What Does Nehemiah 3:16 Mean in the King James?

After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of Beth-zur, unto the place over against the sepulchres of David, and to the pool that was made, and unto the house of the mighty.

Nehemiah 3:16 · 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 verse’s “repaired” carries the sense of strengthening and taking hold, so restoration makes a particular stretch firm.

THE MEANING

The verse places this work beside David’s tombs, David (⁨דָּוִד⁩, Dāwîd, “beloved”), a pool already made, and the house of the mighty. Repair joins memory, water, and strength along one bounded stretch.

THE ROOT

הֶחֱזִיק

heḥĕzîq

GROWS FROM

חזק

ḥāzaq

To be strong or grow firm; to strengthen, make firm, or take hold.

The Hebrew verb ⁨הֶחֱזִיק⁩ (heḥĕzîq, “he strengthened or held fast”) gives “repaired” the sense of taking hold of a weakened line and making it firm. The English word names the finished work; the root also lets you see the strengthening within it.

ALSO GROWS

ḥāzaq: Be strong, grow firm, prevail.

חָזַק

The idea of becoming firm is already inside the act translated “repaired.”

ḥizqû: Be strong; take courage (plural imperative).

חִזְקוּ

Psalm 31:24 opens with this form of the same root, carrying the language of firmness from a wall to the heart.

THE PATTERN

Repair strengthens a whole through a specific act of taking hold, whether the work is in a wall, a heart, or a community.

So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.

Nehemiah 4:6 · KJVThe wall becomes a joined whole as people give themselves to their part of the work.

Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

Psalm 31:24 · KJVThe opening call, ⁨חִזְקוּ⁩ (ḥizqû, “be strong; take courage”), uses the same root as “repaired,” carrying the pattern inward.

Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 · KJVStrength takes shape between people as they build one another up.

THE THREAD

Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

Psalm 31:24 · KJV

The “Be of good courage” phrase uses ⁨חִזְקוּ⁩ (ḥizqû, “be strong; take courage”), from ⁨חזק⁩ (ḥāzaq, “be strong, strengthen”), the same root as Nehemiah’s “repaired.” The same seed reaches from a wall to the heart, revealing repair as a kind of strengthening.

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