What Does Leviticus 24:12 Mean?
And they set him down under guard, so that the mouth of the LORD might make the matter plain to them.
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 they put him in ward, that the mind of the LORD might be shewed them.THE KEY
The accused remains under guard while the LORD’s ruling waits to be spoken plainly.
THE MEANING
The accused is held under guard while the judgment remains undisclosed. The verse holds both facts together: the custody is real, and the ruling awaits the LORD’s word.
THE ROOT
לְפָרֵשׁ
ləfārēš
GROWS FROM
פרשׁ
p-r-sh
Make distinct, set out clearly, explain.
“make the matter plain” in this verse is ləfārēš. The KJV’s “mind” conveys the ruling being sought; the Hebrew verb frames that ruling as something made clear. The phrase עַל־פִּי יְהוָה (ʿal-pî YHWH) means “by the mouth of the LORD”: what is pending is a declared decision, not a guess about an inward thought.
ALSO GROWS
meforash: Made explicit or explained distinctly.
מְפֹרָשׁ
It echoes the verse’s movement from an unresolved matter to a ruling made clear.
parash: To separate or set out distinctly.
פָּרַשׁ
It carries the root’s sense of drawing a matter into clear distinction.
מִשְׁמָר
mishmar
GROWS FROM
שׁמר
sh-m-r
Keep, watch, guard.
“under guard” in this verse is mishmar. The Hebrew word for “ward” belongs to the root שָׁמַר (shamar), “to keep or guard.” The custody is a watch that continues while the ruling is awaited, holding together the person’s confinement and the community’s uncertainty.
ALSO GROWS
shamar: To keep, watch, or guard.
שָׁמַר
This verb names the guarding contained in the word “ward.”
mishmeret: A charge, duty, or watch.
מִשְׁמֶרֶת
It shows how this root can describe something held under watch or entrusted care.
shomer: A keeper or watchman.
שֹׁמֵר
This branch names the one who maintains the watch surrounding the accused.
THE PATTERN
Judgment waits for the matter to be heard or made clear before it is declared.
And they set him under guard, because what should be done to him had not been made plain.The one who returns a word before he hears it, folly and shame are his.Therefore, judge nothing before its season, until the Lord comes, who will light up the hidden things of darkness, and will make visible the plans of the hearts. And then the praise will come to each one from God.THE THREAD
And they set him under guard, because what should be done to him had not been made plain.Numbers 15:34 uses the same Hebrew word מִשְׁמָר (mishmar), “guard” or “custody.” The shared root שׁמר (sh-m-r), “keep or guard,” makes the waiting visible: the person is held under watch until the ruling is declared.
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