What Does 1 Kings 13:7 Mean in the King James?

And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.

1 Kings 13:7 · KJV

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 king joins nourishment to a gift, making welcome a possible claim on the messenger.

THE MEANING

You meet an offer that brings home, food, and a promised gift together. The Hebrew word behind “refresh thyself” carries the sense of being supported or sustained, so this welcome meets a bodily need. Yet the reward gives the offer a second edge: the king’s care may draw the messenger into the king’s favor.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

The lie is that a generous welcome is always free of influence; here, nourishment and reward arrive together from the ruler receiving the messenger.

THE ROOT

וּסְעָדָה

u-seʿādāh

GROWS FROM

סעד

to support, sustain, or uphold

The Hebrew verb behind “refresh thyself” comes from ⁨סעד⁩, “support, sustain.” Its family includes a word for a meal, so the king’s offer is not abstract encouragement: it is food that sustains the body, joined here to a promised gift.

ALSO GROWS

sāʿaḏ: to support or sustain

סָעַד

This verb makes clear that the invitation offers material support, not simply pleasant company.

seʿûdāh: a meal or feast

סְעוּדָה

This noun from the same consonantal root links the offer of refreshment to the sustaining meal.

THE PATTERN

Hospitality becomes a test when the giver’s provision can draw the messenger into the giver’s favor.

Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.

Deuteronomy 16:19 · KJVThe gift is shown to have influence: it can distort judgment and bend the words of the one who receives it.

But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.

2 Kings 5:16 · KJVElisha’s refusal keeps the messenger’s standing before the LORD distinct from the giver’s reward.

Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Matthew 10:8 · KJVThe gift freely received is passed on freely, without setting a price on the messenger’s work.

THE THREAD

But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.

2 Kings 5:16 · KJV

Elisha faces an offered gift and refuses it, showing a messenger remaining answerable to the LORD rather than attached to the giver’s favor. His refusal reveals the pressure held inside the king’s combined offer of food and reward.

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