What Does Jeremiah 48:40 Mean in the King James?
For thus saith the LORD; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.
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 eagle’s flight is only half the threat: “spread” turns its speed into a reach that covers Moab.
THE MEANING
The verse speaks of judgment as a force that can arrive with an eagle’s speed and the reach of wings spread over a land. The threat is both swift and enveloping; it comes from above and extends across the territory.
THE ROOT
וְיִפְרֹשׂ
wəyiprōś
GROWS FROM
פרשׂ
p-r-ś
Spread out; extend outward.
“spread his wings” in this verse is wəyiprōś. The same root describes hands extended outward and wings extended over a land. English preserves the action of spreading, while the shared root reveals the link between an outstretched gesture and an encompassing reach.
ALSO GROWS
wəyiprōś: He spreads or extends his wings.
וְיִפְרֹשׂ
Jeremiah 49:22 repeats this wording for the eagle over Bozrah, making the spread of wings a picture of territorial reach.
spread my hands: I spread or extend my hands.
אֶפְרֹשׂ
In Exodus 9:29 the same root describes hands extended toward the LORD, showing that פרשׂ names outward extension, whether by hands or wings.
tip̄rəśū: You spread or extend your hands.
תִּפְרְשׂוּ
Isaiah 1:15 uses the root for outstretched hands; here that same extending action becomes the wings’ reach over Moab.
יִדְאֶה
yidʾeh
GROWS FROM
דאה
d-ʾ-h
Soar; fly.
“fly” in this verse is yidʾeh. The verb gives the eagle image its sudden forward motion. Beside the verb for spreading wings, it makes the threat both fast in approach and wide in reach.
ALSO GROWS
yidʾeh: The eagle flies or soars.
יִדְאֶה
Deuteronomy 28:49 uses the same verb for an invading nation arriving swiftly, tying the eagle’s flight to abrupt approach.
wəyidʾeh: He will fly or soar.
וְיִדְאֶה
Jeremiah 49:22 repeats the verb in the eagle image over Bozrah, closely echoing the approach described over Moab.
THE PATTERN
Prophetic eagle imagery presents an overwhelming force as swift in arrival and broad in reach.
The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.THE THREAD
Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.The same eagle, flight verb, and spread-wing verb appear in the oracle over Bozrah. That echo makes the image’s two parts clear: sudden approach, then reach extending over the territory.
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