What Does 2 Samuel 22:45 Mean in the King James?
Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me.
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 root beneath “submit” can also mean deny or feign, while “obey” is literally hearing, so the verse holds outward yielding and responsive listening side by side.
THE MEANING
The verse puts two responses before you: yielding that may be only a pose, and hearing that becomes heed. Its wording lets outward compliance and inward responsiveness remain distinct.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the assumption that every outward submission proves inward agreement.
THE ROOT
יִתְכַּחֲשׁוּ
yitkaḥăšû
GROWS FROM
כחש
k-ḥ-š
to lie, deceive, or deny; in this form, to feign yielding
“submit themselves” in this verse is yitkaḥăšû. The Hebrew word translated “submit” grows from a root that also carries denial and falsehood. That gives the yielding a possible second layer: what appears to be submission may not reveal inward agreement.
ALSO GROWS
kiḥēsh: lied or denied
כִּחֵשׁ
This verb form keeps denial visible beneath the verse’s outward language of yielding.
kachaš: falsehood or deceit
כַּחַשׁ
This noun shows how the same root can describe a false appearance, sharpening the difference between yielding and genuine response.
יִשְׁמְעוּ
yishmeʿû
GROWS FROM
שמע
sh-m-ʿ
to hear, listen, and heed
“hear / be obedient” in this verse is yishmeʿû. The Hebrew repeats the root שמע: first “at the hearing of the ear,” then “they will hear me.” Where English shifts from “hear” to “be obedient,” Hebrew keeps hearing in view as a response that becomes heed.
ALSO GROWS
shema: hear and respond
שְׁמַע
This familiar form carries the same movement from receiving sound to answering it.
shemuʿah: report or news that is heard
שְׁמוּעָה
This branch makes the ear the entry point: what is heard can travel onward as a report and call forth a response.
THE PATTERN
In scripture, hearing becomes response when what reaches the ear is followed by action or trust.
And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.THE THREAD
As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.The parallel verse preserves the same roots: כחש (k-ḥ-ש, deny or feign yielding) and שמע (sh-m-ʿ, hear and heed). Seeing them together keeps the tension in view: outward yielding may be a pose, while hearing becomes a response.
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