What Does Joshua 6:6 Mean in the King James?
And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD.
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
The ark and the trumpets are both placed under the Hebrew verb nasa, so the procession begins as one act of carrying.
THE MEANING
The verse brings you into a sequence: the ark is taken up, and seven priests carry seven ram’s-horn trumpets before it. The center is borne by human hands while its signal goes ahead, revealing movement as an ordered act of carrying.
THE ROOT
שְׂאוּ
se’u
GROWS FROM
נָשָׂא
nasa
To lift, carry, or bear; in some expressions, to bear or take away guilt.
“take up / bear” in this verse is se’u. English separates “take up” from “bear,” but Hebrew repeats nasa in both commands: the ark and the horns enter one action of carrying. The same root can describe bearing wrongdoing in the language of forgiveness, holding together the senses of taking up weight and its removal.
ALSO GROWS
se’u: Take up; lift or carry.
שְׂאוּ
This form commands the priests to take up the ark.
yis’u: They shall bear or carry.
יִשְׂאוּ
The same root appears again for the priests carrying the trumpets, a repetition hidden by the English wording.
nōsēʾ ʿāwōn: Bearing guilt; forgiving wrongdoing.
נֹשֵׂא עָוֹן
Exodus 34:7 uses this expression for “forgiving iniquity,” showing the root’s wider range beyond carrying objects.
THE PATTERN
Passage is made possible when bearers carry what cannot move itself.
And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.THE THREAD
So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.Joshua’s priests are told to carry the ark and horns with nasa. Joseph’s brothers use the same verb when asking him to forgive their trespass, showing how the root links carrying with bearing wrongdoing in forgiveness.
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