What Does Acts 13:5 Mean?
And when they were at Salamis, they announced the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews, and they also had John as their attendant.
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 when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.THE KEY
The message moves through both public proclamation and the quieter service that carries the work.
THE MEANING
The word is carried into public places by voices, while the work also includes a named attendant beside the speakers. Proclamation and practical support belong to one movement, and both are visible here.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that only the public speaker matters: John’s service is named as part of the same work.
THE ROOT
ὑπηρέτην
hypēretēn
GROWS FROM
ὑπηρετ-
hypēret-
One who serves as an attendant or assistant.
The Greek noun names John’s practical role as an attendant. Its traditional etymology evokes an under-rower, suggesting the support that helps carry shared work forward.
ALSO GROWS
hypēretēs: An attendant or assistant.
ὑπηρέτης
This is the noun’s base form and makes clear that John’s role is one of service beside the proclaimers.
hypēreteō: To serve or assist.
ὑπηρετέω
The related verb shows the role as an act of helping, not merely a title.
hypēresia: Service or attendance.
ὑπηρεσία
This related noun names the supporting work that accompanies the proclamation.
κατήγγελλον
katēngellon
GROWS FROM
ἀγγελ-
angel-
To announce or report something.
“announced” in this verse is katēngellon. The Greek verb belongs to the announcing family, which also gives the word for messenger. The message reaches people as it is carried aloud.
ALSO GROWS
angelos: A messenger, one who carries a message.
ἄγγελος
The shared word family links proclamation with the act of carrying a message to others.
euangelizō: To announce or bring good news.
εὐαγγελίζω
This related form shows the same announcing root carrying good news.
λόγον
logon
GROWS FROM
λεγ-/λογ- (leg-/log-, saying or telling)
Speech, saying, or a message.
The Greek λόγος (logos, word or message) can also mean an account or explanation, so the phrase carries more than a sound: it names a message with meaning. Here the announcement is of God’s message.
ALSO GROWS
legō: To say or tell.
λέγω
The related verb makes the spoken character of the message visible.
logion: A saying or divine utterance.
λόγιον
This branch shows λόγος-family words used for meaningful utterances.
logizomai: To reckon, account, or consider.
λογίζομαι
This branch carries the sense of giving an account or taking something into consideration.
THE PATTERN
Shared work carries a purpose through distinct forms of service, including public witness and the support that sustains it.
But Moses' hands were heavy. And they took a stone and set it under him, and he sat upon it. And Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on this side and the other on that side, and his hands were steady until the sun went down.How then will they call upon him in whom they have not trusted? And how will they trust the one of whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a herald?I planted, Apollos gave to drink, but God made it grow.THE THREAD
But rise up, and stand upon your feet, for I have been shown to you for this purpose, to make you a servant and a witness of what you have seen, and of those things in which I will be shown to you.Acts 26:16 uses the same Greek noun, ὑπηρέτην (hypēretēn, attendant or assistant), for “minister,” pairing the role with witness. The connection holds practical service and public testimony together.
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