What Does Jeremiah 24:4 Mean in the King James?

Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Jeremiah 24:4 · 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

Hebrew davar can mean both “word” and “matter,” holding the speaking and what is spoken about together.

THE MEANING

The LORD’s word meets you as more than information: davar can name both a spoken word and a matter or thing. Its arrival is personal, “unto me”, and it comes as speech that continues into what follows.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

It dissolves the belief that a divine word is only distant information: davar also names a matter at issue in lived reality.

THE ROOT

דָּבָר

davar

GROWS FROM

דבר

To speak; a word, matter, or thing.

English “word” can sound like a unit of language, while davar can also mean a matter, thing, or affair. The Hebrew keeps the speaking and its subject within one word-family, so the address is not detached commentary.

ALSO GROWS

dibber: He spoke; he said.

דִּבֵּר

The verb makes the speech within “the word of the LORD” audible: davar belongs to the act of speaking as well as to its message.

devarim: Words; matters or affairs.

דְּבָרִים

This plural preserves both senses, showing how what is spoken can also be the matter under consideration.

THE PATTERN

A divine address reaches a person as speech that opens an encounter.

After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

Genesis 15:1 · KJVThe word arrives to Abram as personal address and becomes a spoken encounter.

Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Jeremiah 1:4 · KJVThe same arrival-and-saying form presents the word as speech meeting a person directly.

And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.

Acts 10:13 · KJVA voice reaches Peter directly, and its words begin the encounter unfolding around him.

THE THREAD

Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Jeremiah 1:4 · KJV

Jeremiah 1:4 uses the same Hebrew phrase, devar YHWH, and the same arrival-and-saying structure. The repeated davar shows this verse as a returning form of address: the word is both spoken message and the matter before you.

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