What Does John 18:22 Mean in the King James?
And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so?
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 officer’s question calls for an answer, but its Greek root is also the root of judging, so the scene turns on who decides what counts as a proper reply.
THE MEANING
Where rank matters more than truth, an answer is judged by its deference instead of its content. The officer’s blow enforces that rule in the body: Jesus speaks, and authority answers with force.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that an office guarantees a fair hearing: the officer uses violence to punish how Jesus answers the high priest.
THE ROOT
ἀποκρίνῃ
apokrínēi
GROWS FROM
κριν
The core verb κρίνω (krínō) means to separate, distinguish, decide, or judge; it is the lexical core within ἀποκρίνομαι (apokrínomai), “to answer.”
“Answerest” in this verse is apokrínēi. The word does not mean that every answer is a verdict: ἀποκρίνῃ is the ordinary verb for answering, built on κρίνω, to distinguish or decide. That shared root adds an edge here: the officer challenges the way Jesus answers, even as he acts as if rank has already settled who may speak.
ALSO GROWS
krínō: To separate, distinguish, decide, or judge.
κρίνω
This core verb gives ἀποκρίνῃ its κριν- base; the prefix ἀπο- forms the ordinary verb for replying or answering.
krísis: Judgment or decision.
κρίσις
This noun belongs to the κρίνω family and makes explicit the act of weighing or deciding.
kritḗs: A judge.
κριτής
This related word names the one who judges, showing the same κρι- family branching into the evaluator.
THE PATTERN
When authority treats a speaker’s words as a threat to rank, force can take the place of examining what was said.
Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD.But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee?And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.THE THREAD
Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.“Judge” here translates words from the κρίνω (krínō) family carried inside ἀποκρίνῃ, “answer.” It sharpens the tension in the current verse: the officer demands an answer measured by deference, while this Gospel says judgment must be rightly weighed.
This reading is from Selah Verse.
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