What Does 2 Kings 9:5 Mean?
When he came, look, the captains of the host were sitting, and he said, I have a word for you, captain. And Jehu said, To which of us? And he said, To you, captain.
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 when he came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting; and he said, I have an errand to thee, O captain. And Jehu said, Unto which of all us? And he said, To thee, O captain.THE KEY
The “errand” is a dabar (דָּבָר, dāḇār: word, matter), where the spoken word and the matter it carries are held together.
THE MEANING
The verse speaks to the instant a message in the middle of a group becomes unmistakably addressed to you. “Unto which of all us?” holds the uncertainty of being among many; “To thee” makes the address particular before its content is known.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Being one among many does not mean you are interchangeable in the moment of address.
THE ROOT
דָּבָר
dāḇār
GROWS FROM
דבר
d-b-r
To speak; word, matter, or affair.
Dāḇār can mean both a word and the matter it carries, so the KJV’s “errand” holds speech and an entrusted matter together. The scene narrows from a message offered among the captains to a word directed specifically to Jehu.
ALSO GROWS
dāḇār: Word; matter; affair.
דָּבָר
The same noun carries both the message and the matter entrusted to its recipient.
dibbēr: Spoke; to speak.
דִּבֵּר
This verbal branch shows the root in action: the matter reaches Jehu through speech.
THE PATTERN
A word can arrive among many and become particular when it selects one recipient.
And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak, for your servant hears and responds.And he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why do you pursue me?Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned, and said to him, Rabboni, Teacher.THE THREAD
By the word of the LORD the heavens are made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth.The “errand” here is דָּבָר (dāḇār: word, matter), the same Hebrew word rendered “word” in the psalm. The shared root holds spoken word and concrete matter together: what reaches Jehu as an addressed word carries a matter with it.
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