What Does Joshua 9:5 Mean in the King James?
And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy.
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 patches and mold seem to carry a journey in their wear, but worn surfaces alone cannot prove the story they tell.
THE MEANING
Patched shoes, old garments, and spotted bread make hardship look visible and convincing. You meet the force of evidence that can be staged: wear tells a story, but does not by itself verify it.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A worn appearance does not prove an object, or the story attached to it, has truly traveled far.
THE ROOT
מְטֻלָּאוֹת
mĕṭullāʾōt
GROWS FROM
טלא
To patch or mark with spots; something patched can also look mottled.
“clouted” in this verse is mĕṭullāʾōt. The patched shoes and garments bear visible marks of wear, while the bread is described with a separate Hebrew word for spotted or moldy. Together, these details make the scene look like evidence of a long journey: marks on a surface can seem to carry a history.
ALSO GROWS
ṭālāʾ: To patch or mend.
טָלָא
The shoes and garments are presented as patched, with repair marks made visible.
ṭālûʾ: Spotted or mottled; patched in appearance.
טָלוּא
The shared root links patchwork with a marked surface, echoing how the verse uses visible wear to make its account persuasive.
THE PATTERN
A convincing surface can suggest a false identity or history, so visible signs alone cannot verify what they seem to prove.
And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.THE THREAD
I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.The word for “spotted” here, טָלוּא (ṭālûʾ), shares the root טלא with the patched shoes and garments in Joshua. The same root lets patchwork and mottling sit together: a marked surface can be read as a sign, though the sign alone does not establish its story.
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