What Does Joshua 19:26 Mean in the King James?
And Alammelech, and Amad, and Misheal; and reacheth to Carmel westward, and to Shihor-libnath;
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
“Reacheth” comes from a verb of meeting or encounter, so this border is traced through the places it touches.
THE MEANING
Here the boundary becomes legible by the places it reaches: Carmel westward and Shihor-libnath. Its edge takes shape through contact points, not as an abstract line.
THE ROOT
וּפָגַע
u-fāgaʿ
GROWS FROM
פגע
p-g-ʿ
To meet, encounter, or come upon; by extension, to reach or strike.
English makes “reacheth” sound like a geometric endpoint, but פגע (p-g-ʿ) also speaks of encounter. The same root describes Jacob coming upon a place and making intercession for others, joining physical arrival and relational contact within one word-family.
ALSO GROWS
wayyifgaʿ: Lighted upon; encountered.
וַיִּפְגַּע
Jacob’s arrival at a place uses the same root: reaching is expressed as coming into contact.
yafgiʿa: Makes intercession for others.
יַפְגִּיעַ
This extended use of the root turns contact into a plea on another’s behalf, showing how the same word-family can name both reaching a place and reaching for someone.
THE PATTERN
Boundaries become legible through their points of contact: places, waters, and habitation limits give an edge its shape.
And Alammelech, and Amad, and Misheal; and reacheth to Carmel westward, and to Shihor-libnath;And as for the western border, ye shall even have the great sea for a border: this shall be your west border.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;THE THREAD
And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.The Hebrew verb וַיִּפְגַּע (wayyifgaʿ), meaning “lighted upon” or “encountered,” comes from the same root פגע (p-g-ʿ) as “reacheth” here. Joshua’s boundary reaches places; Jacob comes upon one, the shared verb makes both actions encounters.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us