A vow or declaration that an item was dedicated as an offering to God — and therefore no longer available for other uses, including caring for aging parents. Jesus exposes the Pharisees' abuse of this practice in Mark 7:9–13: by declaring their resources "Corban," men could legally refuse to support their parents while keeping the resources for themselves, all under a veneer of religious devotion. This allowed them to "void the word of God" (v. 13) through their tradition. Jesus names this for what it is: hypocrisy that honors God with the lips while the heart is far from him. Corban thus becomes Scripture's case study in religion weaponized to evade moral duty — piety as a cover for selfishness.
CORBAN, n. An offering to God, among the Jews. The word is Chaldee and signifies "a gift." It was a form of vow by which a person declared that what he possessed was devoted to God and his service. The Pharisees allowed children to evade the duty of maintaining their parents under pretense of having devoted their property to God.
Corban has been reborn in countless forms wherever religious language is used to dodge plain moral obligation. The prosperity preacher who convinces congregants to "give to God" (i.e., to his ministry) rather than care for their families. The believer who cites "God's call" on his life as justification for neglecting his children. The church leader who hides financial irresponsibility behind "stewardship of kingdom resources." The logic is the same: invoke God to escape human accountability. Jesus' answer is clear — honor your father and mother is not optional, and no spiritual-sounding vow overrides it. True devotion to God expresses itself in care for the people he has placed in your life — not in rituals that replace such care.
Mark 7:11 — "But you say, 'If a man tells his father or his mother, Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban' (that is, given to God)..."
Mark 7:13 — "...making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down."
Exodus 20:12 — "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you."
Matthew 15:8 — "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me."
H7133 — קׇרְבָּן (qorban): "offering, gift brought near to God" — used 80 times in Leviticus and Numbers for sacrificial offerings
G2878 — κορβᾶν (korban): transliteration of the Hebrew term, appearing in Mark 7:11 — the only NT occurrence