What Does Leviticus 6:2 Mean?
If a living soul misses the mark, crossing over against the LORD, and lies to his neighbor in what was placed in his hand to keep, or in what was held in common, or in what was torn away by force, or has pressed his neighbor;
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
If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour;THE KEY
A wrong against a neighbor becomes a breach against the LORD when someone falsifies what was entrusted.
THE MEANING
A breach against a neighbor is also a breach before the LORD: misusing entrusted property, taking by force, exploiting, and deceiving all expose broken trust. The wrong takes shape in what someone does with another person’s confidence and goods.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the idea that concealed dishonesty about another person’s property is only a private matter between two people.
THE ROOT
מַעַל
ma'al
GROWS FROM
מעל
To act treacherously or violate trust; to breach a sacred or entrusted obligation.
“crossing over against” in this verse is ma'al. English “trespass” can sound like crossing a boundary, while מָעַל centers a breach of faith. Its forms keep treachery and concrete wrongdoing connected, so the verse binds dishonest dealing with accountability before the LORD.
ALSO GROWS
ma'al: To act unfaithfully or commit a breach.
מָעַל
This is the verb behind “commit a trespass” here: the wrong is a violation of trust.
me'ilah: Treachery, trespass, or breach of trust.
מְעִילָה
This related noun names the breach itself, holding the act and its resulting guilt together.
פִּקָּדוֹן
piqqadon
GROWS FROM
פקד
To attend to, appoint, or place under someone’s charge.
“placed in his hand to keep” in this verse is piqqadon. The entrusted thing grows from language of attention and assignment: it rests under someone’s charge. The breach begins as a failure of care and becomes a violation of the relationship that entrusted it.
ALSO GROWS
paqad: To attend to, take account of, or appoint.
פָּקַד
The root suggests an active responsibility toward what is placed in someone’s care.
pequddah: Charge, oversight, or appointment.
פְּקֻדָּה
This branch makes visible the responsibility that accompanies an entrusted deposit.
וְכִחֵשׁ
ve-khiḥesh
GROWS FROM
כחש
To deny, disavow, or deal falsely.
English “lie” can sound like only a spoken sentence, while כחש includes denial and disavowal. Here the falsehood stands beside seizure and exploitation, making deception part of the material breach of trust.
ALSO GROWS
kiḥēsh: Denied or disavowed.
כִּחֵשׁ
Sarah uses this verb when she denies laughing, showing how it can name a refusal to acknowledge what is true.
kiḥēsh: Dealt falsely.
כִּחֵשׁ
Leviticus 19:11 uses the same root for false dealing, linking deception in speech with dishonesty in action.
THE PATTERN
A breach of trust toward another is also accountable before God, and repair addresses what the breach displaced.
If a man gives to his neighbor silver or vessels to guard, and it is stolen out of the man's house; if the thief is found, let him make whole twice over.Speak to the children of Israel. When a man or a woman does any of the shortcomings of humankind, crossing over against the LORD, and that living soul is guilty;And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of what I have to the emptied, and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I give back fourfold."THE THREAD
Then they speak their falling short into the open, which they have done; and he makes his crossing over whole, with its head, and adds to it a fifth of it, and gives it to the one against whom he crossed over.This verse makes trust-breaking visible; the next gives the breach a shape for repair: confession, return of the principal, and an added fifth. Naming the wrong and restoring what was taken belong to the same response.
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