What Does Leviticus 1:9 Mean?
And its inward parts and its legs he shall wash in water, and the priest shall send all of it up in smoke upon the altar, a rising offering, an offering of fire, a fragrance that settles to the LORD.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
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.THE KEY
The “burnt offering” is עֹלָה (ʿolah, “what rises”), so Hebrew names the animal’s burning by its upward movement.
THE MEANING
The animal’s inward parts and legs are washed in water, and the priest burns all of it on the altar. “A sweet savour unto the LORD” names the result without hiding that the offering is consumed by fire.
THE ROOT
עֹלָה
ʿolah
GROWS FROM
עלה
to rise, go up, ascend
“rising offering” in this verse is ʿolah. The offering’s name comes from its upward movement, and the next clause makes that image concrete as the whole is turned into smoke on the altar. עֹלָה (ʿolah, “what rises”) carries that movement inside the word itself.
ALSO GROWS
ʿalah: to rise, go up
עָלָה
The verb names the upward movement held in the offering’s name.
ʿaliyah: ascent, going up
עֲלִיָּה
This related noun makes the rising sense of עֹלָה (ʿolah, “what rises”) audible.
וְקִרְבּוֹ
weqirbo
GROWS FROM
קרב
to approach, draw near
The word for the animal’s inward parts belongs to a consonantal family that also carries the sense of nearness and approach. This root-family places the animal’s center within the language of bringing an offering near.
ALSO GROWS
qarav: to approach, draw near
קָרַב
This verb carries the approach sense of the root also found in the word for “inwards.”
qorban: offering, that which is brought near
קָרְבָּן
The word for offering shares this root-family, linking the inward parts with the act of approach.
וְהִקְטִיר
wehiqṭir
GROWS FROM
קטר
to make smoke, offer as incense
“send all of it up in smoke” in this verse is wehiqṭir. The verb translated “burn” carries the force of making smoke, the same root-family used for incense. The English can leave “burn” as a general action; the Hebrew connects the altar’s fire with smoke rising from the offering.
ALSO GROWS
qetoret: incense
קְטֹרֶת
Incense is made to smoke, showing the same root’s use beyond the burnt offering.
qitor: smoke, vapor
קִיטוֹר
This related word names the smoke that makes the verb’s force visible.
THE PATTERN
Scripture includes the inward parts in the preparation of an offering and presents the whole body as part of the act.
And he shall wash the inward parts and the legs in water, and the priest shall bring all of it near and send it up in smoke upon the altar. It is a rising offering, an offering of fire, a fragrance that settles to the LORD.You cut the ram into pieces, and wash the innards of him, and his legs, and set them upon his pieces, and upon his head.Therefore I urge you, brothers, through the compassions of God, to set your bodies beside God as a living sacrifice, set apart, well-pleasing to him, which is your true service.THE THREAD
Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, If anyone of you brings near a drawing near to the LORD, you shall bring near your drawing near from the cattle, from the herd and from the flock.“Inwards,” קֶרֶב (qerev, “inner part”), belongs to the consonantal root קרב (q-r-b, “approach, draw near”), also seen in קָרַב (qarav, “draw near”) and קָרְבָּן (qorban, “offering”). Leviticus 1:2 uses this root-family for bringing an offering near; here its sound sits at the animal’s center before the whole offering rises.
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