What Does 1 Kings 15:22 Mean in the King James?
Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.
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
A structure can lose its claim on its materials: stones and timber lifted from one build become the substance of another.
THE MEANING
The verse holds a transfer in view: stones and timber leave one construction and serve another. The work is collective, with none exempted, while the materials keep their substance and change their use.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that what has served one structure can only serve that structure’s purpose.
THE ROOT
בָּנָה
banah
GROWS FROM
בנה
b-n-h
To build, establish, or build up.
“built” in this verse is banah. The בנה (banah, “build”) root describes both Baasha’s earlier construction and Asa’s new one, making this a transfer of use rather than the disappearance of the material. אֶבֶן (even, “stone”) carries the traditional wordplay אָב (av, “father”) + בֵּן (ben, “son”), while בִּנְיָמִין (Binyamin, “son of the right hand”) echoes ben; the verse layers stone, building, and lineage into the act of reuse.
ALSO GROWS
binyan: Building, structure
בִּנְיָן
This noun names the structure made by building; here stones and timber pass from one structure into another.
ben: Son
בֵּן
Ben is associated with banah through the idea of building up a family; בִּנְיָמִין (Binyamin, “son of the right hand”) carries that son-language in the destination’s name.
וַיִּשְׂאוּ
vayyis'u
GROWS FROM
נשא
n-s-ʾ
To lift, carry, or bear.
“took away” in this verse is vayyis'u. The verb gives the removal a physical shape: the stones and timber are lifted and carried. The same root appears in words for a burden borne and a leader lifted up, holding movement and changed use together.
ALSO GROWS
massa: Burden, load
מַשָּׂא
This branch names what is carried, making the stones and timber tangible loads on their way to another build.
nasi: Leader, prince; one lifted up
נָשִׂיא
This branch preserves the root’s sense of being lifted, while the verse shows what is lifted entering a new role.
מִצְפָּה
Mitzpah
GROWS FROM
צפה
ts-p-h
To look out, watch, or keep watch.
Mizpah means “lookout” or “watchpost,” from the root צפה (tsafah, “to watch”). The verse places carried material into a new build whose name itself points to watching and sight.
ALSO GROWS
tsofeh: Watcher, one who looks out
צֹפֶה
This active branch names the one who keeps watch, the action held in the place-name Mizpah.
mitzpeh: Lookout, watchtower
מִצְפֶּה
This branch names a place from which one watches; the verse’s destination name carries that same function.
THE PATTERN
A structure’s first purpose does not permanently define its materials: what is dismantled or rejected can serve a new building.
See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?THE THREAD
See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.Jeremiah places pulling down and building in one sequence, using בנה (banah, “to build”) for the constructive turn. 1 Kings 15:22 gives that turn physical form: stones and timber move from one build into another.
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