What Does Numbers 7:48 Mean in the King James?
On the seventh day Elishama the son of Ammihud, prince of the children of Ephraim, offered:
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 verb translated “offered” means “brought near,” so the gift is also an act of approach.
THE MEANING
The verse presents an offering as an arrival: what is given is brought near. Elishama’s name means “God has heard,” setting hearing beside approach, the one who comes near and the One who hears.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It loosens the belief that an offering is merely something handed over: the verb also carries the sense of bringing near.
THE ROOT
הִקְרִיב
hiqriv
GROWS FROM
קרב
q-r-b
Approach; come near.
“offered” in this verse is hiqriv. The verb is a causative form of this root: Elishama brings the gift near. The Hebrew word for an offering grows from the same root, joining the act and the gift in one idea of approach.
ALSO GROWS
qārab: To come near or draw near.
קָרַב
This is the root’s basic movement, which the offering enacts.
qorbān: An offering; something brought near.
קָרְבָּן
The noun for the gift shares the verb’s root, so offering and approach belong to the same word-family.
אֱלִישָׁמָע
ʾElīšāmaʿ
GROWS FROM
שמע
š-m-ʿ
Hear; listen; respond to what is heard.
Elishama’s name carries the words “God has heard.” Beside the gift being brought near, the name makes hearing part of the scene: approach meets the assurance of being heard.
ALSO GROWS
šāmaʿ: To hear or listen.
שָׁמַע
This verb gives Elishama’s name its sense of hearing.
shemaʿ: Hear and respond.
שְׁמַע
The name’s root can hold hearing that receives and answers, echoing the offering’s movement toward God.
נָשִׂיא
nāśîʾ
GROWS FROM
נשׂא
n-ś-ʾ
Lift; carry; take up.
“prince” in this verse is nāśîʾ. The title comes from a root of lifting and carrying, giving leadership a concrete shape. Here the one elevated among the people stands beside the act of bringing an offering near.
ALSO GROWS
nāśāʾ: To lift, carry, or take up.
נָשָׂא
This is the action-root behind the title, suggesting a leader who bears responsibility.
maśśāʾ: A load or burden.
מַשָּׂא
This related word makes the root’s carrying sense visible alongside the prince’s role.
THE PATTERN
Drawing near to God takes shape as an approach, whether a gift is brought or a person comes near with heart and body.
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.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.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
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.The Hebrew for “offered” in Numbers and “bring an offering” in Leviticus share the root of coming near. The repeated offerings become repeated approaches, rather than disconnected entries in a list.
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