What Does 1 Kings 4:21 Mean in the King James?
And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life.
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 measures a reign by two flows at once: its borders outward, and other peoples’ gifts and service inward.
THE MEANING
A reign becomes visible in the territory it holds and in what people bring toward it: here, kingdoms send presents and render service across a span reaching from the river to Philistia and Egypt. Its measure is also temporal, lasting through Solomon’s life.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A reign is not measured by its borders alone; the verse also counts the gifts and service that flow toward its ruler.
THE ROOT
עֹבְדִים
ʿovdim
GROWS FROM
עבד
Work, serve, labor.
The Hebrew verb behind “served” comes from a root that also names labor and the servant, giving service a lived, working dimension. The verse joins presents with service: recognition arrives both as what kingdoms send and as what they do.
ALSO GROWS
ʿeved: Servant; one in service.
עֶבֶד
This branch makes the relation concrete: the kingdoms’ service involves people, not just a statement of allegiance.
ʿavodah: Work, labor, service.
עֲבוֹדָה
The same root names the work itself, linking the kingdoms’ response to sustained service.
הַמַּמְלָכוֹת
hammamlakhot
GROWS FROM
מלך
Be king; rule, reign.
The Hebrew word for “kingdoms” belongs to the same root family as “king” and “kingship.” The verse places many realms within the reach of one ruler, making the plural kingdoms part of the language of kingship.
ALSO GROWS
melekh: King; ruler.
מֶלֶךְ
The word for king grows from the same root as the kingdoms whose reach the verse describes.
malkhut: Kingship; reign.
מַלְכוּת
This branch names the condition of rule, connecting the many kingdoms to the wider structure of kingship.
שְׁלֹמֹה
Shelomoh
GROWS FROM
שלם
Be whole; complete.
Solomon’s name carries the root found in shalom, wholeness. That name stands at the center of a verse describing many kingdoms gathered within one ruler’s reach, placing wholeness beneath its image of rule without claiming that the verse describes a peaceful outcome.
ALSO GROWS
shalom: Wholeness; completeness.
שָׁלוֹם
This familiar branch carries the root embedded in Solomon’s name.
shalem: Whole; complete.
שָׁלֵם
The adjective makes the root’s sense of completeness visible in the name.
THE PATTERN
A reign becomes visible when peoples recognize its reach through gifts and service.
The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.THE THREAD
Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.The Hebrew verb translated “serve” here and in 1 Kings comes from the same root, עבד (ʿ-b-d), which also names labor and a servant. Psalm 72 makes the scope explicit as “all nations,” opening the present verse’s image of serving kingdoms into a wider reach.
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