What Does Leviticus 8:21 Mean in the King James?
And he washed the inwards and the legs in water; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar: it was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet savour, and an offering made by fire unto the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
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 animal’s “inwards” are qerev, from the same root as “draw near” and korban, so the rite places nearness inside the body before the whole olah rises.
THE MEANING
The inward parts and legs are washed, and the whole ram is consumed in fire as an olah, an ascent to the LORD. Cleansing reaches the hidden interior and the limbs before the offering rises in its entirety.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The assumption that ritual purity concerns only the visible surface gives way: this washing includes the animal’s inward parts.
THE ROOT
קֶרֶב
qerev
GROWS FROM
ק־ר־ב
q-r-b
to draw near; to approach
“inwards” in this verse is qerev. The word for the animal’s inward parts is qerev, from the same root as qarav, “draw near,” and korban, “offering; something brought near.” English makes this sound like a list of organs, while Hebrew leaves an echo in which the inside is linguistically bound to nearness.
ALSO GROWS
qarav: draw near; approach
קָרַב
The shared root lets “inwards” resonate with the language of nearness within the rite.
korban: offering; something brought near
קָרְבָּן
This related word connects the inner parts’ root with the idea of what is brought near to the LORD.
עֹלָה
ʿolah
GROWS FROM
ע־ל־ה
ʿ-l-h
to go up; rise; ascend
The noun rendered “burnt sacrifice” is olah, related to alah, “to rise.” The verse names both an act in fire and an upward movement: the whole ram is an ascent, not merely an object burned.
ALSO GROWS
ʿalah: go up; rise
עָלָה
This verb makes the upward movement within olah audible.
maʿaleh: ascent; rising
מַעֲלֶה
This related noun preserves the root’s sense of upward movement beyond the offering itself.
THE PATTERN
The burnt offering is an ascent made whole: its parts are prepared, then the entire offering is given to the LORD.
And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.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.THE THREAD
And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.Genesis names these offerings with the plural of olah, the same word used for the ram here. Its root, ע־ל־ה (ʿ-l-h), means “rise” or “go up,” so both verses carry the image of offering as ascent.
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