What Does 2 Chronicles 23:1 Mean in the King James?

And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, and Azariah the son of Obed, and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, into covenant with him.

2 Chronicles 23:1 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

The Hebrew root for “strengthened” also carries the sense of taking hold: Jehoiada’s firmness becomes a covenant that holds many people together.

THE MEANING

Strength does not remain a private feeling here; it takes form as a deliberate bond between people. Resolve becomes visible in the shared commitment they make.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

The lie that strength must be solitary dissolves here: Jehoiada’s firmness immediately becomes a covenant with others.

THE ROOT

וַיִּתְחַזֵּק

wayyitḥazzēq

GROWS FROM

חזק

ḥ-z-q

Be firm or strong; strengthen, prevail, or take hold.

“strengthened himself” in this verse is wayyitḥazzēq. The verb is reflexive: Jehoiada firms himself. The same root can describe taking hold, and the verse moves from his firmness to a covenant that binds the captains together.

ALSO GROWS

ḥāzaq: Be strong; prevail.

חָזַק

This is the root verb: strength is a state of firmness that can also become effective action.

maḥazîqîm: Those who take hold; those who hold fast.

מַחֲזִיקִים

Proverbs 3:18 uses this form for those who take hold of wisdom. It reveals the grasp within strength: what is firm can also hold fast.

יְהוֹיָדָע

Yəhôyādāʿ

GROWS FROM

ידע

y-d-ʿ

Know, recognize, perceive.

Jehoiada’s name means “YHWH knows,” joining the divine name to yadaʿ, “know.” The verse places this name over an act that turns personal resolve into a pledged bond among others.

ALSO GROWS

yādaʿ: Know; recognize or perceive.

יָדַע

This is the knowing carried in Jehoiada’s name, giving his name a statement of nature rather than a mere label.

daʿat: Knowledge; understanding.

דַּעַת

This noun shares the root ⁨ידע⁩, showing how the seed of knowing branches into knowledge.

THE PATTERN

Strength holds when resolve takes form in shared commitment.

And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God.

1 Samuel 23:16 · KJVJonathan strengthens David through their bond, using the same Hebrew root ⁨חזק⁩ (ḥazaq).

Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

Ecclesiastes 4:9 · KJVThe verse locates fruitful work in companionship rather than in solitary effort.

Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;

2 Corinthians 1:21 · KJV“Us with you” presents establishing as something shared across a community.

THE THREAD

And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God.

1 Samuel 23:16 · KJV

The same root, ⁨חזק⁩ (ḥazaq, “strengthen”), appears in Jonathan’s strengthening of David. Here the verb first marks Jehoiada’s own firmness, then the verse moves into covenant with the captains: strength takes shape as shared allegiance.

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