be set apart to the LORD.

יַקְדִּישׁ

yaqdish

GROWS FROM

קדש

Set apart, dedicate.

“sanctify” in this verse is yaqdish. The word carries the act of marking something as set apart. Related words use the same seed for what is set apart and for a place set apart, linking this field’s dedication to a wider language of belonging.

ALSO GROWS

qadosh: Set apart.

קָדוֹשׁ

It names the quality associated with something marked as belonging to God.

miqdash: Sanctuary, a place set apart.

מִקְדָּשׁ

It shows the same root can describe a dedicated place as well as the act of dedicating.

מִקְנָתוֹ

miqnatô

GROWS FROM

קנה

Acquire, get, buy.

“bought” in this verse is miqnatô. The Hebrew phrase identifies this as a field of acquisition. That source remains visible alongside its dedication, keeping purchase distinct from the other kind of holding named in the verse.

ALSO GROWS

qanah: Acquire or buy.

קָנָה

This verb names the act behind the field’s acquisition.

miqneh: Property or possessions, including livestock.

מִקְנֶה

This related noun shows the root’s connection to acquired property.

אֲחֻזָּתוֹ

achuzzato

GROWS FROM

אחז

Grasp, hold.

The word for possession grows from the idea of holding. The verse keeps this held estate distinct from a field acquired by purchase, even though either kind of field can be set apart.

ALSO GROWS

ʾāḥaz: Grasp or hold.

אָחַז

The verb exposes the physical sense beneath the word for possession.

achuzzah: Holding, estate, possession.

אֲחֻזָּה

This is the noun used for the field belonging to the person’s holding.

What is set apart for God remains within God’s claim, with its source and boundaries still visible.

The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
Leviticus 25:23 · KJVThe land’s human holdings remain within the LORD’s own claim.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:1 · KJVThe body is presented as a living sacrifice and set apart to God.
For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.
1 Corinthians 10:26 · KJVThe earth and all it contains remain the Lord’s, whatever their human use or ownership.
And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
Leviticus 25:10 · KJV

“Hallow” comes from the same ⁨קדש⁩ (q-d-sh; qadash), “set apart,” root as “sanctify” here, and “possession” is the same ⁨אֲחֻזָּה⁩ (achuzzah), “holding,” word. The shared roots place dedication beside release and return: the set-apart year restores each person to their holding.

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Leviticus 27:22 KJV Meaning