What Does 2 Samuel 7:20 Mean in the King James?
And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord GOD, knowest thy servant.
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
David’s question ends by revealing that he is already known before he can say another word.
THE MEANING
You are already known by the LORD; no perfect sentence is needed to make you visible. David’s words do not create that recognition, they meet it.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that you must explain yourself correctly before God can know who you are.
THE ROOT
יָדַעְתָּ
yādaʿta
GROWS FROM
ידע
To know, recognize, or perceive through encounter.
“knowest” in this verse is yādaʿta. The verb carries knowing by encounter, not merely possessing information. David has no further words to supply because God already knows him.
ALSO GROWS
daʿat: Knowledge, awareness, or understanding.
דַּעַת
This noun shows how the act of knowing can also be held as knowledge or understanding.
yōdēaʿ: A person who knows or recognizes.
יוֹדֵעַ
The same root names both knowing and the one who knows, placing the emphasis on relationship rather than a detached fact.
דָּוִד
Dāwīd
GROWS FROM
דוד
Beloved; the related noun can also mean uncle.
David’s name carries the sense of beloved. The one speaking as a servant is also named beloved, adding closeness to the verse’s picture of being known.
ALSO GROWS
dōd: A beloved person; in another usage, an uncle.
דּוֹד
The shared form links David’s name with belovedness.
dōdîm: Expressions of intimate affection.
דּוֹדִים
This branch carries the root into the language of affection, shading the name with closeness.
עַבְדְּךָ
ʿavdekha
GROWS FROM
עבד
To work or serve.
‘Servant’ and ‘serve’ grow from the same root. David’s word for himself holds a relation expressed through service, while the sentence places that servant within God’s knowing.
ALSO GROWS
ʿavodah: Labor, work, or service.
עֲבוֹדָה
The noun makes visible the work carried within the word translated ‘servant.’
ʿoved: A worker or person serving.
עֹבֵד
This form names the person by the action of serving, echoing David’s self-description.
THE PATTERN
God’s knowing of a person precedes and exceeds the person’s words about themselves.
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.But if any man love God, the same is known of him.THE THREAD
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.The Hebrew verb translated ‘known’ shares the ידע (y-d-ʿ; yādaʿ, know or recognize) root with David’s words. Psalm 139 gives the same recognition voice: God searches and knows the person already.
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