What Does Exodus 4:5 Mean in the King James?
That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.
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 appearing becomes a witness others can see, giving trust a place to stand.
THE MEANING
An encounter with the LORD can move from what you perceive into a sign another person can recognize. Trust takes root when what is revealed becomes tangible, while the LORD is known as the God named through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
THE ROOT
יַאֲמִינוּ
ya'aminu
GROWS FROM
אמן
aman
To be firm, support, or confirm.
“believe” in this verse is ya'aminu. The word for believing grows from firmness: trust is weight set down on what can hold it. English can make belief sound like a bare opinion, while this root carries the sense of reliance; its branches retain that firmness and trust.
ALSO GROWS
Amen: A spoken affirmation, “so be it.”
אָמֵן
The affirmation carries the root’s sense of firmness: what is affirmed is treated as reliable.
emunah: Steadiness, trust.
אֱמוּנָה
This branch names the dependable quality that trust rests upon.
נִרְאָה
nir'ah
GROWS FROM
ראה
ra'ah
To see, look, or perceive; in this form, to appear or be seen.
The Hebrew for “appeared” comes from the root for seeing. The LORD’s appearance is an encounter entering perception, and the sign gives others something visible through which they can recognize that encounter.
ALSO GROWS
ro'eh: One who sees; a seer.
רֹאֶה
The same root names the one who perceives, bringing the act of appearing together with the act of seeing.
mar'eh: Appearance, vision.
מַרְאֶה
This branch names what is seen, echoing how a visible sign can make an encounter recognizable.
יִצְחָק
Yitzchak
GROWS FROM
צחק
tzachak
To laugh.
Isaac’s name carries laughter within the lineage named here. The LORD is identified through a family story whose names hold distinct qualities, so the ancestors are not interchangeable labels.
ALSO GROWS
tsechoq: Laughter.
צְחוֹק
This noun makes explicit the quality carried in Isaac’s name.
metzacheq: Laughing, playing.
מְצַחֵק
This form shows the root as an action, extending the name’s laughter into lived expression.
THE PATTERN
Trust takes hold through a received witness: what is promised, seen, or shown can become ground for reliance.
And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.THE THREAD
And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.Exodus 14:31 uses the same root, אמן (aman, “to be firm; trust”), for Israel’s believing. There, as here, what is seen gives trust a place to stand.
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