Hebrew Word Study – Corban – קרבן  Qop Resh Beth Nun

Leviticus 1:2: “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.”

Mark 7:10-13: “ For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: (11) But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. (12) And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; (13) Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.”

In a recent study entitled “And You” I discuss this matter of the corban and the reference, Jesus made about it in Mark 7:10-13.  I played it safe and just gave the traditional interpretation that you find in any commentary. I really felt convicted because I personally carry a little broader interpretation based upon Jewish thinking.  I hesitated to share that view because it would sound like I was attacking a sacred cow of Christianity ie., tithing. However, after discussing it with my study partner and a couple of other Christians I feel free to share the Chaim Bentorah interpretation of what Jesus was telling not just the priest but the Pharisees as well. 

The traditional interpretation is that Jesus was speaking to the priest and Pharisees about the fifth commandment which is to honor your father and mother. Jesus was saying that you neglect your duty to help your parents financially by saying that all your resources are a corban or a gift to God but you use that as an excuse not to help your parents as you parents would rather starve to death than steal from God. Then you keep those resources for your own benefit. 

I am not saying that this interpretation is wrong, just that there is more and a broader interpretation is involved.  Jesus was continually addressing the religious leaders over their fanaticism on keeping every minute detail of the law.  The religious leaders were keeping the law as if it were a talisman, that is that keeping the law would have some magical powers or spiritual powers to bring you favor with God and good fortune. These ten commandments have gone down through church history being called commandments. When we hear a commandment it is a command, do it or else. Yet, in Hebrew, it is known as the aseret hadibrot.  Literally, that means ten words, ten sayings or ten matters.  The word hadibrot comes from the root word dabar which are words from the heart.  The ten commandments are really words from the heart of God. There are no magic supernatural powers in the ten commandments and obeying them.  This is God’s way of sharing His heart with us, giving us a clue as to what would bring joy and pleasure to His heart. Our purpose in keeping the commandments is the same purpose of the corban. The word corban means to draw near.  The corban offering was an offering or sacrifice to draw near to God.  Keeping the commandments has the same purpose to draw near to God.

So, the first thing we need to understand is that these are not rules that will bring the wrath of God upon us if we disobey.  Disobeying these rules has its own consequences.  They are instead a way of showing God our love. The second thing to understand is something I discovered in Jewish literature and that is there are degrees of commandments. Some are greater than others.  In Matthew 22:26 an expert of the law asked Jesus: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” NIV   Jesus didn’t rebuke him by saying they are all great, in fact, he answered without hesitation that the greatest commandment was to love the Lord your God which Jesus said was the greatest, and then said the second was like the first to love your neighbor.  Clearly, loving the Lord your God and your neighbor are the most important commandments. 

Then Jesus turns around and teaches that if hold back any resources which could aid your parents and call it a corban a gift to God you are in a heap of trouble boy.  A corban was an important gift or sacrifice to God. It included the sacrifice for redemption from sin. Is that not more important than caring for your parents?  Well, Jesus didn’t think so, after all, He was the sacrifice for our sins. Our sacrifices are a broken spirit and contrite heart  Psalms 51:17. The animal sacrifice was just a reflection of one’s own sacrifice of his life to God. 

If you allow me to just offer my interpretation. You are under no obligation to accept it. Feel free to reject it if you feel so led, I will not be offended.  But I believe Jesus was not talking so much about breaking the fifth commandment to hold back your resources to aid your parents. I tend to believe that there were some Pharisees and religious leaders who sincerely believed that they could not share their resources which belonged to God to aid their parents.  God came first and if their parents starved, well that was God’s problem and by golly, they were going to give their corban to God and not to their parents. 

Yet, if there are degrees in the commandments, the law of the corban is not even listed as one of the ten commandments.  Our first duty is to love God, love our neighbors, and care for our parents. Somewhere down the line of laws, there is the law of the corban, but the ten commandments outrank the law of the corban. In other words, if you give an offering just to satisfy God or win His favor and not out of love for God, keeping the law of corban is worthless. If you choose to keep the law of the corban and not show love to your neighbor by helping them in their need even if it means using the resources you held back as a corban, that corban is worthless. If you do not aid your parents in need with the resources you were holding as a corban that corban is worthless.

Am I saying that if you withhold your tithe, which is one of the lesser laws, when that resource could aid your parents, neighbor or if you just give your tithe as a talisman to win favor with God and get a blessing and your neighbor and family suffer, like not getting proper food or paying the rent to shelter them because you had to give that 10% or else? Are desecrating that tithe and making it worthless?  I didn’t say that, did I?

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