What Does 2 Chronicles 8:3 Mean in the King James?
And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah, and prevailed against it.
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
A name rooted in shalom stands beside a verb rooted in taking hold: this verse places wholeness and conquest in the same line.
THE MEANING
Solomon’s name carries shalom, wholeness, while his action is to prevail against a city. Here, wholeness stands beside the force of conquest, and the verse leaves that tension visible.
THE ROOT
וַיֶּחֱזַק
wayyeḥĕzaq
GROWS FROM
חזק
To be strong or firm; to strengthen, take hold, or prevail.
The root behind “prevailed” also describes strengthening and taking hold. The word carries the pressure of force gripping its object; here that force is directed against Hamath-zobah.
ALSO GROWS
ḥāzaq: Be strong; prevail.
חָזַק
This is the same root as the verb in the verse, showing that prevailing is an expression of strength.
ḥizzēq: Strengthen; make firm.
חִזֵּק
This branch shows the root’s force can also steady or reinforce, not only overcome.
שְׁלֹמֹה
Shelomoh
GROWS FROM
שלם
To be whole, complete, or intact.
Solomon’s name is formed from the root of shalom, wholeness. The verse places that name beside an act of conquest, holding wholeness and force together without making them identical.
ALSO GROWS
shalom: Wholeness; well-being.
שָׁלוֹם
This is the familiar branch of the root carried in Solomon’s name.
shalem: Whole; complete.
שָׁלֵם
This branch makes the root’s sense of intactness explicit beneath the name.
THE PATTERN
חזק (ḥazaq) names force that takes hold: it can strengthen, prevail, or harden, depending on what it grips.
And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God.And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.THE THREAD
And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God.“Strengthened” is from חזק (ḥazaq), the same root translated “prevailed” here. In one verse the force takes hold of a city; in the other, it steadies a friend’s hand.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us