What Does Genesis 24:21 Mean in the King James?
And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.
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
The servant holds the question open while he watches whether the journey is advancing toward its intended end.
THE MEANING
You can be inside an answer before you know how to read it. What unfolds may show whether the path is moving toward its intended end, while uncertainty remains. Here, not knowing yet is part of discerning what is happening.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Uncertainty does not mean the answer is absent; the way may already be opening while its meaning remains unclear.
THE ROOT
הַהִצְלִיחַ
ha-hitsliaḥ
GROWS FROM
צ־ל־ח
ts-l-ḥ
Advance, push forward; bring to success.
The word translated “prosperous” describes the way being brought forward, not simply a favorable status. The servant watches to see whether the journey is moving into the outcome he asked for.
ALSO GROWS
hitsliaḥ: Made successful, caused to prosper.
הִצְלִיחַ
This is the verb in the verse: the question is whether the LORD has brought the journey forward.
vattitslaḥ: Came mightily upon (Judges 14:6).
וַתִּצְלַח
The same root describes forceful movement coming upon someone, showing that its sense of advancement reaches beyond material success.
דַּרְכּוֹ
darko
GROWS FROM
ד־ר־ך
d-r-k
Tread, step, make a way.
The word rendered “journey” is literally “his way,” from the root for treading a path. The servant is asking whether that trodden way is now advancing toward its purpose.
ALSO GROWS
derekh: Way, road, course.
דֶּרֶךְ
This is the noun contained in “his way”; the journey is a path with a direction, not just distance traveled.
darak: Tread, step, march.
דָּרַךְ
The root keeps the image of a way made by movement, fitting the question of whether this journey is progressing.
THE PATTERN
A path’s success becomes visible through what it brings into motion and fruition.
And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house:And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.THE THREAD
And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house:Abraham uses the same root, צלח, when he says the LORD will “prosper thy way.” Here, the servant watches to see whether that spoken expectation is taking shape in what unfolds.
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