What Does John 1:37 Mean in the King James?
And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
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
A voice can be faithful precisely by sending its hearers beyond itself.
THE MEANING
When you hear a witness point to Jesus, the hearing opens into movement toward him; it does not end at the speaker. Here, listening is shown by where it leads.
THE ROOT
ἤκουσαν
ēkousan
GROWS FROM
ἀκου-
akou-
To hear, listen to, or attend to.
“heard” in this verse is ēkousan. The verb for hearing belongs to a word family that also describes obeying or listening under authority. In this verse, hearing becomes visible in the disciples’ next movement: they follow the one the witness points toward.
ALSO GROWS
akoē: What is heard; a report or message.
ἀκοή
The sound becomes a message the disciples can act on, rather than something they merely hear.
hypakouō: To heed or obey what is heard.
ὑπακούω
This related word carries hearing into response, echoing the movement from hearing John speak to following Jesus.
THE PATTERN
A voice fulfills its work when hearing it becomes movement toward the one it reveals.
That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:THE THREAD
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:The Greek verb for “hear” is the same in both verses, and John 10:27 places hearing and following side by side. John 1:37 shows that movement in action: the disciples hear John speak, then follow Jesus.
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