What Does Leviticus 17:2 Mean in the King James?

Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them; This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, saying,

Leviticus 17:2 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

The KJV’s “thing” is ⁨הַדָּבָר⁩ (hadavar, “word or matter”): the command itself arrives as speech meant for the whole assembly.

THE MEANING

The command is spoken to Aaron, his sons, and all Israel; its address embraces the whole named people. What follows is presented as the LORD’s commanded word, spoken aloud.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

It undoes the idea that the instruction is meant only for the priestly household: the verse names all Israel alongside Aaron and his sons.

THE ROOT

הַדָּבָר

hadavar

GROWS FROM

דבר

dabar

To speak or utter; the related noun can mean word, matter, or thing.

⁨דָּבָר⁩ (davar, “word or matter”) can name both what is spoken and the matter being spoken about. The speech verb ⁨דִּבֵּר⁩ (dibber, “he spoke”) grows from the same root, revealing the spoken word inside the KJV’s “thing.”

ALSO GROWS

davar: Word, matter, or thing.

דָּבָר

The verse uses this noun for what the LORD has commanded, joining the command’s content to the idea of a word.

dibber: He spoke.

דִּבֵּר

This speech verb shares the root and shows that the “thing” in the verse belongs to the language of speaking.

צִוָּה

tsivvah

GROWS FROM

צוה

tsavah

To command, charge, or direct.

⁨צִוָּה⁩ (tsivvah, “commanded”) gives the spoken word directive force. The same root appears in ⁨מִצְוָה⁩ (mitzvah, “commandment”), connecting this particular utterance to an instruction that carries an obligation.

ALSO GROWS

mitzvah: Commandment or instruction.

מִצְוָה

This noun from the same root shows the directive character carried by the LORD’s spoken word.

tsav: Command or charge.

צַו

This form makes the root’s sense of issuing a directive explicit.

THE PATTERN

A word from God carries force beyond sound: it brings reality into view, establishes direction, or exposes what is hidden.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Genesis 1:3 · KJVThe jussive ⁨יְהִי אוֹר⁩ (yehi or, “let there be light”) expresses permission, not manufacture; light appears with the utterance.

For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

Psalm 33:9 · KJVSpeech and command are paired with what comes to stand.

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12 · KJVThe word is active in the present, discerning what is hidden in a person’s thoughts and intentions.

THE THREAD

And God spake all these words, saying,

Exodus 20:1 · KJV

The Hebrew pairs the speech verb ⁨דִּבֵּר⁩ (dibber, “he spoke”) with ⁨דְּבָרִים⁩ (devarim, “words”), forms of the same root found in Leviticus’s “thing.” The connection reveals the commanded matter as a word spoken into shared hearing.

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