What Does Ezekiel 2:2 Mean in the King James?
And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.
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 breath enters before the hearing: it is what sets the listener on their feet.
THE MEANING
As the voice speaks, breath enters you and sets you upright; hearing follows. The verse joins breath, posture, and perception in one movement, so listening is something your whole being is brought into.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It dissolves the belief that you must steady yourself before you can hear; here, the entering breath sets you on your feet first.
THE ROOT
רוּחַ
ruach
GROWS FROM
רוח
r-w-ḥ
To blow or breathe; moving air, breath.
Ruach holds wind, breath, and spirit in one word. Here, the breath that enters also sets the body upright for hearing; its consonant echo with רֶוַח (revach, room or relief) adds the sound of space opening.
ALSO GROWS
ruach: Wind, breath, or spirit.
רוּחַ
The same word carries all three senses, so what enters is at once breath and spirit.
revach: Room, relief, or respite.
רֶוַח
Its consonants echo ruach in a different vocal pattern, linking the incoming breath with the opening of space.
וַתַּעֲמִדֵנִי
vata'amideni
GROWS FROM
עמד
ʿ-m-d
To stand, remain, or take one’s place.
The verb makes standing happen: the speaker is set upright, not merely told to stand. The same root gives a word for a pillar, so standing carries the sense of becoming supported and established.
ALSO GROWS
amad: To stand or remain.
עָמַד
It is the basic action contained in being set upon one’s feet.
ammud: A pillar or column.
עַמּוּד
This branch makes standing structural: the upright form can also support.
וָאֶשְׁמַע
va'eshma
GROWS FROM
שמע
sh-m-ʿ
To hear, listen, or attend.
“heard” in this verse is va'eshma. The root can carry attentive listening as well as hearing. Its branch for a report is something received by hearing, so the verse’s final movement is perception that takes in what is spoken.
ALSO GROWS
shama: To hear, listen, or heed.
שָׁמַע
It names the listening that follows the breath’s arrival and the body’s rising.
shemuah: A report or something heard.
שְׁמוּעָה
It shows hearing as the reception of meaningful speech, not sound alone.
THE PATTERN
The breath that enters brings life into the body and makes it able to stand, hear, or speak.
So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.THE THREAD
Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house.The same sequence returns: ruach enters, then the body is set upright. Here speech follows, extending the breath’s movement from receiving a voice to being able to answer it.
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