Etymology
The feminine noun terumah, ("lifting up") comes from the verb stem, rum (רוּם), "high" or "to lift up." The formation of terumah is parallel to the formation of the feminine noun "wave offering" ('tenufah' תְּנוּפָה) from the verb stem nuf, "to wave," and both nouns, and both verbs, are found together in the third occurrence in the Hebrew Bible. Consequently versions such as the King James Version have in a few verses translated "heave offering," by analogy with "wave offering:"
Exodus 29:27
— And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering (tenufah) which is waved (verb nuf), and the shoulder of the "raised offering" (terumah) which is raised up (verb rum), of the ram of the consecration, even that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons, Revised Version
The name refers to the word "heave" in the sense of an up-and-down motion, and has no connection to the more commonly used meaning of the term heaving.
Read more about this topic: Heave Offering
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