CORBAN. This term occurs only once in the NT (Mark 7:11) where Jesus is condemning the “tradition of the elders” as evading the plain intent of the Torah. Under the pious pretext of dedicating his property to the Lord (and retaining a life estate in it himself) a man could sidestep his obligation to support his aged parents, alleging that he had no undedicated property from which he could support them. Literally, the Heb. qorbān (קָרְבָּן, H7933) meant “offering” (presented to God), from qārab (“be near”) which in the hiphil stem meant “bring near, present,” i.e. an offering to God. Qorbān is used often in the OT text as “offering” (KJV), whether a blood sacrifice or a vegetable offering (Lev 1:2; 22:27; 23:14; Num 7:25; Ezek 20:28; 40:43). The term was later applied to dedicated property (whether real or personal) intended for the Lord’s use after the death of the one who vowed it. The Mishna (Ned III. 6; IX) states that anything set apart as a qorbān to the Lord could never be withdrawn again for ordinary secular use, even though the vow was rashly made.