CORBAN (w i), an Aramaic word meaning "a consecrated gift." Josephus uses the word of Nazirites and of the temple treasure of Jerusalem. Such a votive offering lay under a curse if it were diverted to ordinary purposes, like the spoil of Jericho which Achan appropriated (Josh. vii.), or the temple treasure of Delphi which was seized by the Phocians, 356 B.C. The word is found in Mark vii. 11, the usual interpretation of which is that Jesus refers to an abuse—a man might declare that any part of his property which came into his parents' hands was corban, con secrated, i.e., that he might evade the fifth commandment by pleading a vow. But this interpretation is impossible. In fact, Jesus and the Rabbis agree on this point. The rule which Jesus attributes to tradition is in flat contradiction to the Mishnah and universal Jewish practice. Further, the assertion that the Pharisees violated the Law of God in order to maintain their own rules is not proved by this instance. A totally different explanation of the passage is put forward by J. H. A. Hart in The Jewish Quarterly Review for July 1907, the gist of which is that Jesus commends the Pharisees for insisting that when a man has vowed a vow to God he should pay it even though his parents should suffer.
See pp. 148 foil. of vol. i. of sec. ed. of C. G. Montefiore's Synoptic Gospels (1927) ; J. V. Bartlet in Century Bible (Mark in loc.) (Edin burgh, 1922) : p. 711 of vol. i. of H. L. Strack and P. Billerbeck, Komm. 2. Neuen Test. (Munich, 1922).