What Does Hebrews 13:6 Mean?
So that we may boldly say, The LORD is my helper, and I will not fear. What will a human do to me?
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
So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.THE KEY
The confidence to speak without fear rests in a helper whose name carries the image of aid running toward a cry.
THE MEANING
The threat is named plainly: another person can act against you. The Lord is your helper within that reality, and human power is not the only power present. Your voice can name the danger without making it the final word over your life.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie is that another person’s power leaves you abandoned and makes their actions ultimate.
THE ROOT
βοηθός
boēthos
GROWS FROM
βοηθ-
boēth-
Helper, aid-giver; the word is traditionally traced to a cry and running.
“helper” in this verse is boēthos. The word’s traditional formation joins βοή (boē, cry) and θέω (theō, run), giving the image of aid moving toward a cry. The verse sets human threat beside active help, without claiming that people cannot cause harm.
ALSO GROWS
boētheō: to help, come to someone’s aid
βοηθέω
This word family appears in Hebrews 2:18, where help comes to those being tested.
boētheia: help, aid
βοήθεια
Hebrews 4:16 uses this family for help received in time of need, showing aid arriving at the point of need.
THE PATTERN
The presence of divine help does not erase human threat; it denies that threat final authority over the speaker.
The LORD is at my side; I do not fear. What can humankind do to me?Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not look about in dismay, for I am your God. I will grip you, and I will help you, and I will hold you up with the right hand of my alignment.What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?THE THREAD
The LORD is at my side; I do not fear. What can humankind do to me?Hebrews 13:6 echoes this line; the Greek version of Psalm 117:6, numbered Psalm 118:6 in the KJV, uses βοηθός (boēthos, helper). The KJV phrase on my side and Hebrews’ helper let each phrase illuminate the other.
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