But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken: and if it be sodden in a brasen pot, it shall be both scoured, and rinsed in water.

LEVITICUS 6:28KJV
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Leviticus 6:28 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 6:28 mean?

Leviticus 6:28 explains that if a sacrificial offering is cooked in a clay pot, the pot must be broken afterward, but if it is cooked in a bronze pot, the pot must be thoroughly cleaned and rinsed with water. This rule is about how the priests were to handle the vessels used for cooking offerings in the tabernacle.

In this verse, God is giving Moses specific instructions for the priests about the handling of cooking vessels used for the sin offering. The clay vessel (an "earthen" pot) would absorb some of the offering, so it had to be destroyed to prevent anything holy from being misused. A bronze pot, which does not absorb, could be cleaned and reused. This detail highlights the seriousness and care required in dealing with things set apart for God.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 6:28

  • "Earthen" (חֶרֶשׂ, ḥeres): This word refers to clay or pottery, which is porous and absorbs liquids. Its use here explains why the vessel must be broken after use.
  • "Broken" (שָׁבַר, shavar): This word means to break or shatter, emphasizing that the clay vessel is not to be reused once it has absorbed the offering.
  • "Brassen" (נְחֹשֶׁת, neḥoshet): This refers to bronze or copper, a metal that does not absorb, making it suitable for reuse after proper cleaning.
  • "Scoured" (מָרַק, maraq) and "rinsed" (שָׁטַף, shataf): These words mean to scrub and rinse, showing that even metal vessels must be carefully cleaned before being used again.

Why Leviticus 6:28 matters

  • This verse clears up why different materials were treated differently: clay absorbs and must be destroyed, metal can be cleaned and reused.
  • Leviticus 6:28 emphasizes the holiness of the offerings and the care required in handling anything that comes into contact with them.
  • The verse connects to the wider passage about the sin offering, showing the practical steps the priests had to take to maintain ritual purity and respect for sacred things.

Where else these words appear

“scoured” Hebrew H4838 · used in 3 verses

  • 2 Chronicles 4:16 The pots also, and the shovels, and the fleshhooks, and all their instruments, did Huram his father make to king Solomon for the house of the LORD of bright brass.
  • Jeremiah 46:4 Harness the horses; and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets; furbish the spears, and put on the brigandines.

“earthen” Hebrew H2789 · used in 16 verses

  • Leviticus 11:33 And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it.
  • Job 2:8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.
  • Isaiah 45:9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?

“sodden” Hebrew H1310 · used in 24 verses

  • Genesis 40:10 And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes:
  • Numbers 11:8 And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.
  • 2 Kings 6:29 So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son.

“rinsed” Hebrew H7857 · used in 30 verses

  • Leviticus 15:11 And whomsoever he toucheth that hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
  • Song of Solomon 8:7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.
  • Jeremiah 8:6 I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.