What Does Leviticus 7:3 Mean?
And he shall bring near from it all its fat, the fat tail, and the fat that covers the inward parts,
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 of it all the fat thereof; the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards,THE KEY
The Hebrew words for “inwards” (קֶרֶב, qerev) and “offers” (יַקְרִיב, yaqriv) share קרב (q-r-b), the root of drawing near.
THE MEANING
Here the offering includes the body’s inward parts and the fat that covers them; both the hidden center and its covering enter the description. The act of offering is bodily and specific, reaching what lies within.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Only what is visible belongs in what is given.
THE ROOT
הַקֶּרֶב
ha-qerev
GROWS FROM
קרב
The consonantal root ק־ר־ב (q-r-b) carries the sense of drawing near or approaching; קֶרֶב (qerev) names the interior or midst.
English separates the inward parts from the act of offering, but Hebrew lets them sound from one root: קֶרֶב (qerev, inward parts) and יַקְרִיב (yaqriv, brings near or offers) share ק־ר־ב. The body’s interior is named within the language of approach, so the offering reaches what is inward.
ALSO GROWS
yaqriv: He brings near; he offers.
יַקְרִיב
The verb translated “offer” in this verse uses the same ק־ר־ב consonants as “inwards,” joining the act of offering to the interior.
qorban: Offering; that which is brought near.
קָרְבָּן
This word makes the root’s sense of approach explicit: an offering is something brought near.
הַמְכַסֶּה
ham-khasseh
GROWS FROM
כסה
The consonantal root כ־ס־ה (k-s-h) means to cover or conceal.
“covereth” in this verse is ham-khasseh. The root holds both the act of covering and what serves as a covering. Here, the fat is named as the layer over the inward parts.
ALSO GROWS
kasah: To cover or conceal.
כָּסָה
This verb carries the action expressed by “covereth” in the verse.
mikhseh: A covering.
מִכְסֶה
This noun from the same root names a covering as a thing, echoing the layer described here.
THE PATTERN
In offering, what is inward and embodied is brought near and given.
And the priest sends them up in smoke upon the altar, bread of an offering of fire for a fragrance that settles. All the fat is the LORD's.You take all the fat that covers the innards, and the lobe above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and send them up in smoke upon the altar.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
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.The Hebrew word for “offering” here, קָרְבָּן (qorban), shares the root קרב with קֶרֶב (qerev, “inwards”) in Leviticus 7:3. That shared root lets the body’s interior and the act of bringing near illuminate each other.
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