What Does John 17:24 Mean in the King James?
Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
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 weight the Son carries is given within a love that is already present before the world begins.
THE MEANING
For you, the center of this prayer is nearness: those given to the Son are with him and behold the weight the Father gives him. The Father’s love for the Son is already present before the world’s foundation; creation does not begin that love.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The Father’s love for the Son is not a response that begins after the world exists; it is already present before the world’s foundation.
THE ROOT
δόξα
doxa
GROWS FROM
δοκ-
dok-
To think, seem, or regard; what is esteemed.
Doxa carries the sense of what is esteemed and recognized; here, the glory the Father gives is weight, the Son’s substantial worth. Those given to him behold more than a surface: they see the weight held within the Father’s love.
ALSO GROWS
doxazō: To honor, glorify.
δοξάζω
This verb from the same word family shows honor being given to the Son.
endoxos: Honored, held in esteem.
ἔνδοξος
This branch describes recognized worth, illuminating the weight that is beheld.
ἀγαπάω
agapaō
GROWS FROM
ἀγαπ-
agap-
To love, to hold dear.
“loved” in this verse is agapaō. The Father’s love for the Son is already present before the world’s foundation; it does not begin with creation. The verse places the Son’s given weight within this love that precedes the world.
ALSO GROWS
agapē: Love.
ἀγάπη
The noun names the love that this verse locates before the world’s beginning.
agapētos: Beloved, dearly loved.
ἀγαπητός
This branch makes the relationship explicit: the Son is the one held dear.
καταβολή
katabolē
GROWS FROM
καταβάλλω
kataballō
To cast or lay down.
The Greek word for foundation carries the sense of a laying down. The Father’s love is present before that founding act, so the world begins within a reality it did not create.
ALSO GROWS
kataballō: To cast down, lay down.
καταβάλλω
The verb reveals the action behind the idea of a foundation: something is laid down.
katabolē: A laying down; a foundation.
καταβολή
This noun names the world’s foundation, the beginning that the Father’s love precedes.
THE PATTERN
What is rooted in God precedes the world and becomes present within it as love and nearness.
The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.THE THREAD
And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.John 17:5 uses the same word, doxa, for the weight the Son has with the Father before the world exists. John 17:24 shows those given to him beholding that weight with him.
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