What Does Exodus 34:31 Mean in the King James?
And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with 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 one named “drawn out” calls others back across distance until retreat becomes conversation.
THE MEANING
A call is met with return, and the return opens conversation. The movement is from distance toward renewed address, where presence becomes possible again in speech.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that once people withdraw, the relationship is over and meaningful conversation cannot resume.
THE ROOT
וַיָּשֻׁבוּ
vayyashuvu
GROWS FROM
שׁוּב
shuv
Turn back, return.
English “returned” can sound like mere relocation, but shuv carries the sense of turning back toward someone. Its branches can name return or turning away, revealing that the direction of movement changes the relationship.
ALSO GROWS
teshuvah: Return, turning back.
תְּשׁוּבָה
The same root makes return a changed direction, not simply arriving at a place.
meshubah: Turning away, backsliding.
מְשׁוּבָה
This branch names movement away; the rulers’ return reverses that direction toward Moses.
וַיִּקְרָא
vayyiqra
GROWS FROM
קָרָא
qara
Call out, summon, proclaim.
“called” in this verse is vayyiqra. The root’s branches include both calling and gathering. Here the voice does more than address individuals: it draws them back into a shared encounter.
ALSO GROWS
miqra: Convocation, assembly.
מִקְרָא
The related word makes visible how a call can gather people into one place.
qeri'ah: Calling, reading aloud.
קְרִיאָה
The call is voiced and heard; it becomes the opening through which the rulers return.
מֹשֶׁה
Mosheh
GROWS FROM
מָשָׁה
mashah
Draw out.
Moses’ name is tied to being drawn out of the water. Here the one named “drawn out” calls others back within reach, and the verse’s movement ends in conversation.
ALSO GROWS
meshithihu: “I drew him out,” the naming phrase in Exodus 2:10.
מְשִׁיתִהוּ
The phrase shows the name carrying an act of being drawn from danger into identity.
yimsheni: “He drew me out,” as in Psalm 18:16.
יִמְשֵׁנִי
The same root describes being drawn out of many waters, echoing the movement from peril or distance toward reach.
THE PATTERN
A voice that reaches across separation can open a path back into encounter.
And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.THE THREAD
Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.The Hebrew root שׁוּב (shuv), meaning “turn” or “return,” appears in both verses. Zechariah’s paired turning toward one another shows the relational weight of the rulers’ return: the movement ends not only at a location, but in renewed address.
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