What Does 1 Kings 11:35 Mean?
But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it to you, even ten tribes.
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
But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes.THE KEY
The kingdom is not destroyed; it is taken from one hand and placed in another.
THE MEANING
Power does not stay fixed in one hand: the kingdom is taken from a son and given to another. The verse speaks now as a stark transfer, what is held can be removed, and what leaves one hand can become another’s charge.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Inherited authority cannot be taken away.
THE ROOT
הַמְּלוּכָה
ha-melukhah
GROWS FROM
מלך
M-L-K
rule, reign
English can let “kingdom” sound like a possession or territory; the root also carries the act of reigning. The handoff therefore concerns authority itself, not merely a tract of land.
ALSO GROWS
melekh: king
מֶלֶךְ
The king and the kingdom grow from the same root of rule; here, the ruling authority changes hands.
malakh: to reign
מָלַךְ
This branch names the act of rule, bringing out what is actually transferred with the kingdom.
malkut: kingship, kingdom
מַלְכוּת
It keeps the sense of reigning visible inside the word translated “kingdom.”
וּנְתַתִּיהָ
u-netattiyha
GROWS FROM
נתן
N-T-N
give, set, place
“give” in this verse is u-netattiyha. The verse sets taking beside nathan, giving, setting, placing, so removal is followed by placement. What is taken does not vanish; it is put into another hand.
ALSO GROWS
mattanah: gift
מַתָּנָה
The root names not only the act of giving but also what is given; the kingdom is presented as something bestowed.
nātun: given, placed
נָתוּן
This form makes the result of the giving visible: the new holder is set in a position of rule.
THE PATTERN
Power does not stay fixed in one hand: God brings one down and raises another.
The LORD strips, and makes rich; he lays low, and lifts high.And he changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings and raises up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who know understanding.He has pulled the mighty down from their seats, and lifted up the low.THE THREAD
And he changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings and raises up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who know understanding.The Hebrew melukhah (מְלוּכָה, kingship or kingdom) and Daniel’s Aramaic malkin (מַלְכִין, kings) share the מלך (M-L-K, rule or reign) root. Daniel names both sides of this verse’s movement, removing rulers and setting them up, so the loss and the new placement read as one transfer of authority.
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