What Does Genesis 31:21 Mean in the King James?

So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead.

Genesis 31:21 · 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.

THE KEY

The river is the hinge: crossing it turns departure into a journey facing somewhere.

THE MEANING

This verse places the reader between what is carried and where the face is turned: movement begins before arrival. The crossing is physical and directional at once; Jacob carries all he has as the far side becomes the journey’s orientation.

THE ROOT

וַיַּעֲבֹר

vayya'avor

GROWS FROM

עבר

to cross, pass over, or go beyond

“passed over” in this verse is vayya'avor. Hebrew ⁨עבר⁩ holds both the act of crossing and the idea of what lies beyond. The river is more than distance on the route: it is the threshold that gives Jacob’s movement a far side.

ALSO GROWS

ʿever: the other side; beyond

עֵבֶר

This branch names the far side implicit in Jacob’s crossing of the river.

ʿover: one passing; a passerby

עוֹבֵר

This form keeps the crossing rooted in the act of passing through, the movement at the center of the verse.

THE PATTERN

Crossing marks a threshold where direction changes before arrival.

I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.

Genesis 32:10 · KJVThe same Hebrew root names Jacob’s crossing and holds the far side in view.

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

Isaiah 43:2 · KJVThe same root describes passage through waters and rivers as a real crossing.

And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.

Mark 4:35 · KJVThe crossing carries the travelers toward an explicitly named far side.

THE THREAD

I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.

Genesis 32:10 · KJV

The same Hebrew root, ⁨עבר⁩ (ʿavar, to cross or pass over), marks Jacob’s remembered crossing of the Jordan. Here the crossing turns his face toward Gilead; in Genesis 32:10, the far side holds the contrast between one staff and two bands.

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