What Does 2 Kings 23:2 Mean?
And the king went up to the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah, and all the settlers of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, from small to great. And he read aloud in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the LORD.
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 went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the LORD.THE KEY
The covenant becomes public when its words are called aloud into the ears of the whole people.
THE MEANING
The covenant’s words are voiced before the whole community, from smallest to greatest. Every person is included in the hearing; the shared words reach the people together.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The covenant’s words belong only to the king and the priests.
THE ROOT
וַיִּקְרָא
wayyiqra
GROWS FROM
קרא
To call out, summon, or proclaim; in this verse, to read aloud.
“read aloud” in this verse is wayyiqra. The verb translated “read” comes from the same root as “call out” and “proclaim.” The written words move into the ears of the gathered people as voiced, shared address.
ALSO GROWS
miqra: Convocation; reading or recitation.
מִקְרָא
This branch can name both a gathering and a reading, echoing the assembly hearing the covenant together.
qeri’ah: Reading aloud; recitation.
קְרִיאָה
It preserves the audible force of the king’s reading in the people’s ears.
THE PATTERN
Covenant instruction takes public form when a whole community gathers to hear its words.
When all Israel comes to see the face of the LORD your God in the place he will choose, you will call out this instruction before all Israel, in their ears.And he called aloud from it before the wide place that was before the gate of the waters, from first light until the middle of the day, facing the men and the women, and those who could tell the difference, and the ears of all the people were turned toward the book of the instruction.For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who herald him, being read in the gatherings every sabbath day.THE THREAD
When all Israel comes to see the face of the LORD your God in the place he will choose, you will call out this instruction before all Israel, in their ears.This verse uses the same Hebrew root קרא (qara, call out or read aloud) for reading the law before all Israel. It reveals a recurring pattern: written covenant words become audible before the whole people.
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