What Does 2 Chronicles 20:3 Mean?
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and called a fast throughout all Judah.
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 Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.THE KEY
His name says “YHWH judges,” and his fear does not turn him from the LORD; it turns his face toward seeking.
THE MEANING
Fear is present, yet Jehoshaphat sets his face toward the LORD and seeks. His name, יְהוֹשָׁפָט (Yehoshafat), means “YHWH judges,” placing judgment with the LORD as the threat gathers; the fast draws all Judah into that response.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that fear disqualifies you from seeking God: Jehoshaphat fears and seeks in the same moment.
THE ROOT
לִדְרֹשׁ
lidrosh
GROWS FROM
דרש
To seek, inquire, or resort to.
“seek” in this verse is lidrosh. The root carries the sense of inquiry, so this seeking is a turn toward the LORD with a question, not a vague wish. The phrase “set his face” gives that inquiry a direction.
ALSO GROWS
doresh: One who seeks or inquires.
דּוֹרֵשׁ
It makes the seeker an active inquirer, like Jehoshaphat turning toward the LORD.
midrash: Inquiry or study.
מִדְרָשׁ
This branch preserves the root’s sense of searching into something, adding depth to what “seek” holds here.
וַיִּתֵּן
wayyitten
GROWS FROM
נתן
To give, put, or place.
“set himself” in this verse is wayyitten. The Hebrew says he “gave” or “placed” his face toward seeking. His response is a concrete direction of attention, not the disappearance of fear.
ALSO GROWS
natan: To give or place.
נָתַן
This is the verb behind the phrase: he places his face toward seeking the LORD.
mattanah: A gift.
מַתָּנָה
This noun from the same root echoes the sense of giving; in the verse, Jehoshaphat gives his attention a direction.
וַיִּירָא
wayyira
GROWS FROM
ירא
To fear or stand in awe.
“feared” in this verse is wayyira. This root can describe fear or awe; here it names alarm before danger. The verse lets that fear remain present while Jehoshaphat turns toward seeking.
ALSO GROWS
yirah: Fear or awe.
יִרְאָה
The noun holds both shades of the root, showing how fear and reverence share a Hebrew word-family.
nora: Fearsome or awe-inspiring.
נוֹרָא
This branch shows the root can describe what evokes fear, while Jehoshaphat’s fear here accompanies a turn toward the LORD.
THE PATTERN
When need exposes human limits, seeking turns attention toward God.
O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no strength against this great multitude that comes against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.I seek the LORD, and he answers me, and snatches me out of every place of dread.Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.THE THREAD
I seek the LORD, and he answers me, and snatches me out of every place of dread.Both verses use the Hebrew root דרש (darash), “to seek” or “inquire”: Jehoshaphat turns to seek, and the psalmist says, “I sought.” The shared root links fear with an active turning toward the LORD.
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