What Does Genesis 18:7 Mean in the King James?
And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.
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
In Hebrew, giving and placing share one root: welcome takes shape as provision placed into another’s hands.
THE MEANING
Care becomes immediate and tangible: Abraham entrusts the calf to the young man, who begins preparing it. Provision reaches the visitors through shared work.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A spoken welcome is already the whole of hospitality.
THE ROOT
וַיִּתֵּן
vayiten
GROWS FROM
נתן
to give, set, or place
“gave” in this verse is vayiten. The verb for giving also carries the sense of setting or placing. The calf is entrusted to the young man as provision to prepare, and the same root can name a gift itself.
ALSO GROWS
mattanah: gift, present
מַתָּנָה
The act of giving in the verse shares its root with the gift that is given.
netinim: given ones; temple servants
נְתִינִים
This branch preserves the sense of people being placed into service, echoing how the calf is entrusted to the young man for a task.
THE PATTERN
Welcome takes shape when provision is placed into another’s care.
And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.THE THREAD
And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.The next verse uses the same Hebrew root as “gave,” now rendered “set.” What Abraham entrusts to the young man becomes a meal placed before the visitors. The root traces provision from handoff to shared table.
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