What Does Genesis 9:25 Mean in the King James?
And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
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 repeats the root for service in “servant of servants,” making subjection the measure of Canaan’s place among his brothers.
THE MEANING
The verse speaks a curse over Canaan and places him beneath his brothers in service. As the reader hears it now, kinship is rendered as hierarchy, and subjection is spoken as fate.
THE ROOT
עֶבֶד עֲבָדִים
ʿeved ʿavadim
GROWS FROM
עבד
ʿ-b-d
To work or serve.
“Servant of servants” uses singular and plural forms from the same root, intensifying the subjection to the lowest station of service. English preserves the phrase, while Hebrew makes the repeated root visible beneath it.
ALSO GROWS
ʿeved: servant
עֶבֶד
The singular form names the status assigned to Canaan.
ʿavodah: work, service
עֲבֹדָה
This branch reveals the labor contained within the status of being a servant.
אָרוּר
ʾārūr
GROWS FROM
ארר
ʾ-r-r
To curse or pronounce a curse upon.
“cursed” in this verse is ʾārūr. The form describes one placed under a curse, so the verse speaks a declared verdict over Canaan. The curse and the assigned service together turn that verdict into a place within the family hierarchy.
ALSO GROWS
ʾārar: to curse
אָרַר
The verb behind “cursed” makes the word an act of pronouncement.
meʾērāh: curse, malediction
מְאֵרָה
This noun names the curse itself, alongside the person placed under it.
THE PATTERN
A spoken pronouncement can assign a future and rank people within family ties.
Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.THE THREAD
And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.The next verse repeats the עבד root in “Canaan shall be his servant” while placing a blessing over Shem. This repetition makes the “servant of servants” phrase part of a paired declaration, with the same root carrying the assigned status forward.
This reading is from Selah Verse.
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