What Does Job 1:12 Mean in the King James?
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
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
What the KJV calls the Adversary’s “power” is literally a hand, and the next clause names that hand again only to forbid it from reaching Job.
THE MEANING
The verse holds destructive access and a sharp limit together: the Adversary is given what Job has, but is forbidden to touch Job himself. The boundary does not make the permitted loss small; it marks exactly where the reach must stop.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that permission means unlimited power: the reach is real, but the verse states its boundary.
THE ROOT
תִּשְׁלַח
tishlach
GROWS FROM
שׁלח
sh-l-ḥ
send, send forth, release
The phrase “put not forth” is תִּשְׁלַח (tishlach, “you send”), from the root שׁלח (shalach, “send or release”). The first phrase, בְּיָדֶךָ (beyadekha, “in your hand”), names the Adversary’s power as a hand; the next clause forbids him to send that hand toward Job.
ALSO GROWS
shaliach: A messenger, one who is sent
שָׁלִיחַ
This branch shows the root’s sense of sending someone outward, the same movement the verse forbids the hand from making toward Job.
Shiloach: Sent forth; the name of the pool called Siloam
שִׁלֹחַ
The name preserves the same sending root, showing that shalach can describe what is sent forth as well as the act of sending.
הַשָּׂטָן
ha-satan
GROWS FROM
שׂטן
ś-ṭ-n
oppose, act as an adversary
The definite article הַ (ha-, “the”) makes the phrase הַשָּׂטָן (ha-satan, “the adversary”). The root names opposition, while the verse makes clear that this opposition has a stated limit.
ALSO GROWS
satan: An adversary or opponent
שָׂטָן
This is the word behind the KJV name “Satan”; the Hebrew names the opposing role directly.
sitnah: Hostility or accusation
שִׂטְנָה
This related form carries the root’s oppositional force, illuminating the threat directed at Job and what he possesses.
THE PATTERN
A destructive reach can be real while remaining bounded by a stated limit.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.THE THREAD
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.The same form הַשָּׂטָן (ha-satan, “the adversary”) and the same word יָד (yad, “hand”) return, but the permitted reach shifts from Job’s possessions to Job himself. “Save his life” sets the new boundary: the hand may strike, but may not take his life.
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