What Does Acts 3:22 Mean?
For Moses truly said to the fathers, The LORD your God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers, like me. You shall hear and respond to him in all things, whatever he says 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
For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.THE KEY
The prophet God raises stands among your own kin, and the verse turns on whether you hear all he says.
THE MEANING
God’s word reaches you through a voice close enough to hear: someone raised from among your own people. The verse places the weight on receiving the whole of what that voice says, not just the parts that feel familiar.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that a voice is worth hearing only when it agrees with you; the verse says to hear all that he says.
THE ROOT
ἀναστήσει
anastēsei
GROWS FROM
ἵστημι
histēmi
stand, set upright
“raise up” in this verse is anastēsei. The Greek verb means to bring someone to stand. The same word family gives ἀνάστασις (anastasis), rising or resurrection: the promised prophet is one God brings to stand among the people.
ALSO GROWS
anistēmi: rise, stand up
ἀνίστημι
This related verb makes the image of the prophet standing among his kin more visible.
anastasis: rising, resurrection
ἀνάστασις
It shares the same word family, carrying the idea of being brought to stand again.
ἀκούσεσθε
akousesthe
GROWS FROM
ἀκου-
akou-
hear, listen
“hear and respond to” in this verse is akousesthe. The Greek calls for hearing, and “in all things whatsoever he shall say” makes that hearing comprehensive. A related verb, ὑπακούω (hypakouō), can mean obey or heed, showing how hearing can extend into response.
ALSO GROWS
akoē: hearing, report
ἀκοή
It shows how the same word family can name both the act of hearing and what is heard.
hypakouō: obey, heed
ὑπακούω
This related compound links hearing with responding to the voice.
προφήτην
prophētēn
GROWS FROM
φημί
phēmi
say, speak
The word’s speaking root brings the prophet into focus as a voice delivering words. The verse makes those words central: the promised one is heard in everything he says.
ALSO GROWS
phēmi: say, speak
φημί
This is the speaking root within the word for prophet.
prophēteuō: prophesy, speak prophetically
προφητεύω
This related verb keeps the prophet’s role tied to speaking.
THE PATTERN
God’s word reaches people through a human voice, and hearing is where that word is received.
The LORD your God raises up for you a prophet from your midst, from your brothers, like me. To him you hear and respond.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.My sheep hear and respond to my voice, and I perceive them, and they follow me.THE THREAD
The LORD your God raises up for you a prophet from your midst, from your brothers, like me. To him you hear and respond.Deuteronomy names the same pattern Acts identifies: God raises a prophet from among the people, and the people hear him. “From the midst of thee” makes the closeness of that voice unmistakable.
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