What Does John 18:17 Mean in the King James?
Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this man’s disciples? He saith, I am not.
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 question asks whether Peter is one of the learners, so “I am not” denies an apprenticeship, not merely a label.
THE MEANING
This verse meets you at the threshold where association feels costly. You can be one of the learners and still answer from fear as if you are not; the sentence narrows what you are willing to claim without making the learning disappear.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A frightened answer does not settle the truth of your belonging; disavowal and the reality of being a learner can occupy the same moment.
THE ROOT
μαθητῶν
mathētōn
GROWS FROM
μανθ- (μανθάνω)
To learn, to acquire understanding through learning.
“disciples” in this verse is mathētōn. English can make “disciple” sound like a membership label, but μαθητής (mathētēs, “learner”) names someone in the act of learning. Peter’s “I am not” disowns that relationship at the instant association feels dangerous.
ALSO GROWS
mathētēs: Learner, pupil; rendered “disciple.”
μαθητής
The question asks whether Peter belongs among the learners, making his answer a refusal of that identity.
manthanō: To learn or come to understand.
μανθάνω
This is the verb beneath “disciple”: the relationship is an ongoing process, not only a title.
matheteuō: To make or become a learner, to disciple.
μαθητεύω
The related verb keeps the same learning-root visible in the act of forming learners.
THE PATTERN
Under pressure, the question of belonging reaches the mouth: fear can make a person disavow the relation they inhabit.
The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.THE THREAD
They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.The same Greek verb εἰμί (eimi, “to be”) appears in both lines: Jesus says ἐγώ εἰμι (egō eimi, “I am”), while Peter says οὐκ εἰμί (ouk eimi, “I am not”). English supplies “he” in Jesus’ line; beside Peter’s answer, the shared verb makes their opposing claims to be unmistakable.
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