What Does Job 21:22 Mean in the King James?
Shall any teach God knowledge? seeing he judgeth those that are high.
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
Human elevation gives no vantage point from which to teach the One who judges the elevated.
THE MEANING
The verse asks whether a human can stand as God’s instructor while God judges those who occupy the heights. Its force reaches you now: status and certainty do not place anyone beyond God’s judgment or make a human perspective final.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Being powerful or elevated does not make your judgment final or place you beyond accountability.
THE ROOT
דַּעַת
da’at
GROWS FROM
ידע
yada
Know, perceive
Da’at, “knowledge,” grows from yada, “know, perceive.” The question exposes the limit of human knowing: possessing knowledge does not make a person capable of teaching God.
ALSO GROWS
yada: Know, perceive
יָדַע
It shows that “knowledge” belongs to the wider action of knowing and perceiving, not merely to a detached store of facts.
hodi’a: Make known, declare
הוֹדִיעַ
This causative form of the same root links knowing with making something known, sharpening the question of who could impart knowledge to God.
רָמִים
ramim
GROWS FROM
רום
rum
Rise, be high, be exalted
The “high” ones carry the root of rising or being exalted. Their elevation is the very position under judgment, not a place outside it.
ALSO GROWS
ram: High, exalted
רָם
It makes clear that the verse is speaking about elevation and rank, not simply physical height.
marom: Height, heights
מָרוֹם
This branch extends the image of being raised up, while the verse shows that even the heights remain within God’s judgment.
יִשְׁפֹּט
yishpot
GROWS FROM
שפט
shaphat
Judge, adjudicate
“judgeth” in this verse is yishpot. The verse uses an active verb of judgment: those who are high are being judged. Rank does not set the standard or shield its holder from it.
ALSO GROWS
shofet: Judge
שֹׁפֵט
The person who judges is named by the same root as the action in the verse.
mishpat: Judgment, justice
מִשְׁפָּט
This branch names the judgment itself, showing that the verse’s claim concerns an active rendering of judgment over the elevated.
THE PATTERN
The one who judges human heights cannot be made a pupil or measured by human understanding.
He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?THE THREAD
He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?Both verses connect “teach” (למד, lamad) with “knowledge” (דַּעַת, da’at). Psalm 94 makes the implication explicit: the one who teaches humans knowledge knows; Job asks whether anyone could reverse that relation and teach God.
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