What Does 1 Chronicles 1:54 Mean in the King James?

Duke Magdiel, duke Iram. These are the dukes of Edom.

1 Chronicles 1:54 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

THE KEY

Magdiel’s name carries the root ⁨גָּדַל⁩ (gādal, “grow or become great”) joined to ⁨אֵל⁩ (El, “God”), placing greatness inside Edom’s list of chiefs.

THE MEANING

Magdiel and Iram are named as individuals, and their rank is held within Edom. The verse presents leadership as both a person’s name and a place among a people.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

A title alone tells the whole story of a person, detached from their name and people.

THE ROOT

מַגְדִּיאֵל

Magdîʾēl

GROWS FROM

גדל

To grow or become great; in a causative form, to make great.

Magdiel combines a form of ⁨גדל⁩ (gādal, “grow or become great”) with ⁨אֵל⁩ (El, “God”). English preserves the name but hides its greatness language, joining the chief’s identity to God within Edom’s named roster.

ALSO GROWS

gādōl: Great or large.

גָּדוֹל

This adjective shares the ⁨גדל⁩ seed in Magdiel’s name and makes its greatness language audible.

higdîl: To make great or magnify.

הִגְדִּיל

This causative form illuminates the common reading of Magdiel as “God makes great.”

THE PATTERN

Scripture makes a people legible by naming its members and locating them within a line or community.

Duke Magdiel, duke Iram: these be the dukes of Edom, according to their habitations in the land of their possession: he is Esau the father of the Edomites.

Genesis 36:43 · KJVThe parallel list names Edom’s chiefs and places them within the people’s lineage.

And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers.

Numbers 1:4 · KJVEach tribe’s head is named by his place within a family and community.

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Matthew 1:1 · KJVThe opening identifies Jesus through a named line connecting him to David and Abraham.

THE THREAD

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

Genesis 12:2 · KJV

Genesis 12:2 uses the same ⁨גדל⁩ (gādal, “grow or become great”) root in “great” and “make thy name great.” That shared seed opens Magdiel’s name as greatness joined to El, while this verse names him among Edom’s chiefs.

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