What Does 2 Chronicles 9:26 Mean in the King James?

And he reigned over all the kings from the river even unto the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.

2 Chronicles 9:26 · 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.

THE KEY

Here, kingship becomes geography: one reign stretches from river to border.

THE MEANING

You see rule as a span: it reaches over other kings and across named territories. The river, Philistine land, and Egypt’s border give that authority visible edges, so sovereignty takes shape as the space under its reach.

THE ROOT

וַיִּמְלֹךְ

vayimlokh

GROWS FROM

מלך

m-l-k

to rule, reign, or be king

English gives “reigned” and “kings” as separate ideas, but both grow from ⁨מלך⁩ (m-l-k): the act of ruling and the ruler share one seed. The reach across territory is presented as the extension of kingship itself, not merely a list of places.

ALSO GROWS

melekh: king

מֶלֶךְ

The kings in the verse bear the same root as the act of reigning: ruler and rule are joined in the word-family.

malkhut: kingship, kingdom

מַלְכוּת

This branch names the domain of rule, linking the king’s action to the territory described in the verse.

THE PATTERN

Rule is pictured as a reach that gathers lands, rulers, or peoples within its span.

He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

Psalm 72:8 · KJVDominion is shown through the distance it spans, from one edge of the world to another.

Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be.

Deuteronomy 11:24 · KJVThe land is defined by the breadth between named edges.

And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Revelation 11:15 · KJVThe verse gathers the world’s kingdoms under a single reign.

THE THREAD

And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life.

1 Kings 4:21 · KJV

The same root ⁨מלך⁩ (m-l-k), “to rule or reign,” appears in the matching description of Solomon’s rule. The near-identical wording makes the span from river to border part of what this passage means by reigning.

Read the SDV Bible.

Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.

Get Selah Verse

The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.

Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us