What Does Leviticus 3:8 Mean?
He leans his hand upon the head of his drawing near, and slaughters it before the tent of meeting, and Aaron's sons dash its blood upon the altar all around.
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 lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle the blood thereof round about upon the altar.THE KEY
The word for “offering” carries the sense of drawing near, and here that approach takes the form of a hand resting on a life before its death.
THE MEANING
Here, approach is bodily and costly: the hand rests on the offering’s head, the animal is killed before the tent, and its blood is cast around the altar. Contact, death, and nearness remain together in the verse.
THE ROOT
קָרְבָּנוֹ
qorbāno
GROWS FROM
קרב
q-r-b
Approach, come near.
“drawing near” in this verse is qorbāno. The offering’s name carries the movement of coming near: what English presents as a thing given is also an approach. Here, that approach is enacted through touch, death, and blood at the altar.
ALSO GROWS
qarav: Approach, draw near.
קָרַב
The same root names the movement toward nearness that the offering embodies.
hiqriv: Bring near, present.
הִקְרִיב
This related verb makes explicit the offering’s movement: something is brought near.
וְסָמַךְ
wesamakh
GROWS FROM
סמך
s-m-kh
Lean upon, rest upon, support.
“leans his hand” in this verse is wesamakh. The verb for placing the hand on the offering belongs to the same root used for leaning on or upholding. English makes the gesture sound merely positional; the Hebrew also carries the sense of contact that bears weight.
ALSO GROWS
samakh: Lean upon, rest upon, support.
סָמַךְ
The offering receives the worshipper’s hand through this root of leaning and support.
somekh: One who supports or upholds.
סוֹמֵךְ
This form appears in Psalm 37:24 for the LORD who upholds; it lets the root’s language of support echo beneath the hand placed on the offering.
THE PATTERN
Scriptural approach is tangible: it moves through hands, bodies, and things presented.
And he shall lean his hand upon the head of the rising offering, and it shall be pleasing for him, to cover over him.Though he falls, he will not be hurled down, for the LORD props him up with his hand.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.THE THREAD
Though he falls, he will not be hurled down, for the LORD props him up with his hand.The Hebrew verb translated “upholdeth” comes from סמך, the same root as “lay his hand” in Leviticus. The shared root carries the image of contact that supports from the offering to the one being upheld.
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