What Does 1 Kings 18:30 Mean in the King James?
And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down.
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 altar is not merely rebuilt: Hebrew names its repair as healing.
THE MEANING
A place that feels broken at the center of encounter can be healed without being replaced; here, the people draw near and the altar is healed. Elijah’s name, אֵלִיָּהוּ (Eliyahu, “My God is YHWH”), echoes the altar’s belonging to the LORD.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The place where I meet God is too broken to be restored.
THE ROOT
וַיְרַפֵּא
wayrappe
GROWS FROM
רפא
רפא (rapha): heal, restore to health.
The verb translated “repaired” comes from רפא (rapha, “heal”), so Hebrew names the altar’s restoration with the language of healing. What is broken is returned to function; a new altar is not added.
ALSO GROWS
marpe: healing, health
מַרְפֵּא
This branch names health itself, showing the same root can describe the restored condition as well as the act of healing.
refu'ah: healing, cure
רְפוּאָה
This branch makes recovery visible as a regained condition; the altar’s repair restores a place that can serve again.
וַיִּגְּשׁוּ
wayyiggeshu
GROWS FROM
נגשׁ
נגשׁ (nagash): approach, draw near.
“came near” in this verse is wayyiggeshu. The verb appears first as Elijah’s invitation and then as the people’s movement: closeness is enacted, not merely named. The altar’s healing stands between a call to approach and the people coming near.
ALSO GROWS
nagash: approach, draw near
נָגַשׁ
This is the basic movement the people make before the altar is healed.
higgish: bring near, present
הִגִּישׁ
The same root can describe bringing something forward, giving the people’s approach the force of active presence.
THE PATTERN
What has been broken in a place of encounter can be restored by repairing the breach in it.
And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:THE THREAD
For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.The altar’s “repaired” comes from רפא (rapha, “heal”), the same root Jeremiah uses when the LORD says, “I will heal thee.” The word-family carries restoration from a broken altar to a wounded person: what is damaged can be returned to wholeness.
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