What Does 1 Kings 21:12 Mean in the King James?
They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
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
They do not merely lift Naboth above the crowd: they place him at its head, making him the focus of a solemn gathering that the next verse turns into a public accusation.
THE MEANING
A public ritual can gather people around one person while concealing what the gathering is preparing to do. Naboth is placed at the people’s head, and the next verse reveals false witnesses accusing him there. Solemnity gives a proceeding its form; it does not make its charge true.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the assumption that a public proceeding is trustworthy simply because it is solemn and religiously framed.
THE ROOT
רֹאשׁ
rosh
GROWS FROM
ראש
Head, top, chief; also the beginning or first.
“on high / at the head” in this verse is rosh. The Hebrew gives Naboth’s elevation a concrete shape: he is placed at the head of the people, where he becomes the gathering’s focus. The next verse reveals that this prominence exposes him to false accusation, so the position carries exposure rather than honor.
ALSO GROWS
reshit: Beginning, first portion, or foremost part.
רֵאשִׁית
The same word family can name what comes first; Naboth is made foremost in the people’s attention.
rosh: The head, chief, or leader.
רֹאשׁ
This is the word’s direct sense in the phrase: Naboth is positioned at the people’s head, not merely described as elevated.
וַיִּקְרְאוּ
wayyiqre’u
GROWS FROM
קרא
Call, summon, proclaim, or read aloud.
“proclaimed” in this verse is wayyiqre’u. The verb means “they called,” so the fast enters the scene as a public summons, not only a private abstention. The call gathers listeners around Naboth as the word rosh places him at the center of their attention.
ALSO GROWS
miqra: A gathering called together; also a reading or public proclamation.
מִקְרָא
This branch shows how a call can produce an assembly, making the fast a public event around Naboth.
qeri’ah: The act of calling aloud or reading.
קְרִיאָה
The shared root emphasizes that the fast begins with an announcement heard by the gathered people.
THE PATTERN
A public religious frame can gather a crowd while steering it toward a false charge or violence.
And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.THE THREAD
The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.The same Hebrew word, רֹאשׁ (rosh, head), places Naboth at the head of the people and names the stone at the head of the corner. Here “head” reveals a position: one imposed on Naboth for public exposure, and one occupied by the stone the builders rejected.
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