What Does Joshua 18:15 Mean in the King James?

And the south quarter was from the end of Kirjath-jearim, and the border went out on the west, and went out to the well of waters of Nephtoah:
Joshua 18:15 · 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.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

The border goes out toward Nephtoah, a name linked to “opening,” and ends at a spring where water comes forth.

The verse makes a boundary traceable: it leaves the edge of Kirjath-jearim, moves west, and arrives at the spring of Nephtoah. Its repeated “went out” describes a line in motion, ending at an identifiable source of water. You can recognize an edge by the path it follows and the place where it opens.

וְיָצָא

wəyāṣāʾ

GROWS FROM

יצא

to go out, come forth, or emerge

The Hebrew repeats ⁨וְיָצָא⁩, “and it goes out,” where English gives us “went out” twice. Words from this root can also name an outlet or endpoint, so the border is described through its departures and where it reaches.

ALSO GROWS

tōṣāʾāh: outlet, issue, or endpoint

תּוֹצָאָה

This word can describe the going-out point of a border, making the connection between the boundary’s course and its endpoints explicit.

mōṣāʾ: going out, exit, or source

מוֹצָא

The border’s repeated movement toward a spring echoes this root’s sense of a point from which something comes forth.

נֶפְתּוֹחַ

Nəp̄tōaḥ

GROWS FROM

פתח

to open or loosen

Nephtoah’s name is linked to ⁨פתח⁩, “to open,” and the verse places it beside a spring of waters. The boundary arrives at a named opening where water comes forth.

ALSO GROWS

pātūaḥ: open or opened

פָּתוּחַ

This form carries the opening sense associated with Nephtoah’s name.

maphtēaḥ: key

מַפְתֵּחַ

A key is an instrument for opening; this branch makes the opening sense of the place name concrete.

Scripture makes a boundary legible by naming its lines, limits, and points of arrival.

And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadesh-barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass on to Azmon:
Numbers 34:4 · KJVThe border is traced through named turns and endpoints, making its course locatable.
The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.
Psalm 16:6 · KJVThe lines that define a portion are also the lines by which its place becomes clear.
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 verse names habitation’s bounds as real limits that define where people dwell.
And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
Genesis 2:10 · KJV

The river “went out” uses ⁨יָצָא⁩ (yāṣāʾ, to go out), the same root repeated for the border here. In Genesis it is a river flowing from Eden; in Joshua the border’s path reaches a spring.

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Joshua 18:15 KJV Meaning