What Does Acts 10:18 Mean?
And they called out, and asked whether Simon, who was surnamed Peter, was lodged there.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.THE KEY
The verse gives two different kinds of calling: a voice at the door and the name by which Simon is known.
THE MEANING
The one being sought is present through a name others know and a place that receives him as a guest. Seeking becomes concrete here: someone calls, asks whether you are there, and waits for an answer.
THE ROOT
ἐπικαλούμενος
epikaloumenos
GROWS FROM
καλέω
kaleō
To call, summon, or name.
“surnamed” in this verse is epikaloumenos. The phrase is literally about Simon being called by the name Peter. English makes this sound like a fixed surname, while the Greek keeps the act of naming audible: this is the name by which others know and seek him.
ALSO GROWS
kaleō: To call, name, or invite.
καλέω
This is the verb underneath the name by which Simon is identified.
klēsis: A calling or invitation.
κλῆσις
It shows how the same word family can hold both being summoned and being invited.
ξενίζεται
xenizetai
GROWS FROM
ξεν-
xen-
Stranger, foreigner, or guest.
The verb translated “lodged” can mean to be received as a guest. Its root holds stranger and guest together, so Simon’s location is described through the welcome of another person’s house.
ALSO GROWS
xenos: A stranger or guest.
ξένος
The word links being away from home with being received by a host.
philoxenia: Hospitality, welcoming a stranger.
φιλοξενία
It makes the guest-root visible in the act of receiving someone into a home.
φωνήσαντες
phōnēsantes
GROWS FROM
φων-
phon-
Voice or sound.
The first “called” comes from φωνέω, a verb built on φωνή, “voice” or “sound.” This is a call made audible toward a dwelling, distinct from the name by which Simon is known.
ALSO GROWS
phōnē: Voice or sound.
φωνή
This noun is the sound carried by the call at the house.
epiphōneō: To call out or cry aloud.
ἐπιφωνέω
It shows the same voice-root being used for a projected call.
THE PATTERN
Seeking someone takes the concrete form of calling their name and locating the place that receives them.
And they said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he said, Look, in the tent.And the LORD called Samuel, and he answered, Here I am.And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and perceived him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay in your house."THE THREAD
Send therefore to Joppa, and call Simon to you, whose surname is Peter; he lodges in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea; who, when he arrives, shall speak to you.This verse repeats the same name and guest words: Simon is called Peter and is lodged in a house. The question at the door becomes a direct summons with Simon’s location named.
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