What Does Genesis 14:7 Mean in the King James?
And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezon-tamar.
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
Their return brings them to a place with two names: En-mishpat, “spring of judgment,” is Kadesh, “set apart”, judgment and separation held together in one place.
THE MEANING
You encounter a return that leads straight into violence: the force reaches En-mishpat, also called Kadesh, then strikes the whole country of the Amalekites and the Amorites dwelling in Hazezon-tamar. The verse places the name “Spring of Judgment” beside the blunt fact of the blow without softening what happens.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A return does not guarantee restoration; here, those who return go on to strike the land and its inhabitants.
THE ROOT
מִשְׁפָּט
mishpat
GROWS FROM
שׁפט
sh-p-t
To judge, decide, or govern.
En-mishpat combines עֵין (ʿein, spring) with מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, judgment), giving “spring of judgment.” The verse then identifies that place as Kadesh, holding judgment and setting apart together in one name-bearing location.
ALSO GROWS
shaphat: To judge or decide a case.
שָׁפַט
This is the action at the root of the “judgment” named in En-mishpat.
shofet: A judge or one who adjudicates.
שֹׁפֵט
This branch shows judgment as an active role, not only an abstract idea.
קָדֵשׁ
qadesh
GROWS FROM
קדש
q-d-sh
To set apart or consecrate.
Kadesh carries the idea of being set apart. Since the verse says En-mishpat “is Kadesh,” the place’s name gathers the language of judgment and setting apart into one location.
ALSO GROWS
qadosh: Set apart.
קָדוֹשׁ
This adjective makes explicit the quality carried by the place-name Kadesh.
miqdash: Sanctuary, a set-apart place.
מִקְדָּשׁ
This branch shows how the root can describe a place marked as set apart.
וַיַּכּוּ
vayyakku
GROWS FROM
נכה
n-k-h
To strike or inflict a blow.
“smote” in this verse is vayyakku. The verse names a striking, not merely a victory: it says what is done to the Amalekite country and the Amorites at Hazezon-tamar. The same root family includes words for a blow or plague, keeping the violence visible in the language.
ALSO GROWS
hikkah: He struck or smote.
הִכָּה
This verb form makes the root’s action plain: a direct blow is inflicted.
makkah: A blow, wound, or plague.
מַכָּה
This noun carries the same striking into its result, showing the harm that a blow leaves behind.
THE PATTERN
A name can compress the nature or defining encounter of a person or place.
And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.THE THREAD
And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.Genesis 14:7 places מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, judgment) in En-mishpat’s name; Psalm 9:8 uses the same שפט (sh-p-t) root for judging and judgment. It lets the place-name resonate as an active word, while Genesis keeps the violence at that place in full view.
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