What Does Acts 5:15 Mean in the King James?
Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
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
The Greek verb for “overshadow” carries the very word for “shadow,” making the shadow itself the reach of a presence.
THE MEANING
The sick are brought into the street and placed along Peter’s path, where even the shadow of his passing may reach them. The verse holds their hope in that possibility: a presence can extend beyond direct touch.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This unsettles the assumption that healing must come through direct contact: the verse places hope in the reach of a passing shadow.
THE ROOT
σκιά
skiá
GROWS FROM
σκια-
skia-
shadow, shade; the covering cast by a presence
“shadow / overshadow” in this verse is skiá. The Greek noun σκιά names the shadow, while the verb ἐπισκιάζω is formed from that same word with the sense of overshadowing. The verse ties the hoped-for contact to the shadow itself: Peter’s passing reach may cover the sick.
ALSO GROWS
skiá: shadow, shade
σκιά
This is the noun for the shadow that passes over the sick.
episkiázō: overshadow, cover with a shadow
ἐπισκιάζω
This is the verb used for what Peter’s shadow might do, carrying the noun’s root into the action.
THE PATTERN
A shadow marks how a presence reaches and covers beyond direct contact.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.THE THREAD
And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.Luke uses the same Greek verb, ἐπισκιάζω (episkiázō, “overshadow”), that appears in Acts. In both verses, presence reaches over another through the language of shadow.
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