What Does 1 Kings 8:7 Mean in the King James?
For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.
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 root סכך (sāḵaḵ, “to cover or shelter”) makes the cherubim’s wings a canopy that reaches beyond the ark to its carrying poles.
THE MEANING
The sacred center is held beneath a cover: wings extend above the ark, and the cherubim cover the ark and its poles. The covering reaches to what carries the center, so shelter includes both what is kept and what bears it.
THE ROOT
וַיָּסֹכוּ
wayyāsōḵū
GROWS FROM
סכך
sāḵaḵ
To cover, screen, or shelter.
“covered” in this verse is wayyāsōḵū. The verb סכך (sāḵaḵ, “to cover or shelter”) holds the sense of screening something within a protective boundary. The wings cover not only the ark but also its poles, bringing both the sacred center and what carries it beneath one shelter.
ALSO GROWS
sukkāh: Booth or shelter.
סֻכָּה
This root also names a sheltering structure, showing that covering can be an enclosing place, not only a surface overhead.
māsākh: Screen or curtain.
מָסָךְ
A screen marks a boundary around what it covers, echoing the cherubim’s protective reach over the ark.
כְּנָפַיִם
kĕnāfayim
GROWS FROM
כנף
kānāf
Wing; also an edge or extremity.
כָּנָף (kānāf, “wing”) can also mean an edge or extremity. The wings therefore name the outer reach extending over the ark, so the image joins a bodily wing with the boundary of a covering.
ALSO GROWS
kānāf: Wing.
כָּנָף
This is the literal wing spread above the ark.
kānāf: Edge, extremity, or corner.
כָּנָף
The same word can name an outer boundary, revealing the wing as the reach that extends cover across what lies below.
פֹּרְשִׂים
pōrĕsîm
GROWS FROM
פרשׂ
p-r-ś
To spread out or extend.
“spread forth” in this verse is pōrĕsîm. פָּרַשׂ (pāras, “to spread out”) names the action of the wings, while מִפְרָשׂ (mifrās, “sail”) is another surface made by spreading. Here the wings become an extended surface above the ark, making the act of spreading the means of covering.
ALSO GROWS
pāras: Spread out or extend.
פָּרַשׂ
This is the action performed by the wings over the ark.
mifrās: Sail.
מִפְרָשׂ
A sail is a surface spread out, illustrating how an extended surface can cover or reach across a space.
THE PATTERN
A protective covering gathers what is precious 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
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.The verb for cover here and in Psalm 91:4 comes from סכך (sāḵaḵ, “to cover or shelter”). In Kings, wings cover the ark and its poles; in the psalm, that same shelter reaches the one who trusts beneath the wings.
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