What Does Leviticus 27:22 Mean?
And if a man sets apart to the LORD a field which he has bought, which is not of the fields of his holding;
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 sanctify unto the LORD a field which he hath bought, which is not of the fields of his possession;THE KEY
Setting a field apart does not erase the difference between what was purchased and what is held as a possession.
THE MEANING
The verse distinguishes a field acquired by purchase from a field within a person’s holding. The purchased field can still be set apart to the LORD. Its dedication changes its status without changing how it came into the person’s hands.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that only what belongs to your inherited holding can be set apart to the LORD.
THE ROOT
יַקְדִּישׁ
yaqdish
GROWS FROM
קדש
Set apart, dedicate.
“sets apart” in this verse is yaqdish. The word carries the act of marking something as set apart. Related words use the same seed for what is set apart and for a place set apart, linking this field’s dedication to a wider language of belonging.
ALSO GROWS
qadosh: Set apart.
קָדוֹשׁ
It names the quality associated with something marked as belonging to God.
miqdash: Sanctuary, a place set apart.
מִקְדָּשׁ
It shows the same root can describe a dedicated place as well as the act of dedicating.
מִקְנָתוֹ
miqnatô
GROWS FROM
קנה
Acquire, get, buy.
“bought” in this verse is miqnatô. The Hebrew phrase identifies this as a field of acquisition. That source remains visible alongside its dedication, keeping purchase distinct from the other kind of holding named in the verse.
ALSO GROWS
qanah: Acquire or buy.
קָנָה
This verb names the act behind the field’s acquisition.
miqneh: Property or possessions, including livestock.
מִקְנֶה
This related noun shows the root’s connection to acquired property.
אֲחֻזָּתוֹ
achuzzato
GROWS FROM
אחז
Grasp, hold.
The word for possession grows from the idea of holding. The verse keeps this held estate distinct from a field acquired by purchase, even though either kind of field can be set apart.
ALSO GROWS
ʾāḥaz: Grasp or hold.
אָחַז
The verb exposes the physical sense beneath the word for possession.
achuzzah: Holding, estate, possession.
אֲחֻזָּה
This is the noun used for the field belonging to the person’s holding.
THE PATTERN
What is set apart for God remains within God’s claim, with its source and boundaries still visible.
The land shall not be sold for good, for the land is mine; for you are sojourners and those who settle beside me.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.For the earth is the Lord's, and what fills it.THE THREAD
And you shall set apart the fiftieth year, and proclaim a free flowing through all the land to all who settle in it. It shall be a ram's horn year for you, and you shall turn back each to his holding, and each to his family you shall turn back.“Hallow” comes from the same קדש (q-d-sh; qadash), “set apart,” root as “sanctify” here, and “possession” is the same אֲחֻזָּה (achuzzah), “holding,” word. The shared roots place dedication beside release and return: the set-apart year restores each person to their holding.
This reading is from Selah Verse.
You can read any verse this way in the app, keep it as a card, and send it on.
A Bible app where you send verses from your keyboard and in Messages, and every verse has a Deep Dive.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us