What Does Deuteronomy 1:29 Mean in the King James?
Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them.
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 verse names both the terror a threat produces and the fear fixed on the people who threaten you.
THE MEANING
When danger or a threatening person stands before you, the verse speaks now: the threat can be real without becoming the authority that governs your response. It names the terror rising within you and the fear directed toward them, and refuses both the final word.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that a threat’s intensity gives it rightful command over you.
THE ROOT
תַעַרְצוּן
ta'aratsun
GROWS FROM
ערץ
To tremble or be terrified; to inspire terror.
“Dread” in this verse is ta'aratsun. This root can name both terror itself and the force that produces it. The verse addresses the inward terror and the threatening presence together.
ALSO GROWS
ʿārîṣ: A fierce, violent, or tyrannical person.
עָרִיץ
The threatening person is described by a branch of the same root that names terror.
maʿărāṣāh: Terror or dread.
מַעֲרָצָה
This branch names the terror the verse tells the reader not to be overtaken by.
תִירְאוּן
tira'un
GROWS FROM
ירא
To fear or stand in awe.
“Afraid” in this verse is tira'un. The same root can express awe toward God or fear toward people and danger; the object gives the fear its direction. Here the words specify that the fear is “of them.”
ALSO GROWS
yir'ah: Fear or awe.
יִרְאָה
The noun preserves the same range of response found in the verb: its direction matters.
mora: Dread or fear.
מוֹרָא
This related form shows the fearful response as a state, while the verse names it as something directed toward the threatening people.
THE PATTERN
A threat can be acknowledged while being denied the authority to govern the reader’s response.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.THE THREAD
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.The two roots from this verse return together here, in reverse order: fear (yare) and terror (arats). Their pairing is joined to the promise that God goes with you and does not forsake you.
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