Wherewithal

An Archaic KJV Word

"Wherewithal" is a Middle English compound meaning literally "with what." It functioned as a relative pronoun meaning "with which," "by means of which," or — in modern usage — "the means required." The word appears three times in the KJV, each time in a distinct context.

Compound structure: where (what, which) + with (accompanying) + al (intensifier) — a triple-layered word of the kind Middle English produced freely but modern English largely abandoned.

The Three KJV Uses

1. Anxiety About Provision — Matthew 6:31

Matthew 6:31 — "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?"

In Jesus's Sermon on the Mount, "wherewithal" translates Greek ti peribalōmetha — literally "with what shall we clothe ourselves." The Greek question word ti ("what") combined with the verb peribalō ("throw around, clothe") asks after the means of provision.

The verse is part of Jesus's teaching on anxiety (Matthew 6:25–34). The three parallel questions — "what shall we eat," "what shall we drink," "wherewithal shall we be clothed" — are exactly the anxieties of provision that Jesus tells his disciples not to carry.

2. Purity — Psalm 119:9

Psalm 119:9 — "BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed [thereto] according to thy word."

This is probably the most-quoted appearance of "wherewithal" in English Scripture. The Hebrew is ba-meh yezakkeh-na'ar et-orcho (בַּמֶּה יְזַכֶּה־נַּעַר אֶת־אָרְחוֹ) — "by what will a young man purify his path?" The Hebrew ba-meh is an interrogative "by what," which the KJV renders "wherewithal."

Psalm 119 is the longest psalm in the Bible — 176 verses, structured as a 22-stanza acrostic (one stanza per letter of the Hebrew alphabet). Verse 9 opens the Beth (ב) stanza. The entire psalm is a meditation on God's word (torah, mitzvah, edah, choq, mishpat, pequdim, dabar — eight Hebrew synonyms for God's revealed instruction).

3. Judgment — Micah 6:6

Micah 6:6 — "Wherewithal shall I come before the LORD, [and] bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?"

The Hebrew is again ba-meh ("by what"). Micah 6 is a prophetic courtroom scene — the LORD's "controversy" with Israel. Verse 6 opens the people's defense, and the question "wherewithal shall I come" runs through escalating offerings (v. 7 — thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil, even a firstborn child). The prophet's answer follows in verse 8: "He hath shewed thee, O man, what [is] good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

The Pattern of the Three Uses

The three KJV uses of "wherewithal" happen to share a structure — each asks what is the means for a particular concern:

• Matthew 6:31 — "wherewithal shall we be clothed?" (anxiety about provision)
• Psalm 119:9 — "wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?" (concern about purity)
• Micah 6:6 — "wherewithal shall I come before the LORD?" (question about worship)

Each verse asks a means-question that Scripture then answers differently — not with the expected commodity, but with something underneath it. Matthew answers with the Father's care; Psalm 119 with attention to God's word; Micah with justice, mercy, and humility.

Modern English Usage

Modern English retains "wherewithal" primarily as a noun meaning "the resources, means, or money required for something." Examples:

• "He lacked the wherewithal to start the business."
• "Do you have the wherewithal to finish the project?"

The archaic relative-pronoun function ("by what, with which") has fallen out of modern use. What survives is the noun sense — derived from the biblical and older literary "the means by which" something can be accomplished.

Summary

• Wherewithal — Middle English compound: "where" + "with" + "al."
• Original sense: "with what, by what means."
• Appears three times in the KJV: Matthew 6:31, Psalm 119:9, Micah 6:6.
• All three uses ask what is the means of a concern — provision, purity, or worship.
• Modern English: noun meaning "the resources required."