What Does Exodus 12:43 Mean in the King James?
And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:
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 excluded “stranger” is named as a son of foreignness, and the surrounding rule shows that foreign status has a path into belonging.
THE MEANING
This verse places a boundary around the Passover meal: someone still named as foreign to the covenant community does not eat from it. The word is ben nechar, “son of foreignness,” and the surrounding rule states how a resident stranger may enter the meal. The line holds exclusion and a defined way of belonging in the same passage.
THE ROOT
בֶּן־נֵכָר
ben nechar
GROWS FROM
נכר
n-k-r
To recognize or distinguish; in this word family, foreignness or what is unfamiliar.
“stranger” in this verse is ben nechar. The phrase literally means “son of foreignness,” naming the person by their relation to the community. The same root also yields a verb meaning “recognize,” placing foreignness alongside the act of distinguishing; the nearby rule shows that this status can change.
ALSO GROWS
nokrî: Foreigner; foreign.
נָכְרִי
It shares the word family that names someone as outside the community.
hikkîr: Recognize; identify.
הִכִּיר
It brings the root’s sense of distinguishing into view beside the word for foreignness.
חֻקַּת
ḥuqqat
GROWS FROM
חקק
ḥ-q-q
To mark out, inscribe, or prescribe.
“ordinance” in this verse is ḥuqqat. The word carries the sense of a prescribed decree, and its root can mean to mark or inscribe. The exclusion is presented as a defined boundary around the meal, not a passing preference.
ALSO GROWS
ḥoq: A prescribed decree or portion.
חֹק
It shares the sense of something formally marked out.
meḥoqeq: Lawgiver or ruler.
מְחֹקֵק
It shows the root’s connection to establishing a defined order.
THE PATTERN
Participation in a sacred meal is defined by the relationship and readiness the text names.
And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.There shall no stranger eat of the holy thing: a sojourner of the priest, or an hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing.But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.THE THREAD
And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.Verse 43 names the excluded person as a ben nechar, literally “son of foreignness.” Verse 48 shows that a resident stranger may keep the Passover after circumcision and be counted as native-born, so the boundary describes a status with a stated path across it.
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