What Does John 2:18 Mean in the King James?

Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?

John 2:18 · KJV

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

“Sign” carries the sense of a marker: they ask not only what Jesus does, but what his action points to.

THE MEANING

The reader hears a demand for a sign that makes authority visible: what mark shows that these actions carry weight? The verse holds open the gap between an act and its meaning; a visible action can raise the question of what it points toward.

THE ROOT

σημεῖον

sēmeion

GROWS FROM

σημ-

sēm-

mark, sign, indication

“sign” in this verse is sēmeion. The Greek word carries the sense of a mark that directs attention beyond itself. Their question asks for a visible marker that will disclose what Jesus’ actions mean.

ALSO GROWS

sēma: mark, token, sign

σῆμα

This related word makes the sign’s marking function clear: what is seen points beyond itself.

sēmainō: indicate, signify

σημαίνω

The related verb shifts attention from the visible marker to the meaning it communicates.

δεικνύεις

deiknyeis

GROWS FROM

δεικ-

deik-

show, point out, make evident

“shewest” in this verse is deiknyeis. The verse pairs a sign with the act of showing: the speakers ask for the marker itself to be displayed as evidence. Their wording leaves the question open of whether a display alone can disclose what an action means.

ALSO GROWS

deigma: example, proof, sample

δεῖγμα

This related form shows how making something visible can turn it into evidence.

endeixis: demonstration, indication

ἔνδειξις

This branch joins showing with pointing something out, echoing the demand for a sign that makes the action legible.

THE PATTERN

A sign is a visible marker whose meaning lies in what it points toward.

I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

Genesis 9:13 · KJVThe bow is a visible marker that points to a covenant between God and the earth.

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.

Exodus 4:8 · KJVThe signs communicate through what they indicate, carrying meaning beyond the visible act.

And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

John 20:30 · KJVThe signs are acts whose meaning points toward what Jesus is doing.

THE THREAD

Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

John 2:19 · KJV

Here the question receives its answer: the sign is the temple’s destruction and raising, not a separate display. John 2:21 identifies this temple as his body, so the requested proof points to a body destroyed and raised.

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