What Does Genesis 38:22 Mean in the King James?
And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place.
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 KJV calls two different Hebrew terms “harlot”: זֹונָה (zônāh, prostitute) in the earlier scene and קְדֵשָׁה (qĕdēšāh, a term often understood as a cultic sexual role) in this report.
THE MEANING
The earlier scene names her זֹונָה (zônāh, prostitute), while this report uses קְדֵשָׁה (qĕdēšāh, a term often understood as a cultic sexual role). The men say no woman of that category is in this place. The KJV renders both terms “harlot,” so the English sounds repetitive where the Hebrew preserves a distinction.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the assumption that the men are confirming or denying the exact category Judah first saw: the Hebrew term changes, even though the KJV keeps “harlot.”
THE ROOT
קְדֵשָׁה
qĕdēšāh
GROWS FROM
קדש
q-d-sh
To be set apart; sacredness or set-apartness.
This term is built on קָדַשׁ (qādash, to set apart or consecrate), and here it is often understood as naming a cultic sexual role. It is distinct from זֹונָה (zônāh, prostitute), Judah’s earlier label; the English “harlot” covers a distinction the Hebrew keeps visible.
ALSO GROWS
qādōsh: Set apart; sacred.
קָדוֹשׁ
This adjective shares the root and makes the word’s set-apart association audible beneath the role named in the verse.
qōdesh: Sacredness; a sacred thing or place.
קֹדֶשׁ
This noun carries the same root into the language of sacredness, showing why קְדֵשָׁה (qĕdēšāh) does not simply repeat Judah’s earlier term.
יְהוּדָה
Yehudah
GROWS FROM
ידה
y-d-h
To praise or give thanks.
Judah’s name is tied to Leah’s words in Genesis 29:35: “Now will I praise the LORD.” Here he returns carrying the men’s report, placing a name associated with praise beside a scene where a woman’s identity remains unrecognized.
ALSO GROWS
yādâ: Praise; give thanks.
יָדָה
This is the verb behind Leah’s explanation of Judah’s name, connecting the name to spoken praise.
tôdâ: Thanksgiving; praise.
תּוֹדָה
This noun from the same root gives the name’s praise association a form of spoken gratitude.
THE PATTERN
A surface appearance or label can hide the person it seems to identify.
And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.THE THREAD
Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.The question and answer in verse 21 use קְדֵשָׁה (qĕdēšāh, a term often understood as a cultic sexual role), and verse 22 repeats the men’s exact denial. The shared word makes clear that Judah is relaying their answer about that category, while the KJV’s “harlot” also masks its difference from his earlier label.
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