What Does Leviticus 4:5 Mean?
And the anointed priest takes some of the bull's blood, and brings it into the tent of meeting.
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 the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock’s blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation:THE KEY
Here, anointing names the priest who carries the bull’s blood into the appointed meeting place.
THE MEANING
The anointed priest takes some of the bull’s blood and brings it into the tent of meeting. The verse joins the priest’s marked office, the blood, and the appointed place in one concrete act.
THE ROOT
הַמָּשִׁיחַ
ham-mashiach the anointed
GROWS FROM
משח
To smear or apply oil; to anoint.
The priest’s description shares its root with mashiach, meaning “anointed one.” The word ties his identity to the act of anointing: here, the marked office belongs to the priest carrying out this rite.
ALSO GROWS
mashach: To anoint, apply oil
מָשַׁח
This is the verb behind the priest’s designation: his office is marked by an act of anointing.
mishchah: Anointing oil or anointing
מִשְׁחָה
The related word for anointing oil points to the material sign behind the priest’s title.
מוֹעֵד
mo'ed appointed meeting
GROWS FROM
יעד
To appoint, designate, or set a meeting.
The Hebrew phrase behind “tabernacle of the congregation” is “tent of meeting.” The word mo’ed carries the sense of an appointed meeting, so the destination is defined by the encounter set there, not only by the people gathered.
ALSO GROWS
ya'ad: To appoint or designate
יָעַד
The root frames this place as a meeting that is deliberately appointed.
mo'ed: An appointed time or meeting
מוֹעֵד
This is the word in the verse’s Hebrew phrase, tent of meeting.
וְהֵבִיא
ve-hevi and he
GROWS FROM
בוא
To come or enter; in a causative form, to bring or cause to enter.
The verb for “bring” is formed from the root for coming or entering. The priest’s action makes the blood come into the appointed meeting place; the English verb does not show that shared root.
ALSO GROWS
bo: To come or enter
בּוֹא
This is the basic movement contained in the priest’s act of bringing.
mavo: Entrance or entryway
מָבוֹא
This related word makes the root’s movement into a place visible.
THE PATTERN
In the sin offering, blood is carried into the place set apart for meeting.
And the anointed priest brings some of the blood of the young bull into the tent of meeting.Not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered once into the set-apart places, having found a ransom for the ages.THE THREAD
Then you take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.The same root behind “anointed” appears here in the act of pouring oil and anointing the priest. Exodus shows the marking of the priest; Leviticus shows that priest carrying the blood into the appointed meeting place.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us