רוּד

From the study of Genesis 27:40

Range of meaning

A rare verb. Its core idea is moving about freely and restlessly, wandering, not staying put. Uses: Jeremiah 2:31, where Israel says 'we roam free (radnû), we will not come to you again,' meaning slipping out of a relationship of obligation. Psalm 55:2 (Heb. 55:3), 'I am restless (ʾārîd) in my complaint.' Hosea 11:12 (Heb. 12:1) is difficult, possibly 'Judah still roams / is unruly toward God.' Arabic rāda, 'to roam about, seek pasture,' points the same way (BDB, HALOT s.v. רוד).

Against the English

KJV 'have the dominion' and YLT 'rulest' treat the word as if it came from a different root, רָדָה (rādāh, 'to rule'). BSB 'rebel' and NLT 'decide to break free' get the political sense but make it sharper and more deliberate. ESV, NIV and NASB ('grow / become restless') and WEB ('break loose') stay closest to the root.

How it drifted

The KJV rendering goes back to older Hebrew scholarship that linked tārîd with rādāh ('rule'), which looks similar in Hebrew letters. Comparative Semitic study (Arabic rāda) and the Jeremiah parallel later made 'roam free / be restless' the standard view.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ancient translators struggled with it. The Septuagint has 'when you take [it] down' (kathelēs). The Vulgate has 'when you shake off' (excutias). The Aramaic Targums and the medieval commentator Rashi read it as 'when you are aggrieved / have cause to complain' (Rashi cites Ps 55:3). Rashi adds that this happens when Jacob's descendants break the Torah.

From the study of Hosea 11:12

Range of meaning

A rare verb meaning to roam, wander about freely, or break loose from restraint. It describes restless independence. Hebrew dictionaries such as BDB and HALOT give 'roam', 'be restless', 'break loose'.

Against the English

KJV and YLT have 'ruleth / is ruling', which reads the word as a form of radah, 'to rule'. BSB, ESV and NLT give positive senses ('walks with', 'obeys'). NIV and NASB have 'is unruly against', and WEB has 'strays from', which follow the meaning of rud.

How it drifted

This is not modern drift. It is an old puzzle about which verb the word comes from. The KJV followed medieval Jewish interpreters who connected it with 'rule'. Modern positive renderings come from reading the verse as a contrast ('but Judah…'), not from the meaning of rud.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jer 2:31 ('We roam free [radnu]; we will no more come to you'), said by a people breaking away from God. Gen 27:40 ('when you break loose', tarid), Esau throwing off Jacob's yoke. Ps 55:2 (Heb. 55:3, 'I am restless in my complaint'). The Septuagint and Vulgate both seem to have struggled with the word: the Vulgate's 'descendit' ('went down') reads it as a form of yarad, 'to descend'.

From the study of Jeremiah 2:31

Range of meaning

A rare root. Gen 27:40: Esau will serve his brother, but 'when you break loose (tārîd), you will tear his yoke from your neck'. Hos 12:1 (Eng 11:12): Judah 'still rād with God', an unclear phrase usually read as 'wanders/roams' (or, by some, 'is unruly'). Ps 55:2 (Eng): 'I am restless (ʾārîḏ) in my complaint'. Lam 1:7 and 3:19 have mərûḏ, 'homelessness, wandering'. The common thread is restless movement free of restraint.

Against the English

Modern versions: 'free to roam' (BSB, NIV, NASB), 'broken loose' (WEB), 'we are free' (ESV). KJV 'we are lords' takes the word from a different verb, rādāh, 'to rule'. YLT 'we mourned' follows the Psalm 55 sense of restless lament. The NLT paraphrases it as a declaration of freedom from God.

How it drifted

The ancient versions did not know the rare root well and guessed: the Greek 'we will not be ruled' and the Latin 'we have withdrawn'. The KJV reading 'we are lords' goes back to medieval Jewish interpreters who linked it to rādāh 'to rule'. Most modern lexicons prefer the 'roam, break loose' sense because of Gen 27:40 and Lam 1:7.

Used elsewhere in the period

Gen 27:40; Hos 12:1; Ps 55:3 (Heb); noun mərûḏ in Isa 58:7, Lam 1:7, 3:19. Septuagint Jer 2:31: ou kyrieuthēsometha ('we will not be lorded over'). Vulgate: recessimus ('we have gone away').