What Does John 14:2 Mean?
In my Father's house are many places to remain. If it were not so, I would have told you, for I go to make ready a place for 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
In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.THE KEY
The Greek word behind “mansions” belongs to the word family of “remain,” so the promise holds out lasting dwelling in the Father’s presence.
THE MEANING
The verse meets you with a place prepared for you in the Father’s house. Its language of dwelling carries the sense of remaining, opening the promise beyond arrival to a lasting home in God’s presence. Jesus’ going is directed toward making that place ready.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that there is no room for you in the Father’s house gives way to the promise of a place prepared for you.
THE ROOT
μοναί
monai
GROWS FROM
μένω
menō
to remain, stay, or abide
“places to remain” in this verse is monai. The Greek noun μοναί (monai) means dwelling places and belongs to the same word family as μένω (menō), to remain. “Mansions” can suggest grand separate houses; the root also opens the image of places where you remain in the Father’s presence.
ALSO GROWS
menō: to remain, stay, abide
μένω
The verb carries the staying quality within the promise of a prepared dwelling.
monē: an abode or dwelling place
μονή
This singular form appears again in Jesus’ promise that he and the Father will make their abode with the one who loves him (John 14:23).
THE PATTERN
God’s dwelling is marked by enduring presence among those who belong to him.
Surely goodness and faithful love pursue me all the days of my life, and I settle in the house of the LORD for the length of days.Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves me, that one will guard my word, and my Father will love that one, and we will come to him and make a place to remain with him.And I hear a great voice from the throne, saying, Look, the tent of God is with humankind, and he will pitch his tent among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.THE THREAD
Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves me, that one will guard my word, and my Father will love that one, and we will come to him and make a place to remain with him.“Abode” translates the same Greek noun, μονή (monē), as “mansions” in John 14:2. The prepared dwelling and the dwelling made with the one who loves Jesus share a root, joining the promise of a place with the promise of presence.
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