What Does Deuteronomy 3:12 Mean in the King James?
And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, and half mount Gilead, and the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites.
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
What is possessed is also given: holding it does not erase the act that placed it in your hands.
THE MEANING
A possession can be real and still be received; holding does not make its source disappear. The portion and its recipients are named specifically: land and towns given to Reuben and Gad. What is in your hands and how it came to you remain part of the same truth.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that possession proves self-origination: holding something does not mean it began with you.
THE ROOT
יָרַשְׁנוּ
yarashnu
GROWS FROM
ירש
to take possession, dispossess, or inherit
This root has a double edge: it can name inheritance and dispossession. Here, “we possessed” appears beside “I gave,” holding the land together with the act that assigns it.
ALSO GROWS
yerushah: inheritance, possession
יְרֻשָּׁה
This noun makes explicit that possession can be something received as an inheritance.
horish: to dispossess or drive out
הוֹרִישׁ
This branch preserves the root’s forceful edge: taking possession can also mean removing another from possession.
נָתַתִּי
natatti
GROWS FROM
נתן
to give, set, or place
The verb is first-person: “I gave.” Its root also carries the sense of setting or placing, so the portion is not just transferred in the sentence; it is placed with named recipients.
ALSO GROWS
mattanah: gift
מַתָּנָה
This noun shows the root’s giving as something received, illuminating how the possessed land is also presented as given.
natan: to give, set, or place
נָתַן
The broader verb range clarifies the deliberate assignment expressed by “gave I unto.”
THE PATTERN
A possession can be held as real while remaining an inheritance received through an act of giving.
And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.THE THREAD
And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.“Inherit” comes from the same root, ירש (yarash, possess or inherit), as Deuteronomy’s “possessed.” Genesis makes the receiving dimension explicit: the land is given to be inherited.
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