What Does Acts 28:29 Mean in the King James?
And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves.
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
They leave the speaker, but the words keep moving through them as a shared search that has not yet settled.
THE MEANING
Words can stay active after an encounter ends, carried into discussion among those who heard them. “Great reasoning” names vigorous debate, so the verse leaves their response unresolved rather than claiming they agree.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the assumption that leaving means the words made no mark: the hearers depart, yet the discussion continues among them.
THE ROOT
συζήτησιν
syzētēsin
GROWS FROM
ζητέω (ζητ-), joined with σύν (syn, “together”)
To seek, search, or inquire; joined with “together,” to seek or question together.
The Greek word carries both inquiry and disputation: this is a search happening among people, not merely private thought. English “reasoning” can hide that shared seeking inside the word itself.
ALSO GROWS
zēteō: To seek or search.
ζητέω
This root keeps inquiry at the center of the discussion: the words are still being examined after the listeners leave.
syzēteō: To discuss or dispute together.
συζητέω
This verbal relative makes the shared, potentially contentious quality of their reasoning explicit.
zētēsis: Inquiry, question, or dispute.
ζήτησις
This related noun shows how the root can name an active investigation, not just a settled conclusion.
THE PATTERN
A spoken word can continue its work as people examine it together beyond the moment of hearing.
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.THE THREAD
And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.Luke uses the same συζητέω word family for people reasoning together as they walk. Here, the departing listeners keep seeking among themselves; there, shared inquiry continues as a new presence draws near.
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