What Does Revelation 5:5 Mean in the King James?
And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
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 one who opens what is sealed is named both Judah’s Lion and David’s Root: royal strength and the source of the lineage meet in one figure.
THE MEANING
The command to stop weeping rests on a disclosure: the sealed book can be opened by the one who prevails. Judah’s name יְהוּדָה (Yehudah, “praised”) carries praise into the Lion’s lineage, while David’s name דָּוִד (David, “beloved”) carries belovedness into the Root’s name. The verse meets present grief with a figure whose victory reaches what remains closed.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that what is sealed must remain beyond reach gives way: the one who has prevailed can open it.
THE ROOT
ἐνίκησεν
enikēsen
GROWS FROM
νικ-
nik-
To conquer, prevail, or win.
“prevailed” in this verse is enikēsen. The form here comes from νικάω (nikaō, “to conquer, prevail”), the same word family as νίκη (nikē, “victory”). The verse makes opening the scroll the concrete outcome of prevailing: victory reaches into what is sealed.
ALSO GROWS
nikaō: To conquer, prevail.
νικάω
This is the dictionary form behind “prevailed”; victory is what enables the opening.
nikē: Victory.
νίκη
The related noun shows that the opening is bound to victory, not mere access.
nikōn: One who conquers or overcomes.
νικῶν
This same verb family appears as “overcometh” in Revelation 2:7, keeping the image of prevailing alive across the vision.
ῥίζα
rhiza
GROWS FROM
ῥιζ-
rhiz-
Root, the source anchoring and sustaining growth.
ῥίζα (rhiza, “root”) gives the title a living image: the root lies beneath visible growth while supplying its life. Calling the victor David’s Root holds source and lineage together in one name.
ALSO GROWS
rhizoō: To root or take root.
ῥιζόω
The related verb makes the root image active: what is rooted draws stability and life from its source.
rhizōma: Rootstock or rooted base.
ῥίζωμα
This branch keeps the image beneath the surface, where the sustaining source is present even when unseen.
יְהוּדָה
Yehudah
GROWS FROM
ידה
y-d-h
To praise, give thanks, or acknowledge.
The Hebrew name יְהוּדָה (Yehudah, “Judah; praised”) is tied to יָדָה (yādāh, “praise, give thanks”). The Lion’s tribal identity therefore carries praise within the title, not only ancestry.
ALSO GROWS
yādāh: Praise; give thanks.
יָדָה
The name is linked to praise in Genesis 29:35, carrying that meaning into the Lion’s title.
tōdāh: Thanksgiving or praise.
תּוֹדָה
This related word keeps the praise-and-thanks sense audible within Judah’s name family.
THE PATTERN
The one who opens the sealed purpose appears through images of royal strength, living lineage, and victory.
Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.THE THREAD
I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.Here the image is explicit: the same figure is both David’s Root and David’s offspring. That pairing opens “Root of David” in this verse as more than ancestry; it names source and descendant together.
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