What Does Joshua 22:21 Mean in the King James?
Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh answered, and said unto the heads of the thousands of Israel,
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
Before the answer’s content appears, the verse shows a people formed by lineage speaking to the leaders who represent the whole.
THE MEANING
When a reply is forming now, this verse makes its speakers and hearers visible before the words arrive: the answer belongs to a shared people and is directed to its leaders. It holds open the moment in which a response is named before its substance is heard.
THE ROOT
וַיַּעֲנוּ
vayya'anu
GROWS FROM
ענה
Answer, respond
“answered” in this verse is vayya'anu. The same root forms both the act of answering and a noun for an answer. Here the verb is plural, so the reply is carried by a collective rather than a solitary speaker.
ALSO GROWS
ʿoneh: Answering; one who answers
עֹנֶה
The answering form keeps the speaker connected to the response taking shape.
maʿaneh: Answer; response
מַעֲנֶה
The same root names the response itself, joining the act of speaking to what is said.
בְּנֵי
benei
GROWS FROM
בנה
Build, establish
The word for “son” is conventionally associated with the verb meaning “build.” The repeated “children of” frames this answer as the voice of a lineage built across generations, not a set of isolated speakers.
ALSO GROWS
ben: Son; descendant
בֵּן
This is the singular family term behind the verse’s collective “children of”.
banah: He built; to build
בָּנָה
Its connection with the word for son gives the lineage language a sense of a household taking shape across generations.
THE PATTERN
A collective response becomes visible when its speakers address those responsible for hearing it.
And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man’s hand.And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.THE THREAD
And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.Both passages use ענה (ʿanah, “answer, respond”) for a collective reply. Exodus gives the content of the people’s answer, while Joshua holds at the moment before the reply is heard.
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