The Meaning of Leviticus 17:3 Explained

Leviticus 17:3

KJV: What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp,

YLT: Any man of the house of Israel who slaughtereth ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or who slaughtereth at the outside of the camp,

Darby: Every one of the house of Israel that slaughtereth an ox, or sheep, or goat, in the camp, or that slaughtereth it out of the camp,

ASV: What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it without the camp,

KJV Reverse Interlinear

What  man  soever [there be] of the house  of Israel,  that killeth  an ox,  or lamb,  or goat,  in the camp,  or that killeth  [it] out  of the camp, 

What does Leviticus 17:3 Mean?

Context Summary

Leviticus 17:1-16 - "the Life Of The Flesh Is In The Blood"
Every animal that was slain for food was regarded as a kind of peace-offering, and was therefore slain at the door of the Tabernacle. This law, though it expressed a great principle, was only provisional. It was kept as long as Israel dwelled in the Wilderness, but repealed when they entered the Land of Promise, where their numbers and diffusion would have rendered its strict observance impossible. See Deuteronomy 12:15-24.
Very earnest insistence is laid on the prohibition of blood as an article of diet. See Leviticus 17:10, etc. The reason of this is in the repeated announcement that the life (or soul) is in the blood, Leviticus 17:11 and Leviticus 17:14. When we are told that the blood maketh atonement, we learn that it does so because it represents the soul of the victim. Life is given for life, soul for soul.
Thus our Lord gave His blood, i.e., His life or soul, a ransom for many. "He poured out His soul unto death." See Isaiah 53:12. It was His blood, not as it was in His veins, but as poured out, that effected the reconciliation. See Ephesians 1:7. It is the death of Christ in which the sinner finds peace. Compare Leviticus 16:30 and 1 John 1:7. [source]

Chapter Summary: Leviticus 17

1  The blood of slain beasts must be offered to the Lord at the tabernacle door
7  They must not offer to idols
10  All eating of blood is forbidden
15  and of all that dies by itself, or is torn

What do the individual words in Leviticus 17:3 mean?

- whatever man of the house of Israel who kills an ox or lamb goat in the camp or kills [it] outside the camp
אִ֥ישׁ אִישׁ֙ מִבֵּ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִשְׁחַ֜ט שׁ֥וֹר אוֹ־ כֶ֛שֶׂב עֵ֖ז בַּֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה א֚וֹ יִשְׁחַ֔ט מִח֖וּץ לַֽמַּחֲנֶֽה

אִ֥ישׁ  - 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
אִישׁ֙  whatever  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
מִבֵּ֣ית  of  the  house 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
יִשְׁחַ֜ט  kills 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁחַט 
Sense: to kill, slaughter, beat.
שׁ֥וֹר  an  ox 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֹׁור  
Sense: ox, bull, a head of cattle.
כֶ֛שֶׂב  lamb 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: כֶּשֶׂב  
Sense: lamb, young ram, sheep.
עֵ֖ז  goat 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: עֵז  
Sense: female goat, she-goat, goat, kid.
בַּֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה  in  the  camp 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, common singular
Root: מַחֲנֶה  
Sense: encampment, camp.
יִשְׁחַ֔ט  kills  [it] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁחַט 
Sense: to kill, slaughter, beat.
מִח֖וּץ  outside 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: חוּץ  
Sense: outside, outward, street, the outside.
לַֽמַּחֲנֶֽה  the  camp 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, common singular
Root: מַחֲנֶה  
Sense: encampment, camp.