What Does 1 Samuel 12:16 Mean in the King James?
Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes.
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 “great thing” is הַדָּבָר (ha-davar, “the word/matter”): what you are told to see is named with the same Hebrew word used for speech and for a thing.
THE MEANING
You are positioned to witness what the LORD brings into view before your eyes. The LORD is the one who acts; your place in this moment is to stand and perceive the great thing as it unfolds.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that God’s action becomes visible only after you make it happen yourself.
THE ROOT
הַדָּבָר
ha-davar
GROWS FROM
דבר
To speak; דָּבָר (davar) means “word” and also “matter” or “thing.”
English “thing” makes the event sound like a standalone object, while Hebrew דָּבָר (davar, “word/matter”) also names speech. The verse lets what is seen carry the resonance of what is spoken.
ALSO GROWS
davar: word; matter; thing
דָּבָר
This is the noun in the verse, holding spoken word and visible matter under one form.
dibber: to speak
דִּבֵּר
The same consonants mark speech, so the thing before your eyes carries a word-shaped name.
הִתְיַצְּבוּ
hityatzevu
GROWS FROM
יצב
yatsav
To stand, be stationed, or take one’s position.
“stand” in this verse is hityatzevu. The command carries the sense of taking a position and being stationed, not merely pausing. It places you where the coming act can be witnessed.
ALSO GROWS
nitzav: standing; stationed
נִצָּב
This branch describes someone set in a position, like the witness the verse addresses.
matzevah: pillar; standing stone
מַצֵּבָה
The related noun makes the root’s sense of standing upright and remaining in place concrete.
וּרְאוּ
u-re'u
GROWS FROM
ראה
ra'ah
To see, look at, or perceive.
“see” in this verse is u-re'u. Seeing here is an act of attending to what comes into view, not merely possessing eyesight. The imperative makes the LORD’s work the direct object of present perception.
ALSO GROWS
ro'eh: seer; one who sees
רֹאֶה
This form names the one who perceives, echoing the witness addressed by the command.
mar'eh: appearance; sight
מַרְאֶה
This branch names what comes into view, linking the act of seeing to what is visible.
THE PATTERN
Scripture places the human as witness to divine action, with the LORD as the one who brings it into view.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?THE THREAD
And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.Exodus repeats the same Hebrew verbs: יצב (yatsav, “take a stand”) and ראה (ra’ah, “see or perceive”). It makes Samuel’s posture part of a recurring pattern: you stand while the LORD’s deliverance comes into view.
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