What Does Judges 3:22 Mean in the King James?
And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out.
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 body does not merely receive the blade; it closes around it, turning the weapon into something its wielder cannot reclaim.
THE MEANING
You are placed before violence at the body’s level: the haft follows the blade, the flesh closes around it, and the dagger cannot be drawn back out. The final line names the physical aftermath without giving you a way to look away.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that violence can be simply taken back by withdrawing its weapon is undone here: the blade is trapped inside the body, and its physical consequence has begun.
THE ROOT
וַיִּסְגֹּר
wayyisgor
GROWS FROM
סגר
sagar
To shut, close, or enclose.
In וַיִּסְגֹּר (wayyisgor, “and it closed”), סגר (sagar, “to shut or enclose”) makes the fat an active boundary closing over the blade. The root also extends from shutting in to handing someone over into custody, echoing how the dagger is trapped beyond its wielder’s control.
ALSO GROWS
soger: One who closes or shuts.
סוֹגֵר
This form makes closure an active force, as the fat itself closes around the blade.
hisgir: To hand over or deliver into custody.
הִסְגִּיר
This branch extends shutting into surrendering something to another’s control, echoing the weapon’s entrapment inside the body.
THE PATTERN
Closure can trap what enters or protect what is enclosed; its effect depends on the boundary and what can pass through.
And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out.And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.THE THREAD
And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.The verb “shut” in Genesis and “closed” here come from the same Hebrew root, סגר (sagar, “to shut or enclose”). In Genesis, enclosure holds Noah safe; here, the body’s closure traps the blade, showing how the same act of shutting can protect or confine.
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