What Does 2 Kings 22:18 Mean?
But to the king of Judah who sent you to seek the LORD, so you shall say to him, Thus says the LORD God of Israel, As for the words that you have heard;
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 to the king of Judah which sent you to enquire of the LORD, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, As touching the words which thou hast heard;THE KEY
The Hebrew for “heard” carries the sense of listening and response, so the sought answer has entered the hearer’s life.
THE MEANING
The LORD’s words meet you in the place where you seek an answer: what is sought becomes what you hear. The verse holds inquiry and reception together, the message reaches the person who asked.
THE ROOT
שָׁמָעְתָּ
shāmaʿtā
GROWS FROM
שׁמע
Hear, listen, attend; in this context, receive a message with the responsiveness of listening.
“heard” in this verse is shāmaʿtā. English can make hearing sound like passive reception, but שָׁמַע (shāmaʿ, hear or listen) can carry the sense of heeding as well. The word links the report that arrives with the response it calls forth.
ALSO GROWS
shema: A form of the same root, familiar from the call “Hear, O Israel.”
שְׁמַע
The king’s “heard” belongs to the same word-family as the call to listen; hearing is the point where the message is received.
shemuʿah: A report or message that is heard.
שְׁמוּעָה
This branch makes visible the link between what is spoken and what reaches the hearer as a report.
לִדְרֹשׁ
lidrosh
GROWS FROM
דרש
Seek, inquire, or consult.
“seek” in this verse is lidrosh. The inquiry is an active seeking, and the verse carries that seeking forward into words heard. The two roots place the question and its reception in one movement.
ALSO GROWS
doresh: A seeker or inquirer, formed from the same root.
דֹּרֵשׁ
The king’s inquiry involves a seeker who sends for an answer, not merely a question left in the air.
midrash: A searching inquiry or exposition.
מִדְרָשׁ
This branch shows how seeking can extend into sustained engagement with a word.
THE PATTERN
A word sought from God becomes present as it is heard and received.
Hear and respond, O Israel. The LORD our God is one LORD.And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak, for your servant hears and responds.But be makers of the word, and not hearers only, miscounting yourselves.THE THREAD
Hear and respond, O Israel. The LORD our God is one LORD.The Hebrew imperative “Hear” is שְׁמַע (shema), from the same root as “heard” here. Deuteronomy makes hearing the opening posture; this verse shows the sought word already arriving within that hearing.
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