What Does Joshua 2:17 Mean in the King James?
And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear.
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
Their “blameless” status is tied to one specific oath, showing that a pledge carries both a bond and a boundary.
THE MEANING
A promise has a shape: the speaker, the charge, and the conditions under which it holds. Here, the men call themselves clear of this particular oath within the terms they are about to name. The verse presents pledged speech as a real bond with a real boundary.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This loosens the belief that a vow is an unlimited blank check: its force follows the terms spoken, and the next verse names the condition that releases them.
THE ROOT
שְׁבֻעָה
shevuʿah
GROWS FROM
שבע
sh-b-ʿ
To swear an oath; these same consonants also form שֶׁבַע (sheva), “seven,” a sound-link highlighted in the name Beer-sheba.
The noun “oath” and the verb “made us swear” come from the same Hebrew root, binding the pledge to the act of speaking it. The related sound of “seven” surfaces in Beer-sheba, where the story links a sworn agreement with the place’s name.
ALSO GROWS
nishbaʿ: To bind oneself by an oath.
נִשְׁבַּע
The verse uses this verb for the act Rahab made the men swear, showing the pledge as an active bond between speakers.
sheva: The number seven.
שֶׁבַע
The shared sound appears in Beer-sheba, where a sworn agreement and the place-name echo one another.
נְקִיִּם
neqiyyim
GROWS FROM
נקה
n-q-h
To be clean or clear, and thus free from liability.
The word gives “blameless” a precise, bounded force: the men are describing their standing in relation to this particular oath. Their claim concerns whether this pledge holds them liable.
ALSO GROWS
nāqî: Free from guilt or liability.
נָקִי
This adjective belongs to the same word-family as “blameless,” emphasizing a state of being clear.
nāqāh: To clear or free someone from liability.
נָקָה
This verb shows the action beneath their claim: liability connected to the oath can be cleared under its stated terms.
THE PATTERN
A pledge creates accountable speech whose force follows the terms actually spoken.
Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because there they sware both of them.In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.THE THREAD
Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because there they sware both of them.Joshua’s “oath” and Genesis’s “sware” share the root שבע (sh-b-ʿ), placing Rahab’s pledge in the same language of sworn agreement. Genesis also lets Beer-sheba echo both “seven” and the act of swearing, linking a name with the nature of the promise.
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