What Does 2 Samuel 18:19 Mean in the King James?
Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that the LORD hath avenged him of his enemies.
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
Vindication arrives as a judgment the LORD has made, then as news someone is willing to run and carry.
THE MEANING
When you wait for the outcome of conflict, this verse holds two moments together: judgment can be complete while its news is still on the way. The LORD is named as the one who judges; the runner carries that news to the person it concerns. What is true can be moving toward the one who has not yet heard it.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that vindication must come from your own hand is undone: the LORD is the one who judges, while the runner bears the news.
THE ROOT
שְׁפָטוֹ
shephato
GROWS FROM
שפט
sh-p-t
To judge, decide a case, or govern.
The verb translated “hath avenged” comes from the root meaning “judge.” Vindication here carries the shape of a verdict: the king’s deliverance from his enemies is announced as the LORD’s judgment.
ALSO GROWS
mishpat: Judgment, justice, or a ruling.
מִשְׁפָּט
It shows the judicial weight carried by the announcement of the king’s vindication.
shofet: A judge.
שֹׁפֵט
It names the one who renders a decision, clarifying the nature of the LORD’s action in this verse.
וַאֲבַשְּׂרָה
va’avasserah
GROWS FROM
בשר
b-s-r
To announce or proclaim news, especially good news.
“tidings” in this verse is va’avasserah. Ahimaaz asks to become the one who announces the news, not simply to possess it. The Hebrew puts the act of proclamation at the center: a verdict becomes something the king can hear.
ALSO GROWS
besorah: Tidings or good news.
בְּשׂוֹרָה
The noun names the news as something ready to be proclaimed and received.
mevaser: A bearer or proclaimer of good news.
מְבַשֵּׂר
Ahimaaz’s proposed run makes him a herald: the messenger is part of how the news reaches the king.
צָדוֹק
Tsadoq
GROWS FROM
צדק
ts-d-q
To be aligned or act justly.
Zadok’s name belongs to the צֶדֶק (tsedeq, alignment) word family. Set beside the LORD’s judgment, his name echoes the verse’s concern with an order being set right.
ALSO GROWS
tsedeq: Alignment or justice.
צֶדֶק
It gives the father’s name a resonance with the judgment announced in the verse.
tsaddiq: One who is aligned or righteous.
צַדִּיק
It extends the name’s root sense from a quality of justice to the person who embodies it.
THE PATTERN
When the LORD’s action is made known, a messenger carries it into the hearing of those it concerns.
The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!THE THREAD
Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king’s household.The same בשר (b-s-r, announce good news) root underlies Ahimaaz’s “bear tidings” and the “good tidings” named here. Both verses make the news urgent and carry it toward a king’s household, joining the message to the messenger who brings it.
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