What Does Deuteronomy 7:17 Mean in the King James?
If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess 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 Hebrew verb translated “dispossess” belongs to the same root family as “inherit,” holding removal and receiving together in one word.
THE MEANING
When what stands before you seems greater than you, the question “How can I dispossess them?” rises in the heart. The Hebrew verb also carries the sense of taking possession or inheriting, so the word holds both what must be removed and what may be received.
THE ROOT
לְהוֹרִישָׁם
ləhorisham
GROWS FROM
י־ר־ש
y-r-sh
Take possession, inherit; in a causative form, dispossess.
Here the verb is in a causative form meaning “to dispossess”; other forms of the same root name an heir and an inheritance. Hebrew holds clearing a prior claim and entering possession within one word family, so the question carries both removal and receiving.
ALSO GROWS
yōrēsh: An heir; one who takes possession.
יוֹרֵשׁ
This branch shows the receiving side of the root behind “dispossess.”
yerushah: An inheritance or possession.
יְרֻשָּׁה
This branch names what can be received through the same root family.
THE PATTERN
When opposition looks greater than the self, the text places its visible measure beside a sustaining presence and refuses to treat it as the only measure.
When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;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
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.The same root, יָרַשׁ (yārash, “take possession” or “inherit”), appears in both verses: Genesis renders it “inherit,” while Deuteronomy uses its causative form for “dispossess.” The shared root holds receiving and removal together while leaving Deuteronomy’s hard language about dispossessing nations intact.
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