What Does 1 Chronicles 13:2 Mean in the King James?
And David said unto all the congregation of Israel, If it seem good unto you, and that it be of the LORD our God, let us send abroad unto our brethren every where, that are left in all the land of Israel, and with them also to the priests and Levites which are in their cities and suburbs, that they may gather themselves unto us:
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 gathering begins before anyone arrives: the call is sent outward to reach those still scattered across the land.
THE MEANING
You can belong to a whole even while you are among those left across the land; distance has not made you unaddressable. The passage holds together a call sent outward, a shared judgment about what is good, and a gathering toward one another.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Being far away or left behind means I no longer belong to the people.
THE ROOT
נִשְׁלְחָה
nishleḥah
GROWS FROM
שלח
To send, send forth, or release.
“send abroad” in this verse is nishleḥah. The call itself is sent beyond the gathered people to those who remain scattered. The same root can mean release: the movement toward reunion begins by letting the summons go outward.
ALSO GROWS
shaliaḥ: A sent one; an emissary or messenger.
שָׁלִיחַ
The call travels through a messenger, carrying the assembly’s invitation outward.
shulḥan: A table.
שֻׁלְחָן
The same root’s branch names a place where provision is extended, giving the sending a direction toward welcome.
Shiloach: Sent forth; the name of the waters of Shiloah.
שִׁלֹחַ
Here, what is sent forth reaches people where they are, just as sent waters carry provision.
קָהָל
qahal
GROWS FROM
קהל
To assemble or convene.
“congregation” in this verse is qahal. The people are already named as an assembly even while some of their kin remain elsewhere. The root holds the gathered whole and the act of assembling together in one word-family.
ALSO GROWS
qehillah: A community or congregation.
קְהִלָּה
The people David addresses are a community that can extend its sense of belonging across distance.
haqhel: Assemble; convene the people.
הַקְהֵל
This form makes explicit the movement from a people who belong together to a people called together.
יִקָּבְצוּ
yiqqavetsu
GROWS FROM
קבץ
To gather or collect into one place.
“gather” in this verse is yiqqavetsu. English can make gathering sound like a single event, but this root pictures scattered people being collected toward one another. The verse’s call and its gathering are distinct movements: first the invitation goes out, then people come together.
ALSO GROWS
qibbuts: A gathering or collection.
קִבּוּץ
The word makes visible the collecting motion contained in the people’s coming together.
qevutsah: A group or collection.
קְבוּצָה
Those who are gathered become a group, while the verse keeps their dispersed starting places in view.
THE PATTERN
A call reaches people where they are and turns dispersion into shared assembly.
And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpeh;And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel.And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.THE THREAD
And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.The Hebrew root שָׁלַח (shalach), meaning send or release, appears in both “send abroad” here and “Let my people go” in Exodus. In each verse, what is held in one place is released into movement; here, that movement carries the call to those who remain scattered.
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