thither meaning in the KJV
Thither means to that place or toward that place.
Meaning in context
Thither points to a destination already mentioned or understood in the passage. It adds the idea of movement toward a place; it is not a name for the place itself.
In Genesis 19:20, Lot is asking to escape to the nearby city. In Genesis 24:6, Abraham is speaking about the land from which he came. The same English word points to different destinations because the surrounding sentences identify them.
Compare thither with whither, which asks or describes to what place, and whence, which describes from what place. When studying an original-language term, open the particular verse: do not assign one Hebrew or Greek word to every occurrence of this English form.
KJV examples
Genesis 19:20 KJVBehold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.
The destination is the nearby city to which Lot asks to escape.
Genesis 24:6 KJVAnd Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.
Abraham forbids taking his son back to the land under discussion.
John 7:34 KJVYe shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come.
The destination is understood from the place where the speaker says he is.
First exact-word occurrence
Genesis 19:20 KJVBehold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.
This is the earliest occurrence of this exact English spelling in canonical KJV Bible order. A related word form, a subject, or a person may appear earlier.
Find every occurrence
The exact English word thither appears 95 times in 94 KJV verses. Counts ignore letter case and exclude other spellings and word forms.
Explore all thither occurrences in Word StudyFor original-language details, select the word in the particular chapter. A word can represent different terms or constructions in different verses.
Related word studies
Study method
These explanations are separate study notes. Every Scripture quotation above is copied from the existing KJV chapter text. Read the whole chapter and compare the setting before applying a meaning to another occurrence.