What Does 1 Samuel 27:6 Mean?

Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.

1 Samuel 27:6 · SDV

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.

This verse in the King James

King James wording

King James Version

Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.

THE KEY

A place set into one person’s hands can outlast the handoff and become enduring ground of belonging for a people.

THE MEANING

A place received by one person can become lasting ground of belonging for a whole people. The moment of receiving does not contain the full reach of what is given; its meaning keeps unfolding in those who come after.

THE ROOT

וַיִּתֶּן

wayyitten from nātan

GROWS FROM

נתן

To give, put, set, or place.

The Hebrew verb for “gave” also carries the sense of setting or placing. Since what is given here is a place, the verse presents the gift as a foothold that can become lasting belonging.

ALSO GROWS

mattanah: gift

מַתָּנָה

This noun names what is given, showing the gift as something that can be received and held.

netinim: given ones; temple servants

נְתִינִים

The name for these temple servants comes from the same root, extending the sense of giving into people set apart for a role.

יְהוּדָה

Yehudah

GROWS FROM

ידה

Praise, give thanks, acknowledge.

Genesis 29:35 links Judah’s name with ⁨יָדָה⁩ (yadah), “praise”: “Now will I praise the LORD.” The verse’s enduring claim for Judah’s kings carries that name-nature alongside the place’s lasting belonging.

ALSO GROWS

yadah: to praise, give thanks, or acknowledge

יָדָה

Genesis connects this verb with Judah’s naming, letting the name carry the resonance of praise.

todah: thanksgiving, praise

תּוֹדָה

This word for thanksgiving shares the root, echoing the praise associated with Judah’s name.

THE PATTERN

A place received can become lasting ground of belonging and inheritance.

And I will give you, and your seed after you, the land where you lodge as a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for a holding of the ages; and I will be their God.

Genesis 17:8 · SDVA gift of land reaches beyond its first recipient and becomes an inheritance for those who come after.

And to Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a portion among the children of Judah, according to the mouth of the LORD to Joshua, even the city of Arba the father of Anak, which is Hebron.

Joshua 15:13 · SDVA place given to one person becomes part of the enduring inheritance of Judah.

In my Father's house are many places to remain. If it were not so, I would have told you, for I go to make ready a place for you.

John 14:2 · SDVA prepared place expresses belonging that extends beyond the moment it is promised.

THE THREAD

And when David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Look, a blessing for you from the plunder of the enemies of the LORD.

1 Samuel 30:26 · SDV

Ziklag, given to David in this verse, later becomes the place from which he sends spoil to Judah’s elders. The place held by one person becomes a channel of provision to the people named here.

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