What Does 1 Samuel 16:4 Mean in the King James?
And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?
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
At the house of bread, the trembling elders ask whether Samuel’s arrival carries shalom, wholeness.
THE MEANING
When a presence enters your life and you tremble, fear alone does not tell you what its coming carries. Bethlehem means “house of bread” (בֵּית לֶחֶם, Bēt Leḥem); the elders ask whether Samuel comes in shalom (שָׁלוֹם, shalom: wholeness, well-being).
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Fear does not by itself prove that an arrival is hostile; the elders tremble and still ask whether it comes in wholeness.
THE ROOT
שָׁלוֹם
shalom
GROWS FROM
שׁלם
sh-l-m
To be whole, complete, or sound; from this comes the sense of well-being and peace.
“peaceably” in this verse is shalom. The elders’ question is literally about whether Samuel’s coming is shalom. The word holds together peace and wholeness: they are asking what kind of presence has arrived, even as they tremble.
ALSO GROWS
shalem: Whole, complete, sound.
שָׁלֵם
This branch makes the elders’ question larger than whether Samuel comes without conflict; it asks whether his arrival carries well-being.
shillem: Repay, recompense, or make good.
שִׁלֵּם
This branch shows the root’s sense of making a matter complete, adding a shade of restored balance to shalom’s wholeness.
THE PATTERN
Fear at an encounter does not settle its meaning; a presence can answer trembling with wholeness.
And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.THE THREAD
And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.The word translated “Peace” is the same Hebrew shalom the elders ask about here: it names the character of the coming while fear is already present. Gideon’s alarm and the elders’ question both place trembling beside an arrival whose meaning is still being discerned.
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