What Does 1 Chronicles 12:16 Mean in the King James?
And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the hold unto David.
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
The word for David’s stronghold carries the root of hunting and capture, yet the verse makes it a shared refuge where Benjamin and Judah arrive together.
THE MEANING
Benjamin and Judah arrive at one defended place, each keeping its distinct origin while moving toward the same center. The hold becomes a shared refuge around David, whose name carries the nature of the beloved. The verse presents a place of safety that can receive people from more than one side.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that refuge belongs only to people of one origin loosens here: Benjamin and Judah arrive together at David’s hold.
THE ROOT
מְצוּדָה
metsudah
GROWS FROM
צוד
tsud
To hunt, pursue, or catch.
“hold” in this verse is metsudah. The word for a stronghold shares a root with hunting and capture, so its sense of safety carries an edge of pursuit. Here, that defended place becomes a refuge where people from Benjamin and Judah converge.
ALSO GROWS
tsayid: The hunt, or the game being hunted.
צַיִד
This branch shares the pursuit behind the stronghold word, giving “hold” a sense shaped by danger as well as defense.
tsayyad: A person who hunts.
צַיָּד
The hunter belongs to the same root family as the stronghold; here, the hold is where people find refuge from what pursues them.
דָּוִד
Dawid
GROWS FROM
דוד
dwd
Beloved; intimate kin.
David’s name carries the nature of the beloved, from the Hebrew root דוד (dod, beloved or kin). The verse’s movement is toward more than a strong center: it is toward the beloved, where two origins arrive together.
ALSO GROWS
dod: A beloved person or an uncle.
דּוֹד
The shared root gives David’s name its sense of the beloved, coloring the verse’s destination with kinship and affection.
dodim: Expressions of love or affection.
דּוֹדִים
This branch keeps the root’s affectionate sense visible: the people come to the beloved, not only to a stronghold.
THE PATTERN
A shared refuge gathers people whose origins or burdens differ.
And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.THE THREAD
Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David.The same Hebrew word, מְצוּדָה (metsudah, stronghold), names Zion’s stronghold. The hold is a shared center: people come to David there, and Zion’s identity gathers around that stronghold.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us