What Does John 10:29 Mean in the King James?
My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
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 word translated “pluck” describes a violent seizure, and the verse says no one can overpower the Father’s keeping.
THE MEANING
The Father gives you to the Son, and the Father is greater than every power that could claim you. No one can seize you from the Father’s hand.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that your belonging depends on how tightly you can hold on to God.
THE ROOT
ἁρπάζειν
harpazein
GROWS FROM
ἁρπάζω (ἁρπαγ-)
To seize forcibly, snatch away, or carry off.
“Pluck” can sound like a gentle picking, but the Greek word pictures someone forcefully taking what is held. The verse’s claim is that no one has the power to carry you off from the Father’s hand.
ALSO GROWS
harpax: Robber or plunderer.
ἅρπαξ
This branch makes the force behind the verb vivid: the threat is seizure, not a light touch.
harpagē: Seizure or plunder.
ἁρπαγή
This noun names the act the verse says no one can accomplish against the Father’s keeping.
THE PATTERN
What God holds remains beyond the reach of every power that would take it away.
Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words.Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.THE THREAD
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.The same Greek verb for “pluck” appears here: ἁρπάζειν (harpazein), to seize or carry off. Verse 28 names the Son’s hand, and this verse names the Father’s; the repeated image gathers both assurances into one keeping.
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