What Does Luke 1:31 Mean in the King James?
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
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 child is named before his life unfolds because this name tells you the nature of his life: deliverance.
THE MEANING
Conceiving in the womb, bringing forth a son, and calling his name are one unfolding movement: hidden life emerges with its identity already spoken. Jesus echoes Hebrew יֵשׁוּעַ (Yēshūaʿ, “deliverance”), from יָשַׁע (yāshaʿ, “to deliver, bring out”); the name makes deliverance the nature carried by this life.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A name is only a label added after someone is known; here, the name is given before the child’s life unfolds and discloses his nature.
THE ROOT
καλέσεις
kaléseis
GROWS FROM
καλε-
To call, invite, summon, or give someone a name.
The verse’s καλέσεις (kaléseis, “you will call”) comes from καλέω (kaléō, “to call, invite, summon, name”); its word family reaches from naming to gathering. English “call” can sound like assigning a label, while this Greek verb also holds the force of summons.
ALSO GROWS
kaléō: Call, summon, invite, name.
καλέω
This is the verb’s dictionary form; its range makes the act both identifying and summoning.
klētós: Called, invited.
κλητός
The same k-l family describes one who has received a call, joining the act of naming to being summoned.
ekklēsía: Assembly.
ἐκκλησία
This related form denotes a gathering, extending the sense of calling toward people brought together.
ὄνομα
ónoma
GROWS FROM
ὀνομ-
Name or designation: the identifying word by which someone is known.
The name is given before the child acts or speaks, so it discloses identity in advance rather than serving only as a later label. Hebrew יֵשׁוּעַ (Yēshūaʿ, “deliverance”) carries the nature this name announces.
ALSO GROWS
onomázō: To name, mention.
ὀνομάζω
This verb turns the noun into an act, showing naming as something actively spoken.
onomastós: Named, renowned.
ὀνομαστός
The descriptor carries recognition as well as identification, widening “name” beyond a tag.
THE PATTERN
Across scripture, a bestowed name discloses the nature or calling carried by the one who bears it.
Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.THE THREAD
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.Matthew repeats the same Greek phrase, καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ (kaléseis to ónoma autoû, “you will call his name”). It then states the name’s work: he delivers his people from their missing, making explicit the nature Luke’s naming already carries.
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