What Does Exodus 18:20 Mean in the King James?
And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.
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 way being shown is a track to tread: what becomes known takes shape in walking and work.
THE MEANING
Direction reaches you as something made perceptible, then lived in your steps and work. Knowing the way and walking it belong together; the work is where the way takes form.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that understanding the right instruction is complete by itself dissolves here; knowing the way, walking it, and doing its work belong together.
THE ROOT
וְהוֹדַעְתָּ
vehodaʿta
GROWS FROM
ידע
y-d-ʿ
To know or perceive; in this form, to make known.
“shew” in this verse is vehodaʿta. The way is made known by bringing it into perception. Direction here is more than words recited: it becomes something the hearer can recognize and follow.
ALSO GROWS
yada: Know, perceive.
יָדַע
The same root ties showing the way to knowing it.
daʿat: Knowledge, perception.
דַּעַת
This branch echoes the verse’s movement from instruction toward a way that can be understood.
דֶּרֶךְ
derekh
GROWS FROM
דרך
d-r-k
To tread or step.
The word for a way grows from the action of treading. The path being shown is a course of movement, not merely an idea.
ALSO GROWS
darakh: Tread, step.
דָּרַךְ
It reveals the action held within the word for a path.
midrakh: A place to tread; a foothold.
מִדְרָךְ
This branch makes the path concrete: it is ground where a foot can land.
יֵלְכוּ
yelku
GROWS FROM
הלך
h-l-k
To walk or go.
“walk” in this verse is yelku. The way and the walking use different roots, yet meet in the same movement: a path is shown, then taken step by step. The verse joins direction to embodied action and the work that follows.
ALSO GROWS
halakh: Walk or go.
הָלַךְ
This root gives the verse its movement along the way.
halikhah: Walking, a journey.
הֲלִיכָה
It carries the verb into the larger course of movement through life.
THE PATTERN
Direction becomes tangible when what is heard is perceived as a path and carried into action.
Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.THE THREAD
Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.This verse pairs דְּרָכִים (derakhim, ways), from דרך (d-r-k, tread), with תֵּלֵכוּן (telekhun, walk), from הלך (h-l-k, walk or go). The shared movement makes clear how a shown direction becomes a path taken.
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