Whence and Whither

Write From My Heart

August 17, 2020

Whence and Whither

            Those of you familiar with my writing style know how much I enjoy words. So today I want to look at a couple of words typically found in the King James Version of scripture, yet perhaps unfamiliar in today’s modern vocabulary and manner of speaking. In teaching, we often refer to context clues as a means of clarifying understanding of words. So let’s do that with the two words “whence” and “whither.”

Psalm 121:1-2 (KJV)

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.

Ruth 1:16-17 (KJV)

And Ruth said [speaking to her mother-in-law, Naomi], Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.

            Our context clues rightly indicate that “whence” carries a meaning of from (i.e., from a place, source, situation, position, or cause). The word “whither” carries a meaning of  to (i.e., to a place, source, situation, position, or cause). For the Christian, it is God who is both our “whence” and our “whither.”  God is our whence because he is the Creator, the source of all things including humankind. God is our whither because it is the true destination of all Christians to spend eternity in his kingdom and in his presence.

            Sin muddies the waters for both of these Christian concepts. Sin, in all its various forms and to all its various degrees, would seek to draw us away from Creator God and would seek to darken our future of blessed hope in Christ. As we live each day of our lives, we would do well to remember our whence and our whither—God is both—for he is our source and our future!