What Does Ezekiel 33:24 Mean in the King James?
Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance.
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 verse separates dwelling from inheritance: being many in a ruined land does not, by itself, make a claim of possession a gift.
THE MEANING
You hear a voice turn population into title: Abraham is one and inherits the land, while the many claim the land as their inheritance. The verse holds their dwelling among ruins alongside their assertion that the land is already given to them. It leaves the difference between living somewhere and being granted possession audible.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Being more numerous than Abraham does not, by itself, prove that the land has been given to you.
THE ROOT
מוֹרָשָׁה
morashah
GROWS FROM
י־ר־שׁ
y-r-sh
To take possession, inherit, or dispossess.
Here, inheritance is a claim to possession. The same root can describe inheriting or dispossessing, holding together what English often separates: one person’s claimed inheritance can also mean another’s loss of place.
ALSO GROWS
vayyirash: And he inherited; took possession.
וַיִּירַשׁ
This is the verb used of Abraham in the verse, tying his inheritance directly to the possession the speakers claim.
horish: Dispossess; drive out.
הוֹרִישׁ
This form of the same root reveals the other side of possession: gaining a place can entail someone else being driven from it.
נִתְּנָה
nitenah
GROWS FROM
נ־ת־ן
n-t-n
To give, set, or place.
The speakers do not merely say they live there; they describe the land as already given to them. Beside the possession-root in inheritance, natan adds a second layer: a claimed gift and a claimed possession are treated as one settled fact.
ALSO GROWS
natan: Give, set, place.
נָתַן
This is the root verb behind the speakers’ statement that the land is given to them.
mattanah: Gift.
מַתָּנָה
This related noun makes the language of giving audible inside their claim of possession.
יֹשְׁבֵי
yoshevei
GROWS FROM
י־שׁ־ב
y-sh-b
To sit, dwell, or remain.
“inhabit” in this verse is yoshevei. The verse places dwellers among ruins beside their claim of inheritance: yashab names their dwelling, while yarash names the possession they assert. Hebrew lets you hear a distinction between being settled in a place and having a claim to inherit it.
ALSO GROWS
yashav: Sit, dwell, remain.
יָשַׁב
This verb is the seed of the word translated inhabit, describing the people’s presence in the land.
moshav: Dwelling, settlement, seat.
מוֹשָׁב
This related word extends the root’s sense of dwelling and settlement, clarifying what the speakers do before they claim what they possess.
THE PATTERN
Claims of inheritance and security are tested when ancestry, numbers, or sacred place are offered as proof by themselves.
Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.THE THREAD
And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.Genesis names the source of Abraham’s inheritance as the LORD’s giving; Ezekiel’s speakers use the language of giving to assert their own possession. The shared yarash root brings the distinction into view: inheritance means possession, while the verse leaves the speakers’ asserted grant as a claim.
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