What Does 2 Samuel 18:25 Mean?
And the watcher called out, and told the king. And the king said, If he is alone, good news is in his mouth. And he walked, and walked, and drew near.
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 watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, If he be alone, there is tidings in his mouth. And he came apace, and drew near.THE KEY
The word “tidings” names news carried by a messenger, so the king reads the runner’s arrival before he hears his words.
THE MEANING
A message can become legible before it is spoken: the king reads the runner’s solitude as a sign of tidings already carried in his mouth. The words are still on the way, but the arrival itself already means something.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse loosens the assumption that meaning begins only when words are spoken; a messenger’s arrival can already carry information.
THE ROOT
בְּשֹׂרָה
besorah
GROWS FROM
בשר
to announce or bring news, especially good tidings
English makes “tidings” sound like information detached from its bearer, while this Hebrew word belongs to a family that names both announcing and the person who brings the news. Here, the runner’s arrival lets the message become visible before it is heard.
ALSO GROWS
bisser: announced good news
בִּשֵּׂר
The verb makes the act of announcing explicit: the tidings the king anticipates are words the runner carries.
mevaser: one who brings good news
מְבַשֵּׂר
This names the bearer of the message, connecting the news in the runner’s mouth with the person approaching the king.
THE PATTERN
A messenger’s approach can carry news before the message is spoken.
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the one who brings good news, who makes wholeness heard, who brings good news of good, who makes deliverance heard, who says to Zion, Your God governs.And the messenger said to them, Do not be afraid, for look, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all the people.THE THREAD
Then they said to one another, We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we keep silent. If we wait until the morning light, crookedness will find us. So now come, and let us go and tell the king's house.The same Hebrew noun, בְּשֹׂרָה (besorah, good tidings), appears in both verses. In each scene, news is already present before it reaches the king: here a lone runner carries it, and there the speakers recognize that it must be told.
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