What Does Leviticus 3:14 Mean?
And he brings near from it his drawing near, an offering of fire to the LORD; the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat upon the entrails.
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 he shall offer thereof his offering, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,THE KEY
The Hebrew words for “offering” and “inwards” share the root קרב, the language of drawing near.
THE MEANING
The verse names an offering made by fire to the LORD and specifies the fat covering the inward parts and the fat upon them. Its Hebrew places the offering and the inward parts in one word-family rooted in drawing near, bringing nearness into the body’s interior.
THE ROOT
קָרְבָּנוֹ
qorbano
GROWS FROM
קרב
Draw near; approach.
“drawing near” in this verse is qorbano. The Hebrew calls the offering קָרְבָּנוֹ (qorbano, his offering) and the inward parts הַקֶּרֶב (ha-qerev, the inward parts); both carry the consonants קרב. English gives them separate labels, while Hebrew places the offering and the inner place in one word-family: nearness is spoken at the body’s center.
ALSO GROWS
qerev: Inward part; midst.
קֶרֶב
This is the word for the inwards in the verse, sharing the offering’s root.
qarov: Near; close.
קָרוֹב
It makes the root’s sense of nearness explicit.
hiqriḇ: Bring near; offer.
הִקְרִיב
This verb describes bringing an offering near and shares the root of קָרְבָּנוֹ.
מְכַסֶּה
mekhasseh
GROWS FROM
כסה
Cover; conceal.
“covereth” in this verse is mekhasseh. The word describes the fat as covering the inward parts. The same root can name both the act of covering and a covering itself, keeping the text’s focus on what lies over the inner parts.
ALSO GROWS
kasah: To cover; conceal.
כָּסָה
This verb gives the basic action expressed by מְכַסֶּה in the verse.
mikhseh: Covering.
מִכְסֶה
This noun names a covering formed from the same consonants כסה.
THE PATTERN
Approach is expressed as bringing near, and the offering itself bears the language of nearness.
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.But for me, drawing near to God is good; I have set my shelter in the Lord LORD, to recount all your works.Let us draw near with a true heart in the fullness of trust, our hearts sprinkled from a burdened shared sight, and our bodies bathed in clean waters.THE THREAD
But for me, drawing near to God is good; I have set my shelter in the Lord LORD, to recount all your works.The Hebrew for “draw near” here is from קרב, the same root carried by “offering” and “inwards” in Leviticus 3:14. The shared root lets the offering’s nearness and the inward place sound together.
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