by “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15, New King James Version). The word study for this passage is “house.” According to step one, an important word should be chosen. While “house” is not repeated within the verse, it is the word upon which the verse is centered around.[1]
The second step is determining the Hebrew word from the English word.[2] “House” is used 1,684 times in the Old Testament and 199 times in the New Testament. The Hebrew word, בַּ֫יִת, is used 1,595 of the 1,684 times and is the word used in this passage. Dickie and Payne state, “Hebrew bayiṯ, “house,” occurs over 1750 times in the OT and embraces all dwellings, from the simplest (even a tent, Gen. 27:15) up to the king’s palace (1 K. 7:1) or God’s temple (1 K. 6:1). The term stems, presumably, from a root meaning “to get a night’s shelter.”[3]
The third step is determining the usage of בַּ֫יִת.[4] This word, בַּ֫יִת bǎ·yiṯ, is used 2,025 in the source documents for the translations of the Bible. It is used over 300 times in 1 Kings focusing on the construction and dedication of Solomon’s temple, detailed accounts of royal palaces and households. Within the book of Joshua, it appears thirty-two times and primarily relates to physical dwellings (Josh. 2:1, 6:17, 22-25), and then a household or family unit in Joshua 24:15.
The fourth step is listing all the English words used for בַּ֫יִת.[5] “House, houses” is 1,633 times of the 2,025 times and the second most used English word is “temple” used 170 times. “Household” is the definition for 77 times.
The fifth step is to consider how the contextual settings influenced each of the English word choices.[6] For this passage, I do believe that “house” should not have been used in the New King James Version as “household” would be more accurate to the contextual setting. The New International Version (and Lexham English Bible) uses “household” as it is more contextually correct instead of the more accurate word-for-word translation used in NKJV.
Bibliography
Bromiley, Geoffrey W., ed. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988.
Roden, Chet. Elementary Biblical Hebrew. 2nd ed. Solana Beach, CA: Cognella Incorporated, 2024.
[1] Chet Roden, Elementary Biblical Hebrew, 2nd ed. (Solana Beach, CA: Cognella Incorporated, 2024), 69.
[2] Ibid., 70.
[3] A. C. Dickie and J. B. Payne, “House,” The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988), 770.
[4] Roden, Elementary Biblical Hebrew, 70.
[5] Ibid., 71.
[6] Ibid.