What Does 1 Chronicles 14:14 Mean?
And David asked God again, and God said to him, Do not go up after them. Circle around behind them, and come upon them facing the mulberry trees.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Therefore David enquired again of God; and God said unto him, Go not up after them; turn away from them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.THE KEY
The instruction to “turn away” is itself a route into the encounter: the Hebrew root carries both turning and circling.
THE MEANING
The way forward takes a changed angle of approach. Turning away and coming upon them belong to one movement: the direction changes, while the advance continues.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The only way forward is to keep following directly behind what I am pursuing.
THE ROOT
הָסֵב
hāsēv
GROWS FROM
סבב
sabab
To turn about, go around, or encircle.
“circle around behind them” in this verse is hāsēv. The Hebrew verb translated “turn away” comes from a root that also means to circle around. The next words direct David to approach from another position, so turning away is part of the route toward the encounter, not its end.
ALSO GROWS
sābab: To turn, go around, or encircle.
סָבַב
It makes the circling movement inside “turn away” visible.
sāḇîḇ: Around, all around.
סָבִיב
This branch carries the same root’s sense of movement around something, rather than straight toward it.
THE PATTERN
A redirected route can carry an advance forward without repeating its original approach.
And you shall circle the city, all you men of battle, and go around the city once. So you shall do six days.A person's heart plans his way, but the LORD sets his steps firm.And when he had perceived the vision, at once we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to bring them good news.THE THREAD
And you shall circle the city, all you men of battle, and go around the city once. So you shall do six days.The Hebrew verb behind “turn away” here shares the root סבב with the verb rendered “compass” in Joshua. English gives the root different words, while both verses show a deliberate circuit shaping the route forward.
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