CORBAN, a Hebrew word translated "gift" in the New Testament. It has reference to a formula occurring in the Talmud, which was used to release a man from the performance of a distasteful duty under the fiction of a religious vow. Thus a son might relieve himself from his duty to his parents by affirming that his property, so far as it might benefit them, was Corban, that is, already dedicated to God, and therefore beyond his control.