What Does 1 Chronicles 17:1 Mean in the King James?
Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD remaineth under curtains.
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 Hebrew repeats one dwelling-root for David, first he sits in his house, then says he dwells in cedar, while the ark is simply located beneath curtains.
THE MEANING
The verse places your settled shelter beside the ark under curtains and lets the difference be seen without calling one sacred and the other deficient. Hebrew uses the root of sitting and dwelling twice for David, while simply locating the ark under curtains. The contrast is a question taking shape, not yet an answer about what God requires.
THE ROOT
יוֹשֵׁב
yoshev
GROWS FROM
י־ש־ב
y-sh-b
to sit, settle, dwell
“sat / dwell” in this verse is yoshev. The same Hebrew root describes David sitting in his house and dwelling in a cedar house. In the ark clause, Hebrew gives only its location, under curtains; the KJV supplies “remaineth” to make that clause natural in English.
ALSO GROWS
moshav: dwelling, settlement, seat
מוֹשָׁב
This branch names a place of settling, making David’s own settled home echo the root used for his sitting and dwelling.
toshav: resident, settler
תּוֹשָׁב
This branch names one who dwells in a place; the root gathers both the act of dwelling and the settled presence of its inhabitant.
THE PATTERN
Divine presence is described as dwelling among people and moving with them, rather than depending on the grandeur of a fixed house.
And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.THE THREAD
Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.This answer names the movement behind the contrast David sees: God goes with the people from tent to tent. The cedar house no longer sets the measure of whether the divine presence is fully there.
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