What Does Joshua 22:2 Mean in the King James?
And said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you:
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
What is kept remains alive through hearing that answers; the verse binds guarded instruction to responsive listening.
THE MEANING
You are seen here through a pattern of trust: what is entrusted stays guarded, and the voice is heard in a way that answers it. The verse holds attention and action together, so the instruction is carried forward in how you respond.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that listening counts even when it leaves the rest of life untouched: here, hearing already contains response.
THE ROOT
וַתִּשְׁמְעוּ
wattishme'u
GROWS FROM
שמע
sh-m-ʿ
Hear, listen, heed; here, hearing that responds.
The Hebrew verb behind “obeyed” carries the sense of hearing that attends and responds. It echoes the start of “kept” in sound, but the two words have different roots: hearing answers the voice, while keeping guards what was entrusted.
ALSO GROWS
shema: Hear; hear and respond.
שְׁמַע
This familiar form of the same root shows that hearing can include a response, as it does in “obeyed my voice.”
shomea: One who hears or listens.
שֹׁמֵעַ
This form keeps the root’s emphasis on listening visible beneath the English idea of obedience.
שְׁמַרְתֶּם
shemartem
GROWS FROM
שמר
sh-m-r
Keep, guard, watch over.
The verb behind “kept” holds guarding and watching within the idea of keeping. Its opening consonants ש־מ (shin-mem) echo those of שמע (shama, hear and respond); the roots are distinct, but the sound pairs guarded instruction with responsive hearing.
ALSO GROWS
shomer: A keeper, guard, or watchman.
שֹׁמֵר
This branch makes the watchful quality of keeping concrete: what is entrusted is held under care.
mishmeret: A charge, guard, or watch.
מִשְׁמֶרֶת
This branch can name an assigned charge, bringing out how the people keep what has been placed in their care.
מֹשֶׁה
Moshe
GROWS FROM
משׁה
m-sh-h
Draw out.
“Moses” in this verse is Moshe. Exodus 2:10 links Moshe’s name with the act of drawing out. His name carries that image into this verse, where the instruction entrusted through him is kept and carried forward.
ALSO GROWS
mashah: To draw out.
מָשָׁה
This is the verb associated with Moshe’s name and gives the name its image of being drawn out.
meshîtihû: I drew him out.
מְשִׁיתִהוּ
This is the wording in Exodus 2:10; it connects the name to a remembered act of drawing out.
THE PATTERN
Faithfulness joins guarding instruction to hearing that answers.
Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.THE THREAD
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.“Observe” here translates שׁמר (shamar, keep or guard), the same root as “kept” in Joshua 22:2. This verse pictures keeping as holding the instruction close enough to shape action, alongside the responsive hearing named in Joshua 22:2.
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