What Does Acts 9:26 Mean in the King James?
And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.
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 verb behind “join” pictures glue: Saul reaches for close attachment, but fear keeps the bond from forming.
THE MEANING
A person can truly change and still be met with fear that withholds trust. The word translated “join” carries the sense of attaching closely, holding the reach for connection beside the fear that keeps it from taking hold.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that a changed person is immediately recognized as changed.
THE ROOT
κολλᾶσθαι
kollasthai
GROWS FROM
κολλάω
kollaō
To glue or stick; by extension, to attach closely, join, or cleave.
The verb behind “join” carries the image of sticking or gluing together, more closely than simply entering a group. Saul reaches for attachment while the disciples’ fear holds them at a distance, placing closeness and withheld trust in the same moment.
ALSO GROWS
kollēthentes: Having attached themselves; having joined closely.
κολληθέντες
In Acts 17:34, this same verb family describes people who attach themselves to Paul and trust; joining and trust appear together.
kollōmenos: One who is joined or cleaves.
κολλώμενος
In 1 Corinthians 6:17, the same root describes close attachment to the Lord, showing that the verb names a bond rather than mere proximity.
THE PATTERN
Fear makes a changed identity hard to receive; encounter, witness, and welcome open the way to recognition.
And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.THE THREAD
Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.Acts 17:34 uses the same verb family for people who “clave” to Paul and trusted. The verb holds close attachment and trust together, making the gap in Acts 9 between Saul’s reach to join and the disciples’ withheld trust visible.
This reading is from Selah Verse.
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