What Does Luke 3:27 Mean in the King James?
Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri,
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
Luke’s Greek leaves “son” unspoken and repeats “of”: each name appears through its relation to another, not in isolation.
THE MEANING
The names stand together in a chain of relations, each linked to what comes before. The verse speaks now of a life connected to lives before it, carrying a story that no one begins alone. Salathiel’s name also holds the sense “I have asked God.”
WHAT THIS UNDOES
You are wholly self-made and disconnected from every life before yours.
THE ROOT
τοῦ
tou
GROWS FROM
τ-
This is the inflectional stem of the Greek definite article, not a standalone lexical root. In τοῦ, the article is genitive masculine or neuter singular: “of the.”
“of the” in this verse is tou. The Greek verse repeats τοῦ before the names, while leaving “son” unstated. The KJV makes the implied genealogy explicit; the Greek keeps the relation “of” visible at every link.
ALSO GROWS
tēs: of the; genitive feminine singular of the definite article
τῆς
It shares the article’s τ- stem and shows how the article’s ending changes with grammatical gender while marking a relation.
tō: to the or for the; dative masculine or neuter singular of the definite article
τῷ
It belongs to the same inflectional family, showing the τ- stem across a different grammatical relation.
שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵל
She’altiel
GROWS FROM
שאל
To ask or request.
“Salathiel” in this verse is She’altiel. The name combines the root שאל, “ask,” with אל, “God,” and carries the sense “I have asked God.” A name in this chain holds more than ancestry: it carries a request within the lineage.
ALSO GROWS
sha’al: asked, requested
שָׁאַל
It shares the consonants שאל and gives the action carried in Shealtiel’s name.
she’elah: request, question
שְׁאֵלָה
It shares the same root and makes the name’s sense of asking concrete.
THE PATTERN
Lineage is spoken as a chain of named relations, with each generation received through another.
And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.THE THREAD
Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.The chain of names in this verse continues until Luke’s genealogy reaches Adam and then God. That endpoint opens each link, including Salathiel’s, into a larger account of human belonging.
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