What Does 2 Samuel 7:1 Mean in the King James?

And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies;

2 Samuel 7:1 · 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

The Hebrew pictures God causing rest to settle around you, so threat no longer sets the terms of your dwelling.

THE MEANING

You are seated in what has been given to you, with the LORD establishing rest around you. Your life is not organized solely around watching for what might threaten it; there is room to dwell in safety.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

This undoes the belief that safety depends entirely on keeping every threat at bay yourself; here, rest is something the LORD gives and establishes around you.

THE ROOT

הֵנִיחַ

hēnîaḥ a causative

GROWS FROM

נוח

To settle, come to rest, or be at rest.

The verb is causative: the LORD makes him settle. The same root describes something coming to rest and gives ⁨מְנוּחָה⁩ (menuchah), a resting place, so rest is not mere inactivity but a settled place in which to dwell.

ALSO GROWS

menuchah: Rest; a resting place.

מְנוּחָה

Psalm 23:2 uses this word for the “still waters,” revealing rest as a place where the soul can settle.

vattānaḥ: And it rested; settled down.

וַתָּנַח

Genesis 8:4 uses this form when the ark comes to rest on the mountains, showing the root as arrival at a place where motion ceases.

THE PATTERN

Rest becomes a space for dwelling when God supplies what a person cannot secure by force.

But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the LORD your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety;

Deuteronomy 12:10 · KJVThe LORD gives rest from surrounding enemies, and that rest makes safe dwelling possible.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

Psalm 23:2 · KJVRest appears as a place the shepherd leads you into, where you can lie down and settle.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28 · KJVRest is offered as a gift to those carrying a burden, rather than as something they must force into existence.

THE THREAD

But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.

1 Kings 5:4 · KJV

The Hebrew repeats the same causative form of ⁨נוח⁩ (nûaḥ, to settle or rest) and the phrase “round about.” The shared wording opens rest as a God-established surround in which dwelling is no longer governed by threat.

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