What Does Acts 17:14 Mean?
And immediately the brothers sent Paul out as far as the sea; but Silas and Timothy remained 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 then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still.THE KEY
The work moves in two directions at once: Paul is sent away, while Silas and Timothy remain.
THE MEANING
This verse holds departure and staying in the same frame: Paul is sent toward the sea, while Silas and Timothy remain there. A shared moment can take shape through different movements; everyone does not have to go to the same place.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It loosens the belief that the one who leaves matters more than those who remain: the verse names both movements.
THE ROOT
ἀπέστειλαν
apesteilan
GROWS FROM
στέλλω
stellō
send or dispatch; with ἀπό (apo), send away or forth
“sent away” in this verse is apesteilan. The same word family gives ἀπόστολος (apostolos), a messenger or one sent. Paul’s departure is described with a word that also belongs to sending someone out; leaving and being sent belong to one field of meaning.
ALSO GROWS
apostolos: messenger; one sent
ἀπόστολος
This related word shows how the verb for sending also names the person who carries that sending.
apostolē: sending; commission
ἀποστολή
The shared word family makes the act of dispatch visible beneath the plain account of Paul’s departure.
ὑπέμειναν
hypemeinan
GROWS FROM
μένω
menō
remain, stay, abide
“remained there” in this verse is hypemeinan. The verb for Silas and Timothy’s staying is built on μένω (menō), meaning remain or abide, with ὑπό (hypo) prefixed. Their position is expressed as remaining in place while Paul moves onward, not as disappearing from the scene.
ALSO GROWS
menō: remain; abide
μένω
This root makes the staying itself an action the verse puts beside Paul’s being sent.
monē: dwelling place; abode
μονή
This related noun connects remaining with being located somewhere, which fits the verse’s clear contrast between departure and staying there.
THE PATTERN
In shared work, being sent and remaining can be distinct, simultaneous roles.
And Abraham said to his young men, "Sit here with the donkey, and I and the young man will go over there and bow down, and turn back to you."And he said to the elders, Sit here for us until we turn back to you, and behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; if anyone holds a word, let him draw near to them.As they served the Lord and fasted, the Set-Apart Breath said, Mark off for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.THE THREAD
And how will they herald unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!“Sent” in Romans comes from the same Greek word family as the sending of Paul here. Romans shows that such dispatch can carry a message; Acts shows the concrete movement of someone sent onward.
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