What Does 1 Kings 5:17 Mean?
And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, heavy stones, and hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the house.
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 the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.THE KEY
The house begins with costly stones cut into shape beneath it, so its unseen support carries both value and removal.
THE MEANING
What is taking shape in you rests first on something established beneath view. Its support is precious material worked into form through removal; the visible house rises from that hidden base.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that the unseen part of a life is disposable, or that growth begins with visible height: what bears the structure is its carefully prepared foundation.
THE ROOT
לְיַסֵּד
le-yassed
GROWS FROM
י־ס־ד
To set in place, establish, or lay a foundation.
“lay the foundation” in this verse is le-yassed. The Hebrew verb for laying the foundation shares its root with words for the foundation itself. The act of placing the base is already an act of establishing what the house will become.
ALSO GROWS
yesod: Foundation, base.
יְסוֹד
This noun comes from the same root as the act of laying the foundation: the set base is what establishes the house.
mosad: Foundation, established basis.
מוֹסָד
This related word names a basis that has been set in place, the hidden support on which what rises depends.
גָּזִית
gazith
GROWS FROM
ג־ז־ז
To shear, cut off, or remove.
“hewn stones” in this verse is gazith. The word for hewn stone carries the language of cutting away. The foundation is not only gathered; its stones are made ready by removal.
ALSO GROWS
gazaz: To shear or cut away.
גָּזַז
This verb makes explicit the cutting contained in the hewn stone: its finished form follows what has been removed.
gez: Fleece, the wool shorn from a sheep.
גֵּז
The same root can name what remains after cutting; here it illuminates how prepared stone takes its form through subtraction.
יְקָרוֹת
yeqarot
GROWS FROM
י־ק־ר
To be precious, valuable, or held in honor.
“heavy stones” in this verse is yeqarot. “Costly” can sound like a price alone, while this root also carries preciousness and honor. The stones supporting the house are valued before they are seen in the rising structure.
ALSO GROWS
yaqar: Precious, costly, valuable.
יָקָר
This adjective describes the stones themselves: their worth belongs to what bears the house, not only to what decorates it.
yeqar: Worth, honor, preciousness.
יְקָר
This related noun widens cost into esteem, bringing the foundation’s value into view.
THE PATTERN
A dwelling’s visible rise depends on a foundation whose stones are chosen, shaped, and set first.
Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a weighty cornerstone, a foundation set firm. The one who leans his weight will not hurry.The stone the builders push away becomes the head of the corner.For no one can set another foundation beside the one lying there, which is Jesus, the Anointed One.THE THREAD
Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a weighty cornerstone, a foundation set firm. The one who leans his weight will not hurry.The verb לְיַסֵּד (le-yassed, to lay as a foundation) here and Isaiah’s “I lay … for a foundation” share י־ס־ד (y-s-d; yasad), meaning to set in place or establish. Here stones are laid for the house; Isaiah reveals the foundation itself as a precious, tested stone.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us