What Does 2 Samuel 6:19 Mean?
And he divided among all the people, even among all the crowd of Israel, from man to woman, to each a loaf of bread, a portion of flesh, and a jug of wine. So all the people went away, each one to his house.
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 he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house.THE KEY
The feast makes the sacred moment public by portioning its food until every person has a share.
THE MEANING
Here, celebration reaches every person as something tangible: bread, meat, and wine are given to women and men alike. The gathering’s abundance is shared across the whole people, and then everyone returns home.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This verse undoes the belief that a sacred gathering’s abundance belongs only to a select few: every person receives a portion.
THE ROOT
וַיְחַלֵּק
wayeḥalleq
GROWS FROM
חלק
ḥ-l-q
To divide, apportion, or share out.
“divided” in this verse is wayeḥalleq. The root makes the action more visible than “dealt”: David portions provisions, and “every one” makes each person a recipient. The shared abundance reaches the whole people before they return to their homes.
ALSO GROWS
ḥēleq: A portion or share.
חֵלֶק
This noun from the same root names what the verb distributes: each person receives a share.
maḥălōqet: A division, section, or group.
מַחֲלֹקֶת
This branch shows the root’s sense of dividing into portions or parts, clarifying the act of distributing food across the people.
THE PATTERN
Shared joy takes material form when food is apportioned across a people and its provision reaches beyond the gathering.
And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow within your gates.Then he said to them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions to them for whom nothing stands ready, for this day is set apart to our Lord. Do not ache, for the joy of the LORD is your stronghold.And they, holding fast day by day with one passion in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, took their food with gladness and singleness of heart.THE THREAD
And he divided to each one of Israel, from man to woman, a loaf of bread, a good portion of flesh, and a raisin cake.Both passages use וַיְחַלֵּק (wayeḥalleq, “he distributed”), from חָלַק (ḥalaq, “to apportion or share out”). Chronicles repeats the same distribution and makes its reach unmistakable: every Israelite, woman and man, receives a portion.
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