What Does 1 Kings 8:56 Mean in the King James?
Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.
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 rest is the evidence that not one spoken word has fallen short.
THE MEANING
The verse holds the word and its arrival together: rest is given, and not one word of the promise has fallen away. It presents divine speech as something that reaches a lived condition, not as sound that vanishes.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that even a good promise from God may finally fall away unfulfilled.
THE ROOT
דָּבָר
davar
GROWS FROM
דבר
d-b-r
To speak; a word, matter, or event.
The Hebrew uses forms of the same root for “word” and “promised”: the promise is something spoken. The verse links speech to its arrival, saying that not one word of what was spoken has fallen away.
ALSO GROWS
dibber: He spoke
דִּבֶּר
This is the form behind “promised” in the verse, connecting the promise directly to speech.
davar: Word, matter, or event
דָּבָר
The word can name both what is said and the matter at hand, joining the spoken promise with what comes to pass.
נָפַל
naphal
GROWS FROM
נפל
n-p-l
To fall, drop, or come down.
The Hebrew behind “failed” pictures a word falling. The verse says not even one word has dropped away, giving fulfillment the image of a promise that remains intact.
ALSO GROWS
naphal: To fall or drop
נָפַל
This is the literal image behind the verse’s “failed”: not one word has fallen.
hippil: To cause to fall, cast down
הִפִּיל
This causative form shows the same root’s movement into being brought down; the verse says no word meets that end.
מְנוּחָה
menuchah
GROWS FROM
נוח
n-w-ḥ
To settle or come to rest.
This is settled rest: a condition in which a people can dwell, not merely a pause. The verse sets that rest beside the spoken promise as its visible arrival.
ALSO GROWS
nuach: To rest or settle
נוּחַ
The verb carries the movement into the settled condition named by menuchah.
manoach: Resting place or repose
מְנוֹחַ
This related noun makes rest a place or condition one can come to, echoing the people’s given rest.
THE PATTERN
A spoken promise is seen in the condition it brings about, and its words do not fall away.
There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.THE THREAD
Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.The same root, דבר (d-b-r), appears in “thou spakest” here and in “word” and “promised” in 8:56. This verse joins mouth and hand: what is spoken is fulfilled, and the rest in 8:56 is its visible arrival.
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