What Does John 8:27 Mean in the King James?
They understood not that he spake to them of the Father.
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
It is possible to hear true words about the Father without perceiving what they reveal.
THE MEANING
Words about the Father are audible here, but their subject remains unrecognized. The reader can hear true speech and still miss what it points toward; hearing alone does not ensure perception. The gap is between hearing the words and recognizing whom they disclose.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Hearing religious words is the same as recognizing the Father.
THE ROOT
ἔγνωσαν
egnōsan
GROWS FROM
γνω-
gnō-
know, recognize, perceive
“Understood” can sound like a purely intellectual failure, but the verb also carries the sense of recognition. The verse reveals a gap between hearing Jesus speak and perceiving whom his words concern.
ALSO GROWS
gnōsis: knowledge or recognition
γνῶσις
This related word keeps the verb connected to a wider field of knowing, beyond simply grasping a sentence.
gnōstos: known or recognizable
γνωστός
It highlights the distance between hearing about the Father and recognizing the one being spoken of.
THE PATTERN
The source becomes perceptible through what expresses it, though the expression does not force recognition.
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.THE THREAD
Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.John 8:19 uses the same Greek verb for knowing when Jesus says they neither know him nor his Father. Recognition of the Father and recognition of the one speaking are joined.
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