What Does Genesis 50:8 Mean in the King James?
And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father’s house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
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 Hebrew verb for “left” can also mean “forsake,” so a practical separation carries the shadow of abandonment without declaring it.
THE MEANING
The verse holds two movements together: Joseph’s kin go, while their little ones and herds remain in Goshen. The word for “left” can also mean “forsake,” but the verse states where they remain without saying they are abandoned.
THE ROOT
עָזְבוּ
ʿāzvû
GROWS FROM
עזב
ʿ-z-b
To leave or depart; also to forsake or abandon.
“left” in this verse is ʿāzvû. The same Hebrew verb can describe a change of location or the severing of a relationship. Here it names who remains behind and where, while leaving their care or abandonment unstated.
ALSO GROWS
ʿāzav: To leave or forsake.
עָזַב
Deuteronomy 31:6 uses this verb in “nor forsake thee,” showing its relational force.
ʿazûvāh: Forsaken; abandoned.
עֲזוּבָה
Isaiah 62:4 uses this related form for what is explicitly named forsaken, making clear how the root can carry more than physical departure.
THE PATTERN
The Hebrew root עזב can describe literal departure or relational forsaking; the surrounding words reveal which force is present.
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.THE THREAD
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.Genesis uses עָזְבוּ (ʿāzvû, “they left”), and Deuteronomy uses the same root in “nor forsake thee.” The shared word can hold both physical separation and relational abandonment, while each verse shows which meaning its sentence names.
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