What Does 1 Kings 2:39 Mean in the King James?
And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath.
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 servants cross into another king’s city, yet their escape stays tethered to Shimei through the report that brings their location back to him.
THE MEANING
The report makes the departure visible: the servants are in Gath, and Shimei receives the news. Their location changes, but the text still names them by their service to him; their escape has not erased the bond that gives the report its force.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that distance alone breaks a bond: the servants reach Gath, yet the report still identifies them as Shimei’s.
THE ROOT
וַיִּבְרְחוּ
vayyivrəḥû
GROWS FROM
ברח
b-r-ḥ
to flee, escape
“ran away” in this verse is vayyivrəḥû. The verb names escape, not simply arrival in another place. Yet the men remain identified as Shimei’s servants, so their physical distance has not ended the bond the story names.
ALSO GROWS
berīḥāh: flight, escape
בְּרִיחָה
This noun carries the same root into the idea of flight itself: what happens here is more than a change of address.
hivrīaḥ: to drive away, cause to flee
הִבְרִיחַ
This causative form shows the root can describe flight set in motion by an outside force, adding the possibility of pressure behind an escape.
וַיַּגִּידוּ
wayyaggîdû
GROWS FROM
נגד
n-g-d
to be in front or brought to notice; in this verb form, to declare or make known
“told” in this verse is wayyaggîdû. The servants’ location is brought before Shimei’s attention through speech. Their escape becomes visible to the person they left behind because someone declares where they are.
ALSO GROWS
higgîd: to declare, report, make known
הִגִּיד
This is the verb family used for the report that reveals the servants’ location.
nāgîd: leader, ruler
נָגִיד
The same root forms a title for one who stands before others; here the verb brings the servants’ whereabouts before Shimei.
שִׁמְעִי
Shimʿî
GROWS FROM
שמע
sh-m-ʿ
to hear, listen
Shimei’s name comes from the hearing-root, and the verse places him at the receiving end of news. The location that flight put at a distance reaches him through what he hears.
ALSO GROWS
shāmaʿ: to hear, listen
שָׁמַע
The root names the act at the center of this moment: Shimei receives knowledge of where his servants are.
shemuʿah: report, news, tidings
שְׁמוּעָה
This noun from the hearing-root links the name’s sound and meaning to the report that reaches him.
THE PATTERN
Flight changes where a person is found, while the relationship or danger behind the departure keeps shaping what follows.
But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars.But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.THE THREAD
But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.Hagar’s “fled” is another form of ברח, the same root as the servants’ “ran away.” Her verse places the servant-bond beside the escape, opening the same tension here: a person can flee while the relationship that names them remains in view.
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