What Does Numbers 6:14 Mean?
And he shall bring near unto the LORD one male lamb of its first year, whole, for the rising offering, and one ewe lamb of its first year, whole, for the offering for falling short, and one ram, whole, for the offerings of wholeness,
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 his offering unto the LORD, one he lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish for a sin offering, and one ram without blemish for peace offerings,THE KEY
The word for offering is built from the root for drawing near, so this list holds approach, the missing, and wholeness together.
THE MEANING
The LORD is approached through distinct offerings: one that rises, one for the missing, and offerings named for wholeness. Each animal is without blemish, while one offering names what is missing. The verse holds these elements together in one movement of approach.
THE ROOT
קָרְבָּן
qorban
GROWS FROM
קרב
q-r-b
draw near; approach
“bring near” in this verse is qorban. The word translated “offering” carries the root of coming near: a qorban is something brought close. The same root appears in words for “near,” connecting the offering here with nearness itself.
ALSO GROWS
qarab: approach; bring near
קָרַב
This verb names the movement carried inside the word for offering.
qarov: near
קָרוֹב
The same root links an offering brought near with the state of being near.
חַטָּאת
chatat
GROWS FROM
חטא
ḥ-ṭ-ʾ
miss; fail; err
“offering for falling short” in this verse is chatat. The word for the sin offering grows from the root of missing. The shared seed keeps the offering connected to the missing it names, within the same approach as the other offerings.
ALSO GROWS
chata: miss; fail; err
חָטָא
This verb carries the action named by the offering.
chet: missing; failure
חֵטְא
This noun shows the same root naming the missing itself.
שְׁלָמִים
shelamim
GROWS FROM
שלם
sh-l-m
be whole; be complete
“offerings of wholeness” in this verse is shelamim. The word translated “peace offerings” belongs to the same root family as words for being whole and complete. English “peace” can sound like only an absence of conflict; this root also carries the sense of wholeness.
ALSO GROWS
shalom: wholeness
שָׁלוֹם
This familiar branch makes the wholeness within the offerings’ name audible.
shalem: whole; complete
שָׁלֵם
This branch gives the offerings’ root its sense of intactness and completion.
THE PATTERN
Approach to the LORD holds the missing and wholeness together through distinct offerings.
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 LORD is near to those whose heart is broken, and delivers those crushed in breath.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
The LORD is near to those whose heart is broken, and delivers those crushed in breath.The Hebrew word translated “nigh” is קָרוֹב (qarov, near), from the same root קרב as קָרְבָּן (qorban, offering). The offering here and the LORD’s nearness there share the root of drawing near.
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