What Does Genesis 18:12 Mean in the King James?
Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
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
Her private laugh already carries the root that will name the child she cannot yet believe for.
THE MEANING
Your inward laugh can hold disbelief and desire at once: you can name what seems impossible and still wonder whether delight remains possible. The verse leaves Sarah’s question fully audible, including her awareness of age and her longing for pleasure.
THE ROOT
וַתִּצְחַק
vattitschaq
GROWS FROM
צחק
To laugh, play, or mock.
“laughed” in this verse is vattitschaq. The English gives Sarah a private laugh, while this same root names Isaac: Yitzchak means “he laughs.” Her inward question already shares its sound with the promised child’s name.
ALSO GROWS
Yitzchak: Isaac; “he laughs.”
יִצְחָק
The child Sarah questions carries the root of her laughter in his name.
tsechoq: Laughter.
צְחוֹק
This noun returns in Genesis 21:6, when Sarah’s inward laugh becomes laughter shared with others.
עֶדְנָה
ʿednah
GROWS FROM
עדן
To luxuriate or take delight.
“pleasure” in this verse is ʿednah. Sarah’s question uses a word for delight, not only bodily capacity. Its root family also includes Eden, so the verse places the possibility of delight beside her plain recognition of age.
ALSO GROWS
ʿEden: Delight; Eden.
עֵדֶן
The related word brings the language of delight into Sarah’s question about pleasure.
ʿādan: To luxuriate or take delight.
עָדַן
This verbal form makes the root’s sense of pleasure and enjoyment explicit.
THE PATTERN
Laughter held in disbelief can become shared joy when what seemed impossible arrives.
And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.THE THREAD
And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.The same root, צחק (tsachaq), moves from Sarah laughing within herself to laughter she shares aloud. What begins as an inward question becomes part of the child’s name and the joy surrounding his arrival.
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