What Does Leviticus 22:14 Mean?
And if a man eats of the set-apart thing by straying, then he shall add its fifth to it, and shall give it to the priest with the set-apart thing.
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
And if a man eat of the holy thing unwittingly, then he shall put the fifth part thereof unto it, and shall give it unto the priest with the holy thing.THE KEY
Even an unwitting taking leaves a real loss to repair: the set-apart portion returns with a fifth added.
THE MEANING
An unknowing taking of what is set apart still leaves something real to repair. The consumed portion is returned to the priest with an added fifth, so the repair exceeds what was taken.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that an unintended taking leaves nothing to repair. Lack of intent changes how the act is named, but the loss and obligation remain.
THE ROOT
בִּשְׁגָגָה
bishgagah
GROWS FROM
שגג
The root שגג (shagag) means to err or act inadvertently.
“by straying” in this verse is bishgagah. This root names a real act done without intention, not the absence of an act. The verse keeps that distinction visible: ignorance qualifies the taking, while the set-apart portion remains something to be restored.
ALSO GROWS
shagag: To err or act inadvertently.
שָׁגַג
The verb shares the root consonants שגג and makes clear that inadvertence describes how an act happens.
shogeg: One who acts inadvertently.
שׁוֹגֵג
This form shares the root consonants שגג; it names the person by the same inadvertent action described in the verse.
קֹדֶשׁ
qodesh
GROWS FROM
קדש
The root קדש (qadash) means to set apart or consecrate.
“set-apart thing” in this verse is qodesh. The consumed item belongs to the set-apart family even when the eater does not recognize its boundary. The obligation remains attached to what the portion is set apart as, not only to the eater’s awareness.
ALSO GROWS
qadosh: Set apart; sacred.
קָדוֹשׁ
It shares the consonants קדש and describes the set-apart quality of what is called a holy thing here.
miqdash: Sanctuary; set-apart place.
מִקְדָּשׁ
It shares the consonants קדש and shows the same set-apart root in the name for a dedicated place.
THE PATTERN
When what is owed is restored, the repair can include an addition beyond the original loss.
And he makes whole what he has missed from the set-apart thing, and adds its fifth upon it, and gives it to the priest; and the priest makes a covering for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and it is released to him.Then they speak their falling short into the open, which they have done; and he makes his crossing over whole, with its head, and adds to it a fifth of it, and gives it to the one against whom he crossed over.And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of what I have to the emptied, and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I give back fourfold."THE THREAD
And if any living soul misses the mark through straying, then he shall bring a female goat of the first year as an offering for falling short.The phrase rendered “through ignorance” comes from the same שגג (shagag) root family as “unwittingly” here. Both verses name an unintentional act while still making its consequences visible.
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