Wen
“Yabbelet, from yabal 'to flow'; indicating a running, suppurating sore”
Summary
A wen was a running sore or suppurating growth that disqualified an animal from being offered as a sacrifice.
☩Definition and Context
The Hebrew word yabbal refers to a flowing or running sore, indicating a suppurating condition. The King James Version rendering 'wen' is technically inaccurate, as a wen is a non-inflamed, indolent tumor, essentially the opposite of what the Hebrew describes. The term appears in the context of listing physical defects that disqualified animals from sacrificial use. Animals with such running sores, along with those that were blind, broken, maimed, or scurvy, were unacceptable offerings.
☩Sacrificial Standards
God's requirement for unblemished sacrifices taught Israel that approaching Him required the best, not the defective or rejected. Animals with a wen or running sore represented the diseased and unclean—the opposite of what should be presented to a holy God. This standard pointed forward to Christ, the perfect Lamb of God without spot or blemish, who alone could serve as the acceptable sacrifice for sin.
Related Verses1 mention
Leviticus· 1 verse
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Wen," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. X (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Wen," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. V (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.George Morrish, "Wen," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).