What Does Leviticus 3:3 Mean in the King James?
And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,
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 root behind “offer” also names the “inwards,” joining what is brought near to what lies within.
THE MEANING
Wholeness reaches the inward life: what is brought near includes the fat covering the inner parts. The Hebrew links “offer” and “inwards” through the same root, giving nearness an inward dimension. What is within belongs in the movement toward wholeness.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that closeness to God concerns only outward display: its language of offering reaches to the inner parts.
THE ROOT
הִקְרִיב
hiqriv
GROWS FROM
ק־ר־ב
q-r-b
Draw near, approach; bring near.
“offer / inwards” in this verse is hiqriv. English separates “offer” from “inwards,” but Hebrew joins both under the root q-r-b. The verse ties the act of bringing near to the interior itself.
ALSO GROWS
hiqriv: Bring near; offer.
הִקְרִיב
The verb translated “offer” describes an act of drawing near.
qerev: Interior; inward parts.
קֶרֶב
The same root names what lies within, joining nearness with the inner parts.
qorban: Offering, something brought near.
קָרְבָּן
This related word preserves the root’s sense of an offering as something brought near.
שְׁלָמִים
shelamim
GROWS FROM
ש־ל־ם
sh-l-m
Be whole or complete; bring to wholeness.
The Hebrew behind “peace offering” belongs to the root of wholeness and completeness. That root frames the offering as an expression of wholeness, while the q-r-b root links it to what lies within.
ALSO GROWS
shalom: Wholeness; well-being.
שָׁלוֹם
This familiar branch makes the root’s wider sense of wholeness audible in the offering’s name.
shalem: Whole; complete.
שָׁלֵם
This branch carries the same sense of completeness present in the name of the offering.
THE PATTERN
Drawing near to God includes what is inward, making wholeness more than an outward display.
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.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
But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.The Hebrew behind “draw near” shares its root with Leviticus’s “offer.” Since that same root also names the “inwards,” the connection opens the offering as an inward movement of nearness.
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