What Does Psalm 132:2 Mean in the King James?
How he sware unto the LORD, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob;
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 verse names the promise twice, as an oath and a vow, making spoken intention a bond before God.
THE MEANING
Your intention can move from private resolve into accountable speech before God. Here an oath to the LORD and a vow to the mighty God of Jacob give the commitment doubled weight and a personal address.
THE ROOT
נִשְׁבַּע
nishbaʿ
GROWS FROM
שׁבע
sh-b-ʿ
To swear an oath; the same consonants also form the Hebrew word for seven.
“swore” in this verse is nishbaʿ. The oath verb shares its consonants with “seven,” a sound-link preserved in Beersheba, whose name echoes both seven and oath. Beside the separate verb “vowed,” this makes the promise both sworn and pledged.
ALSO GROWS
sheva: Seven.
שֶׁבַע
It shares the root’s consonants with the oath word, bringing a numerical echo into the act of swearing.
shevuah: Oath.
שְׁבוּעָה
This noun makes explicit the binding speech contained in “swore.”
נָדַר
nadar
GROWS FROM
נדר
n-d-r
To vow or make a solemn pledge.
The Hebrew places this vow beside the oath, so the commitment is not left as an unspoken intention. The same root returns in Genesis 28:20, where Jacob “vowed a vow.”
ALSO GROWS
neder: A vow or pledge.
נֶדֶר
This noun names the commitment made by the verb “vowed.”
noder: One who vows; a person making a pledge.
נֹדֵר
This form shows the root can describe the one who takes on the vow, not only the act itself.
THE PATTERN
A vow turns intention into accountable speech before God.
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:THE THREAD
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,The Hebrew verb for “vowed” here is nadar (נָדַר), from the same root as the vow in Psalm 132:2. Genesis makes the root audible in both verb and noun, “vowed a vow”, showing how an intention becomes a spoken pledge.
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