Corban

About Corban

Corban is a term that appears in the New Testament with two related meanings. In Mrk.7.11, Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for using the concept of Corban to avoid their responsibility to support their parents. The Pharisees would declare their property or assets as "Corban," meaning it was dedicated to God, and thus exempt from being used to help their parents, even though they could still benefit from it themselves. Jesus condemns this practice as a way of nullifying God's commandment to honor one's father and mother.

The term Corban is derived from the Hebrew word "qorban," which means "offering" or "sacrifice." In the Old Testament, it refers to various offerings and sacrifices brought to the temple as an act of worship and devotion to God.

In Matthew 27:6, the term Corban appears again, this time referring to the temple treasury. After Judas returned the thirty pieces of silver he had received for betraying Jesus, the chief priests decided that it was not lawful to put the money into the treasury (Corban) because it was the price of blood. This indicates that the temple treasury was considered sacred, and there were regulations concerning the source and use of funds placed in it.

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.