What Does Leviticus 7:34 Mean in the King James?
For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel.
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 peace offering carries wholeness in its root, and here that wholeness takes material form as provision shared with the priests.
THE MEANING
Here, wholeness is concrete shared provision: a portion of what is offered is given to the priests who serve. The statute places their sustenance among the people and makes that arrangement enduring.
THE ROOT
שְׁלָמִים
shelamim
GROWS FROM
שלם
sh-l-m
To be whole, complete, or intact; to restore or make whole.
“peace offerings” in this verse is shelamim. English “peace” can suggest only the absence of conflict, while shelamim carries the root of wholeness and well-being. Here, that wholeness takes a material form: portions are assigned to the priests as shared provision.
ALSO GROWS
shalom: Wholeness, well-being, peace.
שָׁלוֹם
It makes clear that the offering belongs to a wider sense of well-being, not merely quiet or the absence of conflict.
shalem: Whole, complete, intact.
שָׁלֵם
It shows the root’s basic sense of completeness beneath the offering’s English name.
תְּנוּפָה
tenufah
GROWS FROM
נוף
n-w-p
To wave or move back and forth.
“wave” in this verse is tenufah. The breast is described through the motion by which it is presented, not only as a static portion of meat. Its waving gesture marks it as set apart within the offering before it is assigned.
ALSO GROWS
lehanif: To wave or present by waving.
לְהָנִיף
This verbal form names the action behind the breast’s designation as a wave offering.
tenufah: A waving, or a portion presented by waving.
תְּנוּפָה
The noun names the presentation itself, keeping the portion connected to its ritual movement.
תְּרוּמָה
terumah
GROWS FROM
רום
r-w-m
To rise, be high, or lift up.
“heave” in this verse is terumah. Terumah carries the sense of something lifted or set apart. Paired with the breast’s waving, the verse presents the two portions through distinct gestures before naming who receives them.
ALSO GROWS
ram: High or lofty.
רָם
It preserves the root’s sense of height in an adjective.
herim: He raised or lifted.
הֵרִים
This verb makes the lifting behind the heave portion explicit.
THE PATTERN
Portions dedicated in worship are also appointed as material provision for those who serve.
And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons’.And this shall be the priest’s due from the people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep; and they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw.Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?THE THREAD
And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning.This verse uses the same shelamim root as “peace offerings” here and shows the offering’s wholeness taking the form of food that is eaten. Beside 7:34, the priestly portion belongs to a wider arrangement in which an offering sustains those who serve and those who share its meal.
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