What Does 2 Samuel 15:22 Mean?
And David said to Ittai, Go and cross over. And Ittai the Gittite crossed over, and all his men, and all the little ones who were with him.
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 David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him.THE KEY
The command and its fulfillment repeat עָבַר (ʿāvar, “cross over”), and Ittai, whose name is commonly understood as “with me”, crosses with everyone in his company.
THE MEANING
Ittai’s allegiance takes visible form as he crosses with his men and the little ones beside him. His name, אִתַּי (ʾIttay, “with me”), echoes the verse’s closing words, “with him”: the crossing carries a whole company together.
THE ROOT
וַעֲבֹר
vaʿavōr
GROWS FROM
עבר
ʿ-b-r
עָבַר (ʿāvar) means to cross over, pass through, or go beyond.
“cross over” in this verse is vaʿavōr. The command uses the root for crossing over, and the narration repeats it for Ittai’s crossing: the order and its enactment are one continuous passage. Its branches name עֵבֶר (ʿēver, “the far side”) and עֲבָרָה (ʿavārāh, “a crossing or ferry”), joining the movement, its destination, and the means of crossing in one word family.
ALSO GROWS
ʿēver: Beyond; the other or far side.
עֵבֶר
The crossing in this verse is movement toward a far side, a destination held within the root family.
ʿavārāh: A crossing or ferry.
עֲבָרָה
In 2 Samuel 19:18, this related word names the ferry carrying David’s household across Jordan, showing how the root can name both passage and what carries people through it.
THE PATTERN
A crossing moves a person or people across a boundary into another side or state.
He took them and sent them across the streambed, and sent across all that he had.And the priests who lifted the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood steady on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had finished crossing over Jordan.Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever hears and responds to my word, and leans his full weight on him who sent me, has the life of the ages, and does not come under the judgment, but has crossed over from death into life.THE THREAD
And a ferry boat went across to carry the king's household over, and to do what was good in his eyes. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he crossed Jordan.This verse repeats עבר (ʿāvar, “cross over”) in “ferry,” “carry over,” and “come over,” making the root the structure of the scene. David’s household crosses Jordan on his return, echoing the whole company that crosses with Ittai here.
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