What Does 1 Kings 6:24 Mean in the King James?
And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits.
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 Hebrew word for “wing” also names a garment’s edge, so the verse measures the cherub’s covering by its full outward reach.
THE MEANING
Here, covering has a measurable reach: five cubits in each wing, ten from outer edge to outer edge. The verse gives that span a clear boundary, making the full extension of the shelter visible.
THE ROOT
כָּנָף
kānāf
GROWS FROM
כנף
kanaf
Edge or extremity; by extension, a wing or a garment’s corner.
Kānāf names more than a bird’s wing: it can also name a garment’s edge and the farthest reach of something. Here, the measurement runs from the ends of the wings, making the covering’s full span visible.
ALSO GROWS
kānāf: Wing.
כָּנָף
This is the word for the cherub’s wings whose reach the verse measures.
kānāf: Corner or edge of a garment.
כָּנָף
In Ruth 3:9, the same word is rendered “skirt” for the garment edge spread over another.
kānāf: Farthest edge or extremity.
כָּנָף
Isaiah 24:16 uses the word for the uttermost part of the earth, echoing this verse’s attention to the wings’ outer reach.
THE PATTERN
Scripture pictures covering as an outstretched span sheltering what lies beneath it.
And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!THE THREAD
And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.The Hebrew word translated “skirt” here is kānāf, the same word used for the cherub’s wing. One word holds both images: a wing’s covering and a garment’s edge spread over another.
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