What Does Leviticus 6:2 Mean in the King James?
If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour;
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
A wrong against a neighbor becomes a breach against the LORD when someone falsifies what was entrusted.
THE MEANING
A breach against a neighbor is also a breach before the LORD: misusing entrusted property, taking by force, exploiting, and deceiving all expose broken trust. The wrong takes shape in what someone does with another person’s confidence and goods.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the idea that concealed dishonesty about another person’s property is only a private matter between two people.
THE ROOT
מַעַל
ma'al
GROWS FROM
מעל
To act treacherously or violate trust; to breach a sacred or entrusted obligation.
English “trespass” can sound like crossing a boundary, while מָעַל centers a breach of faith. Its forms keep treachery and concrete wrongdoing connected, so the verse binds dishonest dealing with accountability before the LORD.
ALSO GROWS
ma'al: To act unfaithfully or commit a breach.
מָעַל
This is the verb behind “commit a trespass” here: the wrong is a violation of trust.
me'ilah: Treachery, trespass, or breach of trust.
מְעִילָה
This related noun names the breach itself, holding the act and its resulting guilt together.
פִּקָּדוֹן
piqqadon
GROWS FROM
פקד
To attend to, appoint, or place under someone’s charge.
“that which was delivered him to keep” in this verse is piqqadon. The entrusted thing grows from language of attention and assignment: it rests under someone’s charge. The breach begins as a failure of care and becomes a violation of the relationship that entrusted it.
ALSO GROWS
paqad: To attend to, take account of, or appoint.
פָּקַד
The root suggests an active responsibility toward what is placed in someone’s care.
pequddah: Charge, oversight, or appointment.
פְּקֻדָּה
This branch makes visible the responsibility that accompanies an entrusted deposit.
וְכִחֵשׁ
ve-khiḥesh
GROWS FROM
כחש
To deny, disavow, or deal falsely.
English “lie” can sound like only a spoken sentence, while כחש includes denial and disavowal. Here the falsehood stands beside seizure and exploitation, making deception part of the material breach of trust.
ALSO GROWS
kiḥēsh: Denied or disavowed.
כִּחֵשׁ
Sarah uses this verb when she denies laughing, showing how it can name a refusal to acknowledge what is true.
kiḥēsh: Dealt falsely.
כִּחֵשׁ
Leviticus 19:11 uses the same root for false dealing, linking deception in speech with dishonesty in action.
THE PATTERN
A breach of trust toward another is also accountable before God, and repair addresses what the breach displaced.
If a man shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man’s house; if the thief be found, let him pay double.Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person be guilty;And Zacchæus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.THE THREAD
Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed.This verse makes trust-breaking visible; the next gives the breach a shape for repair: confession, return of the principal, and an added fifth. Naming the wrong and restoring what was taken belong to the same response.
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