What Does Acts 25:2 Mean in the King James?
Then the high priest and the chief of the Jews informed him against Paul, and besought him,
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
“Informed” carries the sense of bringing something into view, so this accusation is also an attempt to shape what the governor sees.
THE MEANING
A report before authority can carry the force of an effort to set the terms of a judgment. Here, the allegation against Paul and the appeal to the governor arrive together, making accusation and persuasion part of the same moment.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the assumption that a charge presented to authority is only neutral information: the report arrives as part of a bid to move the ruler.
THE ROOT
ἐνεφάνισαν
enephanisan
GROWS FROM
φαν- (phan-), within ἐμφανίζω (emphanizō)
To appear or become visible; in this verb, to make known or bring into view.
The Greek verb translated “informed” is built on the idea of making something visible. The report does more than pass along words: it brings Paul before the governor through the accusers’ account.
ALSO GROWS
phainō: Appear, show, or shine.
φαίνω
This related verb makes the shared sense of coming into view audible beneath “informed.”
phaneroō: Make visible or manifest.
φανερόω
This same word family appears when Jesus says he will “manifest” himself in John 14:21.
παρεκάλουν
parekaloun
GROWS FROM
καλέω
kaleō
To call or summon; παρακαλέω (parakaleō) carries the sense of urging, appealing, or calling upon someone.
The appeal is not a separate afterthought: the speakers call upon the governor to respond after presenting their case. The Greek verb can also mean “urge,” making the pressure inside “besought” more audible.
ALSO GROWS
kaleō: Call, summon, or invite.
καλέω
This is the verb’s core call, which becomes an appeal when directed toward another person.
paraklēsis: Appeal, urging, or encouragement.
παράκλησις
This related noun shows the same family carrying a call into an appeal or urging.
THE PATTERN
A charge placed before authority is also an effort to shape the decision authority makes.
He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them.And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Cæsar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Cæsar.THE THREAD
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.The verb translated “informed” here is the same Greek verb Jesus uses for “manifest” in John 14:21: ἐμφανίζω (emphanizō), to make known or bring into view. The shared root names the act of making something visible; the surrounding words determine what is revealed.
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