What Does 2 Kings 10:22 Mean?
And he said to the one over the wardrobe, Bring out garments for all the servants of Baal. And he brought out garments for them.
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 he said unto him that was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. And he brought them forth vestments.THE KEY
The Hebrew names these people as Baal’s servants, so the vestments give their service a visible form.
THE MEANING
A shared allegiance takes visible form as the overseer brings out vestments for every person serving Baal. The word translated “worshippers” also names those who serve, joining devotion to what a person does. The repeated instruction and response give the act a precise, collective shape.
THE ROOT
עֹבְדֵי
ovdei
GROWS FROM
עבד
to work, labor, or serve
“servants” in this verse is ovdei. The Hebrew names these people as those serving Baal: עבד (avad, to work or serve) links devotion with service. The word describes a lived allegiance, not merely a label for a religious group.
ALSO GROWS
avad: to work or serve
עָבַד
This verb names the service at the center of the group’s identity.
eved: servant or worker
עֶבֶד
The same root can name a person through the service they perform.
לְבוּשׁ
levush
GROWS FROM
לבש
to clothe, wear, or put on
“garments” in this verse is levush. לְבוּשׁ (levush, garment) belongs to לבש (lavash, to clothe or wear), so the noun carries the act of putting something on within its root. These vestments give the group’s shared service a visible form on the body.
ALSO GROWS
lavash: to wear or clothe
לָבַשׁ
The verb reveals the action held inside the word for garment.
malbush: clothing or garment
מַלְבּוּשׁ
This related noun shows the same root naming what is worn.
THE PATTERN
Clothing makes belonging or role visible by putting it on the body.
And the Great House took the ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen, and put a chain of gold about his neck.For as many of you as have been immersed into the Anointed One have put on the Anointed One.THE THREAD
And the LORD God made tunics of skin for Adam and for his wife, and clothed them.The Hebrew verb וַיַּלְבִּשֵׁם (vayyalbishem, clothed them) comes from לבש (lavash, to clothe or wear), the same root as לְבוּשׁ (levush, garment) here. The shared root makes clothing an action as well as an object: people are visibly clothed in something.
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