What Does Psalm 55:6 Mean in the King James?
And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.
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 deepest wish here is not just to fly away but to find a place to dwell, because the word rendered “be at rest” means to settle.
THE MEANING
The wish to get far away can hold a quieter longing: somewhere the whole self can settle. The verse gives that desire its shape, imagining wings as the way into a dwelling place.
THE ROOT
וְאֶשְׁכֹּנָה
ve’eshkonah
GROWS FROM
שכן
dwell, settle, make a home
“be at rest” in this verse is ve’eshkonah. The Hebrew verb here means “I would dwell” or “I would settle.” The verse imagines flight not as an end in itself, but as a journey toward a place the speaker can inhabit.
ALSO GROWS
mishkan: dwelling place, tabernacle
מִשְׁכָּן
This branch makes the root’s sense of dwelling tangible: rest is pictured as having a place to be.
shakhen: neighbor, one who dwells nearby
שָׁכֵן
A neighbor is one who lives close by, extending the root’s image of dwelling into nearness.
אָעוּפָה
a’ufah
GROWS FROM
עוף
fly, soar
“fly away” in this verse is a’ufah. The verb for flying shares its root with the Hebrew word for a flying creature. The image is concrete: the speaker longs for a creature’s power to leave the ground and move beyond reach.
ALSO GROWS
ʿof: flying creature, bird
עוֹף
This noun grows from the same root as “fly away,” placing the wish for escape inside the natural movement of a bird.
yeʿofef: may fly, flies about
יְעוֹפֵף
Genesis 1:20 uses this verb for creatures flying above the earth, showing the same root as both creature and motion.
THE PATTERN
The longing to flee is often also a longing to find a place where the self can settle.
I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.THE THREAD
If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;This verse uses the same verb, שכן (shakan, dwell or settle), after the image of wings. In Psalm 55, flight leads toward a place to settle; here even the farthest sea becomes that place.
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