What Does Job 32:16 Mean in the King James?
When I had waited, (for they spake not, but stood still, and answered no more;)
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
Waiting here is not empty delay: it stays open until the last answer is gone.
THE MEANING
Your waiting can hold expectation while another voice finishes. When no further answer comes, the silence marks the end of that turn, and a new voice can begin.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that silence always means nothing is happening: here, waiting holds expectation, and silence marks the end of a reply.
THE ROOT
הוֹחַלְתִּי
hochalti
GROWS FROM
יחל
to wait, hope, or expect
“waited” in this verse is hochalti. The verb carries expectation inside the waiting: this is a pause held open, not mere inactivity. The verse shows that waiting lasts until the others’ speech has reached its end.
ALSO GROWS
tohelet: hope, expectation
תּוֹחֶלֶת
This noun from the same root makes the expectancy within “waited” visible.
hamyachalim: those who hope or wait
הַמְיַחֲלִים
This form names people who remain expectant, showing that waiting can be a sustained posture.
עָמְדוּ
amdu
GROWS FROM
עמד
to stand, remain, or take a position
“stood still” in this verse is amdu. The others are described as standing in place, while their answers have stopped. Together, the words distinguish their still posture from the completed act of speaking.
ALSO GROWS
omed: standing; one who stands
עֹמֵד
This form keeps the physical sense of remaining upright and in place.
ma'amad: position, standing place
מַעֲמָד
This branch links standing with the place one holds, sharpening the image of the speakers remaining where they are as their words cease.
THE PATTERN
Wise speech makes room for listening and silence before a reply begins.
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.THE THREAD
Behold, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasons, whilst ye searched out what to say.Both verses use יחל (yachal), meaning to wait or expect. Verse 11 shows waiting that listens while others search for words; verse 16 names the moment their speaking ends.
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