What Does 2 Kings 7:10 Mean?
So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and behold, there was no man there, and no voice of a man, but horses bound, and donkeys bound, and the tents just as they were.
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
So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were.THE KEY
The first opening in the city’s famine is a report at the gate: what was found beyond the wall is brought within reach by being spoken.
THE MEANING
The verse speaks to the space between finding provision and sharing it: what is seen beyond the city’s boundary is now made known at the gate. Spoken aloud, the discovery can reach people who remain inside and cannot see it for themselves. The camp is silent, but the report is not.
THE ROOT
וַיַּגִּידוּ
vayyaggidû
GROWS FROM
נגד
To make known or declare; at its root, to bring something into view, to set it before another.
“Told” can sound like passing along a detail, but this root carries the sense of setting what was found before the listeners. The discovery becomes visible to the city through the report.
ALSO GROWS
neged: In front of; opposite.
נֶגֶד
The report places the discovery before the gatekeeper, making what was beyond the wall present to those inside.
nagid: Leader or ruler; one set before or over others.
נָגִיד
This branch shares the image of something placed in front, echoing how the news is brought to the city’s threshold.
THE PATTERN
A discovery becomes available to others when the witness speaks what has been seen.
Come and hear, all you who stand in awe of God, and I will recount what he has done for my living soul.Mary Magdalene came and brought word to the disciples that she had perceived the Lord, and that he had said these things to her.For we cannot keep from speaking what we have perceived and heard.THE THREAD
Look, the former things have come, and I declare new things. Before they sprout, I make you hear them.“Declare” in Isaiah and “told” here share the root נגד (nagad), meaning to make known or bring into view. There, what is new is announced before it sprouts; here, what has been found beyond the wall is announced before the city sees it for itself.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us