What Does Ezekiel 43:1 Mean in the King James?
Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east:
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
This gate faces the east, and the Hebrew word for east also carries the sense of the front, the place of what lies before you.
THE MEANING
You are brought to a threshold facing what lies before you. East here is haqqādîm (הַקָּדִים, the east), from q-d-m (קדם, to be in front or precede); direction and “what is before” meet in one word. The verse leaves you at an opening turned toward what is coming into view.
THE ROOT
הַקָּדִים
haqqādîm
GROWS FROM
קדם
q-d-m
To be in front, to precede; what is before.
English gives east as a compass direction, while the Hebrew word belongs to a family that also carries the senses of front and what came before. The gate’s direction is also an orientation toward what lies ahead.
ALSO GROWS
qéḏem: Front, east, or former time; antiquity.
קֶדֶם
One word-family holds together spatial direction and what came before.
qāḏam: To precede, come before, or meet.
קָדַם
This branch makes the east-facing gate an orientation toward what comes before the traveler.
פֹּנֶה
pōneh
GROWS FROM
פנה
p-n-h
To turn, face, or turn toward.
“looketh toward” in this verse is pōneh. The Hebrew describes the gate as facing or turning toward the east. Its orientation is part of the scene: the gate is turned toward a particular direction.
ALSO GROWS
pānîm: Face; presence.
פָּנִים
The face is the part that turns toward what it encounters.
pinnah: Corner or corner projection.
פִּנָּה
A corner marks a turn in direction, echoing the verse’s focus on orientation.
וַיּוֹלִכֵנִי
wayyōlîḵēnî
GROWS FROM
הלך
h-l-k
To go or walk; in a causative form, to lead or cause to go.
“brought” in this verse is wayyōlîḵēnî. The Hebrew pictures a guided going toward the gate, keeping the movement within the scene. You are led to a threshold whose direction is already set.
ALSO GROWS
hālaḵ: To go or walk.
הָלַךְ
The root holds the movement that brings the speaker toward the gate.
hôlîḵ: To lead or cause to go.
הוֹלִיךְ
This causative form shows the speaker being led along a path toward the threshold.
THE PATTERN
Across scripture, the east repeatedly marks the direction from which life, divine presence, or a sign of coming appears.
And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.THE THREAD
And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.The same word, haqqādîm (הַקָּדִים, the east), appears in the next verse: the glory comes from this direction. The gate’s orientation is answered immediately by an arrival, so its facing marks the route of the presence.
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