What Does 1 Chronicles 17:24 Mean?
And let it be steady, and let your name grow great for the ages, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel; and let the house of your servant David be set firm before you.
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
Let it even be established, that thy name may be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee.THE KEY
The prayer asks for God’s nature, not merely a title, to be recognized as great through the ages, alongside David’s house made firm before him.
THE MEANING
The LORD of hosts is named as the God of Israel, a God to Israel. His name, שֵׁם (shem, name as nature), is spoken of as enduring in greatness, while David’s house stands firm before him. The verse holds divine identity and lasting relationship together.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
God’s name is only a title, detached from how God is present to a people.
THE ROOT
וְיִגְדַּל
veyigdal
GROWS FROM
גדל
g-d-l
Grow, become great.
“grow great” in this verse is veyigdal. The root gives “magnified” the sense of becoming great and being made visible as great. Its object is שֵׁם (shem, name as nature), so the prayer concerns the enduring recognition of God’s nature, not merely a larger reputation.
ALSO GROWS
gādōl: Great, large.
גָּדוֹל
This adjective shares the root’s sense of greatness, showing what the name is said to become.
migdāl: Tower, raised structure.
מִגְדָּל
The same root appears in a structure that rises into view, echoing the image of a name becoming manifest.
וְיִתְאַמֵּץ
veyit'ammets
GROWS FROM
אמץ
ʾ-m-ts
Be strong, strengthen.
The first “established” uses the language of strength: may the word be strengthened or confirmed. English repeats “established” later, but the Hebrew first speaks of strengthening and then of a house set firm.
ALSO GROWS
ʾāmats: Be strong or strengthen.
אָמַץ
This is the root’s basic action behind the opening request for confirmation.
ʾammits: Strong, mighty.
אַמִּיץ
This related form makes the strengthening in the first clause more concrete.
נָכוֹן
nakhon
GROWS FROM
כון
k-w-n
Be firm, set in place, establish.
“be set firm before you” in this verse is nakhon. The closing word describes David’s house as firm before God. The verse’s two English “established” phrases thus carry different motions: the prayer is strengthened, and the house is set in place.
ALSO GROWS
hekin: Prepare, set in order.
הֵכִין
This form of the root carries the sense of making something ready and placing it in order.
mekhonah: Base, stand, foundation.
מְכוֹנָה
The root also names the support on which something stands, deepening the image of a house made firm.
THE PATTERN
A name becomes great as the character it carries is made visible through enduring relationship and promise.
And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and be a blessing.Let his name endure for the ages, and sprout before the sun; all nations bless themselves in him, and call him flourishing.He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Highest; and the LORD God will give him the seat of his father David.THE THREAD
And let your name grow great for the ages, saying, The LORD of hosts is God over Israel; and let the house of your servant David be set firm before your face.This parallel prayer repeats גדל (gadal, grow or become great) and נכון (nakhon, be firm or established), joining the enduring name to David’s house. Chronicles makes the relationship explicit with “a God to Israel,” showing the people named in the prayer alongside the greatness of God’s name.
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