What Does 1 Kings 16:11 Mean in the King James?
And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolks, nor of his friends.
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 verse’s “kinsfolks” comes from the same root as “redeem,” so its final detail names a kinship bond Hebrew also associates with reclaiming what is lost.
THE MEANING
This verse presents a reign beginning with the eradication of its predecessor’s entire house. The killings reach beyond the royal line to kin and companions, bringing the violence around power into view.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that a new reign can begin as a clean transfer of office dissolves here: the verse places its beginning beside the killing of Baasha’s household, kin, and companions.
THE ROOT
גֹּאֲלָיו
goʾalav
GROWS FROM
ג־א־ל
g-ʾ-l
To redeem, reclaim, or act as a kinsman.
“kinsfolks” in this verse is goʾalav. The Hebrew word גֹּאֲלָיו (goʾalav, his kinsmen or redeemers) comes from the root ג־א־ל (g-ʾ-l, redeem or act as kin). That kin word makes the purge more exact: the verse names relatives in a word-family that also carries the idea of reclaiming what is lost.
ALSO GROWS
goʾel: Kinsman-redeemer, a relative who reclaims what belongs to the family.
גֹּאֵל
This related word makes the kinship sense of “kinsfolks” visible alongside the root’s sense of redeeming.
geʾullah: Redemption or reclaiming.
גְּאֻלָּה
The same root that can name recovery appears in this verse’s word for kin among those killed.
בֵּית
beit
GROWS FROM
ב־י־ת
b-y-t
House, household, or family line.
Hebrew בַּיִת (bayit, house) can name both a dwelling and the household or dynasty tied to it. “All the house of Baasha” gathers the family line into one image, and the verse then names the kin and companions caught in the purge.
ALSO GROWS
beit-av: Father’s house or household clan.
בֵּית־אָב
This use shows how “house” can name a connected family group, not only a building.
beit David: The house or dynasty of David.
בֵּית דָּוִד
This familiar royal phrase shows how a “house” can mean a continuing line of rule.
הִשְׁאִיר
hishʾir
GROWS FROM
ש־א־ר
sh-ʾ-r
To remain or be left over.
The verb הִשְׁאִיר (hishʾir, he left behind) comes from ש־א־ר (sh-ʾ-r, remain or be left over). The phrase “left him not one” states the purge through the very idea of what remains: no remnant of the house survives.
ALSO GROWS
sheʾar: Remainder or what is left over.
שְׁאָר
The root’s noun makes explicit the remainder that the verse says does not exist.
sheʾerit: Remnant or surviving remainder.
שְׁאֵרִית
This related word sharpens the verse’s claim of totality: there is no surviving remnant.
THE PATTERN
A ruler’s bid to secure a reign can turn a rival’s household and kinship network into targets of annihilation.
And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according unto the saying of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite:Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.THE THREAD
If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.Leviticus uses the same ג־א־ל (g-ʾ-l, redeem or act as kin) root for the relative who comes to reclaim what a family member has lost. Beside that verse, “kinsfolks” carries both kinship and the possibility of recovery, now named among those the purge kills.
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