What Does Joshua 15:31 Mean in the King James?

And Ziklag, and Madmannah, and Sansannah,

Joshua 15:31 · 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

An inheritance becomes tangible when it is named down to its smallest places.

THE MEANING

This list makes the portion concrete: each place has a name and its own place among the others. What is received is not vague or interchangeable; it takes shape in distinct locations.

THE ROOT

מַדְמַנָּה

Madmannāh

GROWS FROM

דמן

Commonly glossed as “dunghill” or “dung heap”; the precise derivation is uncertain.

Madmannah carries a humble, earthy sense among the town names. The list gives even an unadorned place a distinct name and place in the inheritance.

ALSO GROWS

domen: Dung or manure.

דֹּמֶן

This related noun is the lexical link behind the traditional earthy gloss of Madmannah, though the derivation is not certain.

Madmenah: A place name also commonly glossed “dunghill.”

מַדְמֵנָה

Its similar form preserves the same possible place-name association, while leaving the exact derivation open.

THE PATTERN

A received portion becomes visible in named places and bounded ground.

And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which the LORD commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half tribe:

Numbers 34:13 · KJVThe inheritance is made concrete as land with a defined share.

The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.

Psalm 16:6 · KJVThe lines that mark out a portion make the heritage particular and tangible.

And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

Acts 17:26 · KJVThe bounds of habitation show human life taking shape in particular places.

THE THREAD

Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.

1 Samuel 27:6 · KJV

Ziklag returns as a town given to David and attached to Judah’s kings. Its reappearance shows that the names in this list are anchors for lived stories, not filler.

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