What Does 1 Chronicles 6:65 Mean?
And they gave by the cast stone out of the tribe of the sons of Judah, and out of the tribe of the sons of Simeon, and out of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin, these cities, which are called by their names.
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
And they gave by lot out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, these cities, which are called by their names.THE KEY
The lot assigns the cities, but their names keep the assignment joined to the people whose territories hold them.
THE MEANING
This verse holds two things together for you now: place is apportioned among communities, and names keep the relationship visible. The cities are distributed among Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, yet they are not left anonymous; their names keep their belonging legible.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
An assigned place has no meaningful belonging attached to it.
THE ROOT
שְׁמוֹתָם
shemotam
GROWS FROM
שׂוּם
sum
To set, put, or place; the Hebrew word for name is linked with this root.
The cities are not anonymous parcels: they are called by names tied to the tribes. The word for name, שֵׁם (shem, “name”), carries identity and reputation, so the naming keeps belonging visible alongside the allocation.
ALSO GROWS
shem: Name, identity, reputation
שֵׁם
A name makes the people associated with a place recognizable.
sam: Set or placed
שָׂם
The root’s sense of placing resonates with the cities being set among tribal territories.
יִקָּרְאוּ
yiqqare'u
GROWS FROM
קרא
qara
To call out, proclaim, summon, or read aloud.
The cities are identified through what is called over them, so their connection to the tribes is spoken into view. The same root also carries the sense of reading or proclaiming, joining a name to public recognition.
ALSO GROWS
miqra: A reading or convocation
מִקְרָא
A gathering called into being makes the root’s link between calling and communal identity visible.
qeri'ah: A calling or reading
קְרִיאָה
The act of calling gives voice to the names that distinguish these cities.
וַיִּתְּנוּ
wayyittenu
GROWS FROM
נתן
natan
To give, set, or place.
“gave” in this verse is wayyittenu. The allotment is described as giving: the cities are placed within territories and made available to the Levites. The root holds transfer and placement together, so receiving a portion is also being situated within a community.
ALSO GROWS
mattanah: A gift
מַתָּנָה
The cities are given as a portion, making the language of allocation also the language of gift.
nethinim: Given ones; temple servants
נְתִינִים
This word from the same root shows how being given can also describe a lasting place of service.
THE PATTERN
A lot distributes a place or role, while naming makes the assignment recognizable within a people.
And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites, and the children of Aaron the priest, which were of the Levites, received by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities.The lot is thrown into the lap, but all its judgment is from the LORD.And they cast their lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was counted with the eleven sent ones.THE THREAD
And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites, and the children of Aaron the priest, which were of the Levites, received by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities.Joshua names the same three tribal territories and shows the lot assigning thirteen cities to the Kohathites. It opens this verse further by showing the structure behind the record: the cities are placed among the tribes, and their names keep that placement recognizable.
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