KING JAMES VERSION (KJV)
TRANSLATION, MEANING, CONTEXT
To get what Genesis 49:4 means based on its source text, scroll down or follow these links for the original scriptural meaning , biblical context and relative popularity.
“Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.”
What does this verse really mean? Use this table to get a word-for-word translation of the original Hebrew Scripture. This shows the English words related to the source biblical texts along with brief definitions. Follow the buttons in the right-hand column for detailed definitions and verses that use the same root words. Use this reference information to gain deeper insight into the Bible and enrich your understanding. Information based on Strong's Exhaustive Concordance[1].
| KJV Verse | Original Hebrew | Meaning/ Definition This is a simplified translation of the original Hebrew word. Follow the buttons on the right to get more detail. | More Use the buttons below to get details on the Hebrew word and view related Bible verses that use the same root word. |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Unstable” | פַּ֤חַז | Ebullition, i.e., froth (figuratively, lust) | Unstable |
| “as water,” | כַּמַּ֙יִם֙ | Water; figuratively, juice; by euphemism, urine, semen | water |
| “thou shalt not” | אַל | Not (the qualified negation, used as a deprecative); once (Job 24:25) as a noun, nothing | not |
| “excel;” | תּוֹתַ֔ר | To jut over or exceed; by implication, to excel; (intransitively) to remain or be left; causatively to leave, cause to abound, preserve | excel |
| “because” | כִּ֥י | (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed | because |
| “thou wentest up” | עָלִ֖יתָ | To ascend, intransitively (be high) or actively (mount); used in a great variety of senses, primary and secondary, literal and figurative | wentest up |
| “to thy father's” | אָבִ֑יךָ | Father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote application | fathers |
| “bed;” | מִשְׁכְּבֵ֣י | A bed (figuratively, a bier); abstractly, sleep; by euphemism, carnal intercourse | bed |
| “then” | אָ֥ז | At that time or place; also as a conjunction, therefore | then |
| “defiledst thou” | חִלַּ֖לְתָּ | Properly, to bore, i.e., (by implication) to wound, to dissolve; figuratively, to profane (a person, place or thing), to break (one's word), to begin (as if by an 'opening wedge'); to play (the flute) | defiledst |
| “it:” | (No Hebrew definition. English implied.) | ||
| “he went up” | עָלָֽה׃ | To ascend, intransitively (be high) or actively (mount); used in a great variety of senses, primary and secondary, literal and figurative | up |
| “to my couch.” | יְצוּעִ֥י | Spread, i.e., a bed; (architecture) an extension, i.e., wing or lean-to (a single story or collectively) | couch |
See Genesis 49:4 with its adjacent verses in bold below. Follow either of the two large buttons below to see these verses in their broader context of the King James Bible or a Bible concordance.
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2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
5 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.
The King James Bible (1611) and Strong's Concordance (1890) with Hebrew and Greek dictionaries are sourced from the BibleForgeDB database (https://github.com/bibleforge) within the BibleForge project (http://bibleforge.com). Popularity rankings are based on search volume data from the Google AdWords Keyword Planner tool.