What Does Judges 17:9 Mean in the King James?
And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Beth-lehem-judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.
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
He comes from Bethlehem, “house of bread,” in Judah, “praise,” yet he is still searching for somewhere to stay.
THE MEANING
He comes from Bethlehem (בֵּית לֶחֶם, Beit Lechem, “house of bread”) in Judah (יְהוּדָה, Yehudah, “praise”), yet he is moving to live wherever he can find a place. His identity as a Levite stands beside an unsettled search for somewhere to stay; belonging by name and having a dwelling are not the same condition.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A sacred title does not guarantee shelter or settled belonging; being identified with service and having a secure place can come apart.
THE ROOT
לָגוּר
lagur
GROWS FROM
גור
To dwell as a sojourner or newcomer, without a settled claim to the place.
“sojourn” in this verse is lagur. The verb carries the condition of living somewhere as an outsider, not merely moving from one location to another. Its root family joins the act of dwelling to the status of the sojourner, making this Levite’s search for a place part of what the word itself holds.
ALSO GROWS
ger: A sojourner; a resident alien.
גֵּר
This noun names the outsider status carried by the verb “to sojourn” in the verse.
megurim: Sojournings; temporary residences.
מְגוּרִים
This form makes the unsettled dwelling itself visible: the sojourner’s life is marked by where they reside for a time.
יְהוּדָה
Yehudah
GROWS FROM
ידה
To praise, acknowledge, or give thanks.
Judah’s name carries praise, while Bethlehem’s name carries bread; these names of provision and praise sit beside the Levite’s need to seek a dwelling. The verse leaves that tension open rather than resolving it.
ALSO GROWS
yadah: To praise or give thanks.
יָדָה
This verb is the root connected with Judah’s name and makes its praise meaning audible.
todah: Thanksgiving; praise.
תּוֹדָה
This noun from the same root shows praise as an expressed acknowledgment, echoing the meaning carried in the place name.
THE PATTERN
A sojourner may have an origin, yet still depend on finding a place to dwell.
And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:THE THREAD
Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.The verb לָגוּר (lagur, “to sojourn”) in Judges shares its root with גֵּר (ger, “sojourner”) in this psalm. That echo opens the Levite’s search beyond an unsettled address: the sojourner’s condition is named as something shared even in the presence of God.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us