What Does 1 Kings 1:23 Mean in the King James?
And they told the king, saying, Behold Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.
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
Before Nathan brings words to the king, his body has already spoken: his face is on the ground.
THE MEANING
You see deference arrive in the body before speech: Nathan bows before the king, his face lowered to the ground. His posture makes the relationship in the room visible before he says anything.
THE ROOT
וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ
vayishtachu
GROWS FROM
שחה
sh-ch-h
To bow low, prostrate oneself, or pay homage.
“bowed himself” in this verse is vayishtachu. The verb belongs to the same root family as the act of prostrating oneself. Alongside the detail that Nathan’s face reaches the ground, it presents a full bodily gesture of deference.
ALSO GROWS
shachah: To bow down or do homage.
שָׁחָה
This is the root verb whose family gives the verse its bodily gesture of deference.
hishtachavah: To bow down or prostrate oneself.
הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה
This related form makes clear that the gesture can involve lowering the whole body, not merely dipping the head.
מֶלֶךְ
melekh
GROWS FROM
מלך
m-l-k
To reign or rule.
The same root names both the king and the act of reigning. Nathan’s bow is directed toward the holder of authority, and the repeated title keeps that authority in view.
ALSO GROWS
melekh: King.
מֶלֶךְ
This is the title repeated as Nathan approaches and bows.
malakh: To reign or rule.
מָלַךְ
The verb reveals the ruling function carried within the title.
נָתָן
Natan
GROWS FROM
נתן
n-t-n
To give, set, or place.
Nathan’s name carries the root meaning “he gave.” The verse does not name what the gift is, but the name itself holds giving as its nature.
ALSO GROWS
natan: To give, set, or place.
נָתַן
The verb supplies the root carried by Nathan’s name.
mattanah: A gift.
מַתָּנָה
This noun shows the same root taking shape as what is given.
THE PATTERN
A lowered body makes its recognition of authority visible before speech.
And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;THE THREAD
And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.Genesis uses the same Hebrew root, שחה (shachah, to bow down), for Jacob’s gesture as he approaches his brother. The shared root shows the bodily bow as a gesture of deference in both scenes, whether before a king or before family.
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