What Does Acts 13:13 Mean?
Now Paul and those with him put out from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, and John, withdrawing from them, turned back to Jerusalem.
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
Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.THE KEY
The Greek describes John withdrawing from the shared space and turning back, while leaving his reason unstated.
THE MEANING
You can be moving alongside others and still find the paths divide: the company continues toward Perga while John withdraws and turns back toward Jerusalem. The verse names the separation without naming John’s reason, leaving the departure clear and its motive open.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The assumption that a visible departure tells you why someone leaves. The verse names John’s movement but leaves his reason unstated.
THE ROOT
ἀποχωρήσας
apochōrḗsas
GROWS FROM
χωρ-
χωρ- (chōr-) is the consonantal base associated with space and place; χωρέω (chōréō) means to go or make room.
The word for departing joins ἀπό (apó, away from) to χωρέω (chōréō, go or make room). Its root family links withdrawal with the language of space and place, so John’s departure marks a change in shared space without telling us why he leaves.
ALSO GROWS
chōréō: to go, advance, or make room
χωρέω
This branch shares χωρ- and shows the movement within the word for withdrawing.
chṓra: a region or land
χώρα
This branch shares the χωρ- consonantal family and links movement with the space or region one occupies.
chōríon: a place or field
χωρίον
This branch shares the same consonantal family and makes the root’s connection to a particular place explicit.
ὑπέστρεψεν
hypéstrepsen
GROWS FROM
στρεφ-
στρεφ- (streph-) means to turn or twist; the form shifts to στρεψ- before the ending in this word.
“turned back” in this verse is hypéstrepsen. The verb translated “returned” carries the idea of turning back. Its shared root appears in Greek words for turning back or turning away, making the return a change of direction as well as a destination.
ALSO GROWS
stréphō: to turn or twist
στρέφω
This is the base verb that supplies the turning motion in the verse’s word for returning.
epistréphō: to turn back or return
ἐπιστρέφω
It shares στρεφ- and makes the idea of turning back explicit.
apostréphō: to turn away
ἀποστρέφω
It shares στρεφ- and shows how the same root can describe turning in a different direction.
ἀναχθέντες
anachthéntes
GROWS FROM
ἀγ-
ἀγ- (ag-) means to lead, bring, or carry; in this sailing expression, ἀνάγω means to put to sea or set sail.
The KJV’s “loosed” renders a Greek sailing expression built on ἄγω (ágō, lead or bring). The voyage is described as a company being carried onward, while John’s separate movement is named with a different root.
ALSO GROWS
ágō: to lead or bring
ἄγω
This is the base verb behind the sailing expression and frames the company’s movement as being led or carried.
agōgḗ: leading, conduct, or way of life
ἀγωγή
This word shares the ἀγ- family and extends the idea of being led into a course or manner of movement.
synagōgḗ: a gathering or assembly
συναγωγή
This word shares the ἀγ- family and brings the root’s movement together into the idea of people gathered.
THE PATTERN
A shared route becomes visible at the point where someone leaves it or chooses to remain with another.
And the LORD said to Abram, Go away from your land, from your land of birth, and from your father's house, to the land I will let you see.And Ruth said, Do not press me to let go of you, or to turn back from following after you. For where you walk, I will walk, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people are my people, and your God my God.From that time many of his disciples turned back, and walked with him no more.THE THREAD
And when they did not find him, they turned back to Jerusalem, seeking him.Luke uses the same verb, ὑποστρέφω (hypostréphō, turn back or return), for a return to Jerusalem. There the verse states the reason, they are seeking Jesus, while Acts names John’s return without supplying his motive.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us