What Does 1 Chronicles 6:56 Mean in the King James?
But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
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 verb for giving also carries the sense of setting something in place, so the gift here has a location and shape.
THE MEANING
The verse presents provision as concrete: fields and villages, a portion with a place and boundaries. What is given is not left as an abstraction; it is set within the world.
THE ROOT
נָתְנוּ
natnu
GROWS FROM
נתן
To give, put, or set.
“gave” in this verse is natnu. The root holds giving and placing together: what is given is set somewhere. Here the fields and villages form a specific portion, rather than an undefined abundance.
ALSO GROWS
mattanah: Gift, present.
מַתָּנָה
This branch names what is given as a concrete thing, echoing the land assigned in the verse.
netinim: The Nethinim, temple servants; literally, “given ones.”
נְתִינִים
Their name preserves the root’s sense of being given or assigned, connecting transfer with a defined place or role.
חֲצֵרֶיהָ
chatseréha
GROWS FROM
חצר
Enclosure, courtyard, or settled place.
The word translated “villages” also carries the sense of a courtyard or enclosed place. It lets the surrounding settlements appear as bounded, gathered places that belong with the city.
ALSO GROWS
chatser: Courtyard or enclosed court.
חָצֵר
This sense brings out the bounded character hidden beneath the English “villages.”
chatserim: Villages or settlements.
חֲצֵרִים
This related form names the settlements around the city, linking them to the root’s image of an enclosed place.
THE PATTERN
A gift becomes tangible when it is given a specific portion and place.
For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and ye shall give also unto the Levites suburbs for the cities round about them.And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.THE THREAD
But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.Joshua repeats the same fields, villages, and giving to Caleb, using the same Hebrew root נתן (natan), “give, put, or set.” The parallel makes clear that the land is assigned as a specific possession.
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