What Does Genesis 14:5 Mean in the King James?

And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

Genesis 14:5 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

One Hebrew strike verb carries the coalition from people to people, turning a single year marker into a campaign of repeated blows.

THE MEANING

You see an alliance striking the Rephaim, Zuzim, and Emim across three named places. The peoples remain visible as targets, and the place names locate the harm without blurring it into a general victory report.

THE ROOT

וַיַּכּוּ

vayyakku

GROWS FROM

נכה

n-k-h

to strike, hit, or smite

“smote” in this verse is vayyakku. The verb names the direct act of striking, not an abstract idea of conquest. Its noun branch ⁨מַכָּה⁩ (makkah, a blow or plague) carries the same impact into an event or wound; here the verb marks what the coalition does to each people.

ALSO GROWS

makkah: a blow; a plague

מַכָּה

The noun carries the root’s strike into the resulting impact, keeping the force concrete.

hukkah: he or it was struck

הֻכָּה

This passive form shows the same root from the struck one’s side, matching the named peoples in the verse.

אֵמִים

ʾEmim

GROWS FROM

א־י־ם

ʾ-y-m

terror, dread; being terrifying

“Emims” in this verse is ʾEmim. The name Emim is traditionally connected with the Hebrew word-family of terror and dread. Deuteronomy 2:10 describes these people as great, numerous, and tall, so the name carries the sound of dread even as this verse records the blows they receive.

ALSO GROWS

ʾeimah: terror, dread

אֵימָה

This related noun makes audible the fear carried by the name Emim.

ʾayom: terrifying, dreadful

אָיֹם

This related adjective describes what inspires dread, echoing the force of the people-name.

THE PATTERN

Scripture keeps the force of a blow visible by naming the one who strikes and the people or body that receives it.

And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

Genesis 14:5 · KJVThe coalition’s strike is repeated across named peoples and places, making the campaign’s targets explicit.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Isaiah 53:4 · KJVThe same Hebrew root speaks of a figure as smitten, keeping the blow visible within a different account of suffering.

Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

Matthew 26:31 · KJVThe saying names the shepherd as the one struck and the flock as those scattered, keeping the consequence visible.

THE THREAD

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Isaiah 53:4 · KJV

Genesis’s ⁨וַיַּכּוּ⁩ (vayyakku, they struck) and Isaiah’s ⁨מֻכֵּה⁩ (mukkeh, smitten) come from the same Hebrew root ⁨נכה⁩ (nakah, to strike). One verse names a coalition’s blows against peoples; the other names a figure seen as struck, leaving the physical force present in both.

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