What Does Exodus 39:14 Mean in the King James?
And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, every one with his name, according to the twelve tribes.
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 names are carved through a word rooted in “opening”: each stone is a surface opened so identity can be carried.
THE MEANING
Here, the twelve names are held in engraved stones, and each name remains distinct within the shared whole. The verse presents belonging as both collective and particular: the tribes are one set, yet every one has his own name.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It unsettles the belief that belonging to a whole means being reduced to a number. The verse holds the twelve together while keeping each name distinct.
THE ROOT
פִּתּוּחֵי
pittuḥei
GROWS FROM
פתח
The root פָּתַח (pataḥ) means “to open.” Its engraved-work branch describes a surface cut open to receive a mark.
“engravings” in this verse is pittuḥei. The word for engraved work grows from פתח (pataḥ, to open). The stone is not merely labeled: its surface is opened so each name can remain visibly carried.
ALSO GROWS
pataḥ: to open
פָּתַח
This verb gives the root’s basic sense: an opening is made in the stone’s surface.
petaḥ: opening, entrance
פֶּתַח
This noun shares the same consonants and shows the root’s sense of an opening.
pittuach: carving, engraved work
פִּתּוּחַ
This is the carved-work form used in the verse’s phrase “engravings of a signet.”
חוֹתָם
ḥotam
GROWS FROM
חתם
The root חָתַם (ḥatam) means “to seal” or “mark with a seal.”
A signet presses an identifying seal. Its comparison makes the engraving a mark that bears identity, not simply a decorative pattern.
ALSO GROWS
ḥatam: to seal, to mark with a seal
חָתַם
This verb names the action associated with the signet in the verse.
ḥatum: sealed
חָתוּם
This form describes what bears the signet’s mark.
ḥotam: signet, seal
חוֹתָם
This is the tool named in the verse’s comparison.
שְׁמֹתָם
shemotam
GROWS FROM
שם
שֵׁם (shem) means “name”; a name makes identity known.
The verse repeats the name-language: “according to their names” and “every one with his name.” Each name carries a distinct identity within the twelve, rather than disappearing into the collective.
ALSO GROWS
shem: name
שֵׁם
This is the singular form at the heart of the verse’s repeated naming.
shemot: names
שְׁמוֹת
This plural form shares the same consonants and names the collective identities.
shemo: his name
שְׁמוֹ
This possessive form echoes “every one with his name,” keeping the individual visible.
THE PATTERN
Names become lasting marks that are carried within a larger whole.
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.THE THREAD
With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold.This verse uses פִּתּוּחֵי (pittuḥei, engravings) from פתח (pataḥ, to open) and חוֹתָם (ḥotam, signet), the same word-pair behind the carved mark here. It makes the process visible: names are cut into two stones and set in gold, so each identity is borne rather than merely recited.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us