What Does Joshua 7:14 Mean in the King James?
In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man.
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 Hebrew verb for “taketh” also means “catches,” so each narrowing circle carries the sense of a hidden person being caught in the open.
THE MEANING
A hidden matter comes into focus through circles that narrow from tribe, to family, to household, and finally to one person. The process reaches the individual, bringing what had been held within a group into view.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that a deed disappears inside a group dissolves here: the narrowing still reaches the individual.
THE ROOT
יִלְכָּדֶנּוּ
yilkadennu
GROWS FROM
לכד
l-k-d
To catch, seize, or capture.
“taketh” in this verse is yilkadennu. The repeated Hebrew verb holds both selection and capture: the tribe, family, or household is the one caught out from the larger group. The same root appears when Achan is “taken” in verse 18, carrying the narrowing through to its individual conclusion.
ALSO GROWS
lakad: To catch or capture.
לָכַד
This is the root verb behind “taketh,” giving the selection an added sense of being caught.
nilkad: Was caught; was taken.
נִלְכַּד
Joshua 7:18 uses this form when Achan is identified, completing the movement from narrowing circles to the person caught.
THE PATTERN
What is hidden comes into view as a process narrows from a broad field to what is particular.
And Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken.The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.THE THREAD
And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.The Hebrew verb behind “taketh” here reappears as “was taken” when Achan is identified. The shared root reveals the thread connecting the narrowing selection to its final, individual result.
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