What Does 1 Samuel 11:6 Mean in the King James?
And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly.
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 breath of God surges upon Saul, and Hebrew names that surge with a root also used for pressing through and prospering.
THE MEANING
The tidings reach Saul as God’s breath surges upon him, and his anger burns greatly. The verse speaks into the present wherever what you hear, breath, and fierce heat meet, leaving the anger visible without mistaking it for calm.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that God’s breath can only be recognized as quiet calm: here it comes upon Saul in a moment marked by fierce anger.
THE ROOT
וַתִּצְלַח
wattitslaḥ
GROWS FROM
צלח
To press through or advance; in some forms, to succeed or prosper.
The verb translated “came upon” carries the motion of a surge or advance. God’s breath does not merely rest on Saul in this sentence; it comes upon him with force.
ALSO GROWS
ṣālaḥ: To advance, pass through, succeed, or prosper.
צָלַח
This basic verb form shows the movement held in the verse’s “came upon”: a force pressing forward.
hiṣlîaḥ: To cause to succeed or make prosperous.
הִצְלִיחַ
This causative form carries the same root into an outcome, linking the idea of pressing forward with succeeding.
רוּחַ
rûaḥ
GROWS FROM
רוח
Moving air: wind or breath; also spirit.
The Hebrew word is ruach in every sense: breath, wind, and spirit are held together in one word. Here the KJV says “Spirit,” while the same word also names the breath and wind that move through the world.
ALSO GROWS
rûḥôt: Winds; the plural form of ruach.
רוּחוֹת
The plural keeps the same word at the root of “wind,” joining the breath that comes upon Saul to moving air.
rûḥî: My breath or spirit; ruach with a possessive ending.
רוּחִי
This form preserves the same word when it is spoken of as someone’s breath or spirit.
THE PATTERN
When God’s breath comes upon a person, the text shows its force through an outward response.
And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.THE THREAD
And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.The same Hebrew verb צלח (ṣālaḥ, to press through or advance) describes God’s רוּחַ (rûaḥ, breath) coming upon Saul before he prophesies. Here that same surge stands beside his anger burning greatly, so the recurring force is named before its expression changes.
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