King James Bible

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1 Kings

21

:

13

And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.

Lexicon

Verse part Definition: Part of speech: Strong's: Hebrew: Transliteration:
in two both Noun H8147 שְׁנֵ֨י she·nei
Analysis:

Two: Two divergent opinions

The classic example for the number "two" is found in Matthew chapter 26. There, Yeshua says to His disciples,

"You know that after two days comes the Passover, and the Son of Man will be given over for crucifixion."  Matthew 26:2

The phrase "after two days" is somewhat meaningless because after two days can mean three or more days. The period is unspecified. The reason for such ambiguous language is because the purpose of the number two in this passage is not solely numerical. This means that the text is not intending to provide the reader with some definite information concerning a time period. Rather, the purpose of the number two in this context is one of the numerological meanings of the number two.  Often the number two relates to two divergent opinions. In the aforementioned verse, the author wants to inform the reader that there are two very different understandings for this coming Passover. Yeshua wants to emphasize that He is going up to Jerusalem in order to die as the true Passover sacrifice. Even though Yeshua states this emphatically, the disciples did not receive this. In fact, the disciples did not perceive at all what was going to take place during Passover in regard to Yeshua. In other words, Yeshua and the disciples have two divergent opinions concerning the Passover.

This same principle is also found in the Hebrew Bible (Old Covenant). In the book of Amos one reads,

"Can two walk together without them having agreed" Amos 3:3

The word which was translated into English with the phrase "them having agreed" is נועדו. The root of this word is יעד, which relates to a specific destination. The word which precedes this word is בלתי and in this context the word implies a change to the condition. In other words, had there not been a change in the condition, then the two could not walk together, i.e. they could not have arrived at the common destination.

The concept of divergent or different is also seen in the book of Genesis. In speaking about the sun and moon one reads, "And God made two great lights…" (Genesis 1:16). Obviously the sun and moon are very different, as one is a source of light, while the latter just reflects light. Also in the book of Genesis, one encounters the account of the flood. Here Noah is commanded to bring onto the ark two sorts of each type of animal. In this passage, the two relates to two different (or divergent) kinds of the same sort, i.e. male and female. 

Likewise, two angels came to Sodom, demonstrating that the people of Sodom had a very different way of living from that of the Law of God. Once again, the reader should not assume that every occurrence of the number two in the Bible demands this interpretation. However, one will find in a great majority of Biblical passages, the reader will be assisted in arriving at the proper interpretation, when he considers this divergent quality for the number two. 

Loveisrael.org - Baruch Korman, Ph.D. - All Rights Reserved - Used with Permission 2016 

of Belial Belial Noun H1100 בְלִיַּעַל֮ ve·li·ya·'al
men great Noun H376 הָאֲנָשִׁ֥ים ha·'a·na·shim
And there came abide Verb H935 וַ֠יָּבֹאוּ vai·ya·vo·'u
and sat abide Verb H3427 וַיֵּשְׁב֣וּ vai·ye·she·vu
before about sub H5048 נֶגְדֹּו֒ neg·dov
of Belial Belial Noun H1100 הַבְּלִיַּ֜עַל hab·be·li·ya·'al
men great Noun H376 אַנְשֵׁ֨י an·shei
witnessed admonish Verb H5749 וַיְעִדֻהוּ֩ vay·'i·du·hu
against him [even] against Naboth Naboth Noun H5022 נָבֹ֗ות na·vo·vt
Analysis:
Read more about: Naboth
before about sub H5048 נֶ֤גֶד ne·ged
in the presence of the people folk Noun H5971 הָעָם֙ ha·'am
saying answer Verb H559 לֵאמֹ֔ר le·mor,
Naboth Naboth Noun H5022 נָבֹ֛ות na·vo·vt
Analysis:
Read more about: Naboth
did blaspheme abundantly Verb H1288 בֵּרַ֥ךְ be·rach
God angels Noun H430 אֱלֹהִ֖ים e·lo·him
and the king king Noun H4428 וָמֶ֑לֶךְ va·me·lech;
Then they carried him forth after Verb H3318 וַיֹּצִאֻ֙הוּ֙ vai·yo·tzi·'u·hu
Analysis:
Read more about: So
of the city Ai Noun H5892 לָעִ֔יר la·'ir,
and stoned cast Verb H5619 וַיִּסְקְלֻ֥הוּ vai·yis·ke·lu·hu
that he died crying Verb H4191 וַיָּמֹֽת׃ vai·ya·mot.
him with stones build Noun H68 בָאֲבָנִ֖ים va·'a·va·nim

People

Naboth

a Jezreelite

Parallel Verses

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King James Bible And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.
Hebrew Greek English And there Then the two worthless men came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: him; and the worthless men of Belial witnessed testified against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of before the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme "Naboth cursed God and the king. Then king." So they carried took him forth out of outside the city, city and stoned him to death with stones, that he died.stones.
New American Standard Bible 1995 And there Then the two worthless men came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: him; and the worthless men of Belial witnessed testified against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of before the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme "Naboth cursed God and the king. Then king." So they carried took him forth out of outside the city, city and stoned him to death with stones, that he died.stones.