What Does Luke 11:15 Mean in the King James?
But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.
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 accusation concedes the expulsion and contests only who holds the power behind it.
THE MEANING
The charge takes the expulsion for granted and argues over the identity of its source. You can see how a visible release can be named as an extension of the power it removes.
THE ROOT
ἐκβάλλει
ekbállei
GROWS FROM
βάλλω
to throw or cast
“casteth out” in this verse is ekbállei. The verb joins ἐκ, “out,” to βάλλω, “throw”: it pictures something being cast outward. The accusation accepts that outward movement and disputes whose power causes it.
ALSO GROWS
bállō: to throw or cast
βάλλω
The basic verb beneath “casteth out” makes the physical force of the expulsion visible.
embállō: to throw in, put in
ἐμβάλλω
This compound turns the same act of casting inward, showing how a prefix redirects the root’s movement.
apobállō: to cast away or discard
ἀποβάλλω
This compound uses the same root for casting something away, echoing the removal at the center of the accusation.
ἄρχοντι
árchonti
GROWS FROM
ἀρχή
beginning, first place, rule
The word for “chief” belongs to the ἀρχ root family, which connects ruling with being first or at the beginning. The accusation does more than name an accomplice: it assigns the expulsion to the ruler of the very powers being expelled.
ALSO GROWS
árchōn: ruler
ἄρχων
This is the same word family as the verse’s “chief,” naming one who holds authority.
archḗ: beginning, first place, rule
ἀρχή
Its range links authority with the position from which something begins or is governed.
árchō: to rule or begin
ἄρχω
The verb makes the family’s connection between leading and originating explicit.
THE PATTERN
Accusation can invert the source of harm, naming the one who exposes or expels it as the cause.
And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?THE THREAD
But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.The same Greek verb, ἐκβάλλω, appears again for casting out. Here the dispute over its source comes into view: the act is described as God’s power at work, with God’s governance arriving where the demons are expelled.
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