What Does 2 Samuel 15:32 Mean in the King James?
And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the mount, where he worshipped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head:
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
The mountain’s summit and Hushai’s dust-covered head are one word in Hebrew, joining the place of worship to the body marked by grief.
THE MEANING
You can be at the place of bowing before God while grief enters with torn clothing and earth on the head. Worship does not erase the visible signs of mourning; both are present in the same moment.
THE ROOT
רֹאשׁ
rosh
GROWS FROM
ראש
Head; by extension, summit, chief, or foremost point.
“top / head” in this verse is rosh. The Hebrew uses רֹאשׁ (rosh, head) both for the mountain’s summit and for Hushai’s head. English separates these into “top” and “head,” hiding how the place of worship and the body carrying grief meet in one word.
ALSO GROWS
rosh: Head; summit; chief.
רֹאשׁ
This is the word used for both the mountain’s summit and Hushai’s head.
reshit: Beginning; first part.
רֵאשִׁית
This related form extends “head” toward what is foremost, echoing the summit as the mountain’s highest point.
יִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה
yishtachaveh
GROWS FROM
שחה
To bow down or prostrate oneself.
The word rendered “worshipped” comes from a verb of bodily bowing. Its root keeps the physical posture inside the act of worship, fitting a verse filled with heads, torn clothing, and earth.
ALSO GROWS
shachah: To bow down; prostrate oneself.
שָׁחָה
This is the root beneath David’s act, preserving the bodily lowering within “worshipped.”
hishtachavah: To bow oneself down; worship.
הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה
This related form shows worship as a posture the body takes, not only an inward state.
THE PATTERN
Worship and prayer remain present amid visible grief and anguish.
Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.THE THREAD
And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.Exodus 34:8 uses the same root, שחה (shachah, to bow down), for Moses’ “worshipped,” and places his body bending earthward. The shared root opens David’s worship as an embodied act of bowing, while earth and head frame both scenes.
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