What Does Galatians 2:2 Mean in the King James?
And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.
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
Revelation does not make the race self-validating: Paul lays the message before others while confronting the possibility that his own labor may be empty.
THE MEANING
What is unveiled is set before others in a careful, private exchange. Even a course prompted by revelation can still end empty, so the verse holds the message and the outcome of carrying it together.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A revelation or a strong beginning does not guarantee that the work has reached its purpose.
THE ROOT
ἀποκάλυψις
apokalypsis
GROWS FROM
καλυπ-
kalypt-
to cover or hide
The same root appears in words for covering and uncovering; the prefix apo- gives the sense of uncovering. Here, revelation is an unveiling that leads Paul into a concrete conversation about the message.
ALSO GROWS
kalyptō: cover or hide
καλύπτω
This is the root action that makes the image of revelation an uncovering.
apokalyptō: uncover or reveal
ἀποκαλύπτω
This verb shares the root and makes explicit the movement from covered to exposed.
kalymma: covering or veil
κάλυμμα
The related noun names what conceals, sharpening the contrast carried by revelation.
ἀνεθέμην
anethemen
GROWS FROM
τιθημι
tithēmi
to put, place, or set
The Greek verb behind “communicated” means to set something before someone. Paul presents the message for consideration, and the private setting is part of how the verse describes that exchange.
ALSO GROWS
tithēmi: put, place, or set
τίθημι
This base verb gives “communicated” its sense of placing the message before its hearers.
protithēmi: set forth or put forward
προτίθημι
This compound shares the root and shows how placing can become a deliberate presentation.
κενός
kenos
GROWS FROM
κεν-
ken-
empty or void
“in vain” in this verse is kenos. The feared result is emptiness: movement without substance or outcome. Paul does not call the gospel empty; he fears that his own running might prove empty.
ALSO GROWS
kenoō: empty or make void
κενόω
This verb carries the same root into the act of emptying or rendering ineffective.
kenodoxos: empty-glorious or vainglorious
κενόδοξος
This compound joins the root for emptiness to glory, showing how something can appear weighty while lacking substance.
THE PATTERN
Scripture joins receiving a message to discernment and to the outcome of the work it produces.
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.THE THREAD
For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.Galatians 1:12 uses the same Greek noun, apokalypsis, to name how the message reaches Paul. Read beside 2:2, the unveiling is both the message’s source and what moves him to lay it before others.
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