What Does Psalm 15:1 Mean in the King James?
A Psalm of David. LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
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 paired verbs reveal two shades of belonging: to sojourn in the LORD’s tent and to settle on his holy hill.
THE MEANING
The question speaks now wherever you wonder what it means to remain near the LORD: it holds a sojourner’s stay beside a settled dwelling. Its parallel images place belonging in the LORD’s presence, pictured as a tent and a set-apart hill.
THE ROOT
יָגוּר
yāgūr
GROWS FROM
גור
g-w-r
To sojourn or reside as a guest or stranger.
The verb can mean lodging as a sojourner, not simply occupying a place. Its root also names the resident stranger, giving “abide” a shade of temporary lodging within the LORD’s tent.
ALSO GROWS
gēr: Sojourner or resident stranger.
גֵּר
The related noun names someone who lives in a place without being native, sharpening the sense of abiding as lodging.
megūrīm: Sojournings or temporary residences.
מְגוּרִים
This related form carries the idea of a stay in a place, echoing the tent as a place of residence.
יִשְׁכֹּן
yishkōn
GROWS FROM
שכן
sh-k-n
To settle, dwell, or reside.
The root שָׁכַן (shākan, settle or dwell) also gives מִשְׁכָּן (mishkān, dwelling place) and שָׁכֵן (shākēn, neighbor). So the verb carries the seed of both habitation and someone who lives nearby; English “dwell” leaves those relations unheard.
ALSO GROWS
mishkān: Dwelling place or tabernacle.
מִשְׁכָּן
It shares the root of “dwell,” linking the act of settling to a place of habitation.
shākēn: Neighbor, one who dwells nearby.
שָׁכֵן
The same root connects dwelling with living near someone, adding a relational shade to settled presence.
דָּוִד
Dāwid
GROWS FROM
דוד
d-w-d
Beloved; the name is linked with the Hebrew word for beloved or kinsman.
The superscription names David, a name linked to דּוֹד (dōd, beloved). The question about dwelling arrives under a name carrying the language of belovedness, without making that name an answer to the question.
ALSO GROWS
dōd: Beloved or kinsman.
דּוֹד
This related word gives David’s name its association with belovedness.
dōdîm: Love or caresses.
דּוֹדִים
The plural form carries the same root into the language of affection.
THE PATTERN
Across Scripture, divine presence is described as God dwelling among people.
And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.THE THREAD
And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.The verb “dwell” comes from שכן (shākan, settle or dwell), the same root behind מִשְׁכָּן (mishkān, dwelling place). Exodus makes the root’s image explicit: God’s dwelling is among people.
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