What Does Leviticus 10:5 Mean?
So they drew near and lifted them in their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had said.
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
So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said.THE KEY
The root of “went near” also names what is brought near as a korban, holding sacred approach and the outward carrying of the dead in one frame.
THE MEANING
The bodies are carried in their own tunics and taken beyond the camp. The root of “went near” also lives in the word for drawing near, so approach remains audible even as the bodies move outward.
THE ROOT
וַיִּקְרְבוּ
vayyiqrevu q-r-b
GROWS FROM
קרב
Come near, approach, bring near.
“drew near” in this verse is vayyiqrevu q-r-b. The verb here means they approached; the same root appears in words for what is near and for a korban, something brought near. That shared root lets sacred approach resonate in the verse even as the bodies are carried outside.
ALSO GROWS
qārōb: Near, close.
קָרוֹב
This branch makes the root’s sense of approach and nearness explicit.
qorbān: A drawing near; something brought near.
קָרְבָּן
The related word carries the same movement of approach that echoes in “went near.”
וַיִּשָּׂאֻם
vayyisā’um nāśāʾ
GROWS FROM
נשא
Lift, carry, bear.
“lifted” in this verse is vayyisā’um nāśāʾ. This is a root of physical lifting and bearing. Its branches preserve both the weight of what is carried and the sense of being raised, giving “carried” more depth than simple movement from one place to another.
ALSO GROWS
māśśāʾ: A burden, load.
מַשָּׂא
The shared root makes the bodily act of carrying resonate with the language of bearing weight.
nāśīʾ: A leader or chief; one raised up.
נָשִׂיא
This branch carries the root’s sense of lifting into the language of elevation.
THE PATTERN
Death remains bodily and is met through the physical handling and placement of the dead.
And Joseph commanded his servants, the healers, to spice his father, and the healers spiced Israel.Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the custom of the Jews to bury.THE THREAD
And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, Draw near, lift your brothers from before the set-apart place, out of the camp.The command uses the same roots as verse 5’s “went near” and “carried”: קרב (q-r-b, approach) and נשא (n-s-ʾ, lift or carry). The next verse records those movements as the bodies are taken out.
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