What Does Exodus 33:19 Mean in the King James?
And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
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 LORD’s name is revealed as goodness coming into view, expressed as favor and compassion.
THE MEANING
You encounter the LORD’s nature as goodness passing before you, made tangible as favor and compassion. The repeated promise makes that mercy personal: it is shown to the one the LORD chooses to meet with it.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that the LORD’s name is only a title: here, the name is made known through goodness, favor, and compassion.
THE ROOT
רִחַמְתִּי
riḥamtî
GROWS FROM
רחם
To show deep compassion or tenderness.
“shew mercy” in this verse is riḥamtî. The root רחם also gives the word for womb, רֶחֶם (reḥem). That branch lets the verse’s mercy carry the sense of intimate, sheltering compassion, not merely a decision to spare.
ALSO GROWS
reḥem: Womb
רֶחֶם
This related word gives the compassion in the verse a close, sheltering quality.
raḥûm: Compassionate, merciful
רַחוּם
This adjective from the same root names the compassionate nature expressed here.
raḥamîm: Compassion, mercies
רַחֲמִים
The plural form shows the root’s reach into the many expressions of compassion.
וְחַנֹּתִי
weḥannōtî
GROWS FROM
חנן
To show favor or treat someone graciously.
“be gracious” in this verse is weḥannōtî. The verse repeats this verb around “whom,” making favor an act shown to a person, not an abstract quality. The same root appears in words for favor and for a plea seeking favor.
ALSO GROWS
ḥēn: Favor, grace
חֵן
This noun shares the root and names the favor the LORD says will be shown.
teḥinnāh: Supplication, plea for favor
תְּחִנָּה
This branch shows the root in a request for the favor expressed in the verse.
טוּבִי
ṭûbî
GROWS FROM
טוב
Goodness; what is good, pleasing, or beneficial.
The root moves between what is good and the good that is experienced or received. Here, goodness passes before you, making it a visible disclosure of the LORD’s nature.
ALSO GROWS
ṭôb: Good, pleasing, beneficial
טוֹב
This adjective shares the root and describes the quality named as the LORD’s goodness.
ṭôbâ: A good thing, benefit
טוֹבָה
This form brings the root toward goodness as something concrete that can be received.
THE PATTERN
The LORD’s nature is made known through goodness, favor, and compassion in action.
And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.THE THREAD
And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,The paired roots recur: רַחוּם (raḥûm, compassionate) grows from רחם, and חַנּוּן (ḥannûn, gracious) from חנן. This verse gives spoken names to the compassion and favor promised here, alongside the LORD’s goodness.
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