Reference: Corban
American
A sacred gift, a present devoted to God, or to his temple, Mt 23:18. Our Savior reproaches the Jews with cruelty towards their parents, in making a corbon of what should have been appropriated to their use. The son would say to his needy parents, "It is a gift-whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me," that is, I have already devoted to God that which you request of me, Mr 7:11; and the traditionary teachings of the Jewish doctors would enforce such a vow, and not suffer him to do aught for his parents against it, although it was contrary to nature and reason, and made void the law of God as to honoring parents, Mt 15:3-9. The Pharisees, and the Talmudists their successors, permitted even debtors to defraud their creditors by consecrating their debt to God; as if the property were their own, and not rather the right of their creditor.
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Easton
(12) a Hebrew word adopted into the Greek of the New Testament and left untranslated. It occurs only once (Mr 7:11). It means a gift or offering consecrated to God. Anything over which this word was once pronounced was irrevocably dedicated to the temple. Land, however, so dedicated might be redeemed before the year of jubilee (Le 27:16-24). Our Lord condemns the Pharisees for their false doctrine, inasmuch as by their traditions they had destroyed the commandment which requires children to honour their father and mother, teaching them to find excuse from helping their parents by the device of pronouncing "Corban" over their goods, thus reserving them to their own selfish use.
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Fausets
An offering to God in fulfillment of a vow; from which the temple treasury into which such gifts were east is called in Greek, korbanas (Mt 27:6). Also whatever men by vow interdicted themselves from, as wine, etc., was called qorban (Leviticus 27; Numbers 30; Jg 13:7; Jeremiah 35). Undutiful children, under the plea of having consecrated as corban to the Lord whatever help they might otherwise have given to their parents, evaded their filial obligation; this Christ denounced as a "making the commandment of God of none effect by man's traditions" (Mt 15:5; Mr 7:11-12). The rabbis allowed a youth even to pronounce corban upon his property, and retain it for himself, though withholding it from his own parents. This extreme case however was not immediately referred to by our Lord.
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Hastings
Morish
This is the Greek word, ??????, representing the Hebrew word qorban, 'an offering,' and signifies anything brought near or devoted to God. The Jews allowed, and perhaps encouraged, sons to devote their property to God, and then refuse to assist their parents under the plea that their substance was 'corban,' or devoted. The Lord blames the rulers for this as one of their traditions, by which they had made the word of God of none effect. Mr 7:11.
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Smith
Corban,
an offering to God of any sort, bloody or bloodless, but particularly in fulfillment of a vow. The law laid down rules for vows, (1) affirmative; (2) negative.
1/type/acv'>Le 27:1,1; Nu 30:1
... Upon these rules the traditionists enlarged, and laid down that a man might interdict himself by vow, not only from using for himself, bur from giving to another or receiving from him, some particular object, whether of food or any other kind whatsoever. The thing thus interdicted was considered as corban. A person might thus exempt himself from any inconvenient obligation under plea of corban. It was practices of this sort that our Lord reprehended,
as annulling the spirit of the law.
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Watsons
CORBAN, ????, Mr 7:11; from the Hebrew ???, to offer, to present. It denotes a gift, a present made to God, or to his temple. The Jews sometimes swore by corban, or by gifts offered to God, Mt 23:18. Theophrastus says that the Tyrians forbad the use of such oaths as were peculiar to foreigners, and particularly of corban, which, Josephus informs us, was used only by the Jews. Jesus Christ reproaches the Jews with cruelty toward their parents, in making a corban of what should have been appropriated to their use. For when a child was asked to relieve the wants of his father or mother, he would often say, "It is a gift," corban, "by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;" that is, I have devoted that to God which you ask of me; and it is no longer mine to give, Mr 7:11. Thus they violated a precept of the moral law, through a superstitious devotion to Pharisaic observances, and the wretched casuistry by which they were made binding upon the conscience.