King James Bible

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Joshua

20

:

4

And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.

Lexicon

Verse part Definition: Part of speech: Strong's: Hebrew: Transliteration:
And when he that doth flee abate Verb H5127 וְנָ֞ס ve·nas
unto one a Adjective H259 אַחַ֣ת a·chat
Analysis:

One: God

Refers to HaShem (God), Who is One. This number can also refer to unity. The first place the number "one" occurs is in Genesis 1:5. There one reads, "And there was an evening and there was a morning— one day". Later on in this same book of Genesis, it is stated concerning the man and his wife, "And they became one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). It is very significant that in both of these examples there was a multiplicity for the subject. In the first example, the evening and the morning became one day and in the second example, it was Adam and Eve who became one flesh.

One of the most famous passages in the Torah concerning HaShem is Deuteronomy 6:4 which states, "Hear O Israel the Lord your God the Lord is One." The question that a person must ask himself is what is the connection between the use of the Hebrew word אחד "one" which identifies a multiplicity being one and the fact that the Lord God of Israel is One? The answer is that the Hebrew word אחד can relate to the concept for one as in "unification". There is another Hebrew word that would have been possible to be used if the author wanted to refer to an absolute oneness or singleness. This is the Hebrew word יחיד. In fact, there is a well-known prayer in Judaism which states, "אחד ואין יחיד כיחודו". This phrase should be translated as, "(God is) One and there is no singularity as His singularity." The idea that is being expressed in this prayer is that the Lord God of Israel is One; but not an absolute One; rather there is a uniqueness and a complexity to His Oneness.

The number one is frequently employed to express in the Scriptures one object, such as one man or one tabernacle. This usage would be the simple or common purpose that the number one or for that matter any number, would appear in a Biblical text. Often the appearance of a number does not contain any of the significance that Hebrew numerology might offer. Therefore, the reader must always consider when coming across a verse which contains a number, that the number only expresses an amount and no additional significance. 

Because the number one is often associated with God, there is a unique phenomenon in the Scriptures concerning this number. Sometimes the number one is employed to express a unique relationship that the object has to HaShem. For example,

"And it will be one day, it will be known to HaShem..." Zechariah 14:7

In the text above, Zechariah could have stated simply, "And it will be a day…" The fact that the prophet said "one day" is to convey that this day is uniquely related to God. Similarly, it is stated by the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 37, "one King", "one nation" and "one Shepherd" (see Ezekiel 37:22, 24). Each of these objects—King, nation and Shepherd—has a connection to HaShem. The King and Shepherd is Messiah Yeshua, the Son of God and the one nation is Israel, the people of God.

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

of these another Pronoun H428 הָאֵ֗לֶּה ha·'el·leh
of those cities Ai Noun H5892 מֵהֶעָרִ֣ים me·he·'a·rim
shall stand abide Verb H5975 וְעָמַד֙ ve·'a·mad
at the entering door Noun H6607 פֶּ֚תַח pe·tach
of the gate gate Noun H8179 שַׁ֣עַר sha·'ar
of the city Ai Noun H5892 הָעִ֔יר ha·'ir,
and shall declare answer Verb H1696 וְדִבֶּ֛ר ve·dib·ber
his cause act Noun H1697 דְּבָרָ֑יו de·va·rav;
in the ears hearing Noun H241 בְּאָזְנֵ֛י be·'a·ze·nei
of the elders aged Adjective H2205 זִקְנֵ֥י zik·nei
of that city Ai Noun H5892 הָעִֽיר־ ha·'ir-
they shall take assemble Verb H622 וְאָסְפ֨וּ ve·'a·se·fu
him into the city Ai Noun H5892 הָעִ֙ירָה֙ ha·'i·rah
unto them and give add Verb H5414 וְנָתְנוּ־ ve·na·te·nu-
him a place country Noun H4725 מָקֹ֖ום ma·ko·vm
that he may dwell abide Verb H3427 וְיָשַׁ֥ב ve·ya·shav
among accompanying Prepostion H5973 עִמָּֽם׃ im·mam.

Parallel Verses

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King James Bible And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.
Hebrew Greek English And when he that doth 'He shall flee unto to one of those cities these cities, and shall stand at the entering entrance of the gate of the city, city and shall declare state his cause case in the ears hearing of the elders of that city, city; and they shall take him into the city unto them, to them and give him a place, so that he may dwell among them.
New American Standard Bible 1995 And when he that doth 'He shall flee unto to one of those cities these cities, and shall stand at the entering entrance of the gate of the city, city and shall declare state his cause case in the ears hearing of the elders of that city, city; and they shall take him into the city unto them, to them and give him a place, so that he may dwell among them.