What Does Acts 10:32 Mean?
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.
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
Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee.THE KEY
The command to call Simon and the statement that he is called Peter repeat one Greek root, so English “surname” conceals a call embedded in his name.
THE MEANING
The promised message reaches you through a particular person: the one summoned from where he is staying comes and speaks to you. Understanding here arrives in a voice attached to a named person and a real place.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that a message from God must come without a human voice: here, the hearer is directed to someone who will speak.
THE ROOT
μετακάλεσαι
metakalesai
GROWS FROM
καλ-
kal-
Call, summon, or name.
“call / is called” in this verse is metakalesai. The command “summon” and the phrase “is called” both carry the Greek καλέω (kaleō, “to call”) root. The repetition joins the summons to the naming: the person being sought is identified by name.
ALSO GROWS
metakaleō: Summon, call to oneself.
μετακαλέω
This compound appears in the command to call Simon hither.
epikaleō: Call upon, name, or invoke.
ἐπικαλέω
This compound describes Simon as the one called Peter, repeating the call-root in his name.
THE PATTERN
A message reaches its hearer through a person who is called or sent to speak.
And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak, for your servant hears and responds.But the LORD said to me, Do not say, I am a youth, for to all that I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.So we are sent in the place of the Anointed One, as though God were urging you through us. We beg you in his place. Be exchanged back to God.THE THREAD
To him the gatekeeper opens, and the sheep hear and respond to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.Here the same Greek καλέω (kaleō, “to call”) root appears in the shepherd’s calling of each sheep by name. Acts 10:32 echoes that joining of call and name: the person summoned is also personally identified.
This reading is from Selah Verse.
You can read any verse this way in the app, keep it as a card, and send it on.
A Bible app where you send verses from your keyboard and in Messages, and every verse has a Deep Dive.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us