What Does 1 Samuel 16:7 Mean in the King James?
But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
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
English gives us appearance, looking, and seeing; Hebrew ties them to the same seeing-root, so the difference is where the gaze lands.
THE MEANING
Visible qualities do not disclose the whole person. Human attention can stop at what the eyes can measure, while the LORD sees the heart, the inner life of intent and discernment. The verse speaks now: appearance does not set the limit of what is seen.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that visible stature or attractiveness can certify a person’s worth or suitability. It also refuses the reverse judgment: that someone who does not impress the eye has nothing the LORD sees.
THE ROOT
מַרְאֵהוּ
mar'ehu
GROWS FROM
ראה
r-ʾ-h
to see, look, or perceive
The verse uses this root for appearance, the man’s looking, and the LORD’s seeing, binding surface sight and deeper perception together. The contrast is where the gaze rests: the eyes stop at what can be assessed, while the LORD sees the heart.
ALSO GROWS
ra'ah: To see or perceive.
רָאָה
This verb is repeated for both human and divine seeing, so the difference is not a separate kind of sight but what that sight reaches.
ro'eh: A person who sees.
רֹאֶה
The same root can name the perceiver, linking the act of seeing to the person doing the seeing.
THE PATTERN
What the eye can measure does not disclose the inner person that God perceives.
And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.THE THREAD
And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?Genesis 16:13 also uses ראה (ra’ah, see): Hagar names God as the one who sees her. The shared root opens this verse further, the LORD’s seeing reaches a person beyond what others can measure.
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