What Does Genesis 43:19 Mean in the King James?
And they came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they communed with him at the door of the house,
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 encounter begins at the opening: they draw near enough to speak while still standing at the house’s threshold.
THE MEANING
You can be at the edge of a matter before you are inside it. Nearness comes first here; the words follow at the entrance. The threshold holds distance and contact at once.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A boundary does not make contact impossible: the brothers speak at the opening before entry is described.
THE ROOT
וַיִּגְּשׁוּ
wayyiggəšū
GROWS FROM
נגשׁ
nāgaš
approach, draw near
“came near” in this verse is wayyiggəšū. The verb carries a physical movement toward someone. The verse links that movement directly to speech: they draw near, then address the steward. English can make those actions feel separate, but here approach brings them into the encounter.
ALSO GROWS
higgîš: bring near, present
הִגִּישׁ
The related form makes approach an act of bringing something or someone into reach.
niggaš: approach, come near
נִגַּשׁ
This form keeps the focus on crossing the distance toward another person.
וַיְדַבְּרוּ
waydabbəru
GROWS FROM
דבר
dābar
speak; word or matter
“communed” in this verse is waydabbəru. The Hebrew says they spoke. The related noun can mean both a word and a matter, joining what is said with the matter being brought forward. Their speech is the next movement after they draw near.
ALSO GROWS
dābār: word, matter, thing
דָּבָר
A spoken word and the matter at hand share the same root.
dibbēr: speak, say
דִּבֵּר
This verb names the act of speaking that follows their approach.
פֶּתַח
pétaḥ
GROWS FROM
פתח
pātaḥ
open
The word for the door names an opening. Their conversation takes place at this opening, where the house’s inside and outside meet.
ALSO GROWS
pātaḥ: open
פָּתַח
The verb names the act behind the opening named in the verse.
pétaḥ: opening, entrance
פֶּתַח
This noun places their speech at the point of entry.
THE PATTERN
Drawing near in scripture becomes a movement into direct address.
And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh.Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.THE THREAD
Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh.“Came near” translates the same Hebrew root נגשׁ (nāgaš, to approach or draw near). Here, as in Genesis 43:19, approach leads directly into speech: draw near, then speak.
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