What Does Luke 6:16 Mean in the King James?
And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
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 verse names Judas twice, then distinguishes one by the act of handing someone over.
THE MEANING
A shared name does not collapse two people into one: the verse distinguishes them by relationship and action. The Greek says the second Judas “became” a betrayer, presenting that identity as something that takes shape through what he does.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse loosens the belief that a name or label determines a person’s whole nature: both men are called Judas, but the text gives them different stories.
THE ROOT
προδότης
prodótēs
GROWS FROM
δίδωμι
didōmi, to give; in compounds, to hand over or give back.
“traitor” in this verse is prodótēs. προδότης (prodótēs, betrayer) belongs to the δίδωμι (didōmi, give) word family: betrayal is a giving-over, a person transferred into another’s hands. The English label names the role; the Greek family exposes its action.
ALSO GROWS
prodídōmi: To betray, give over.
προδίδωμι
This compound makes explicit the giving-over contained in the noun “betrayer.”
paradídōmi: To hand over, deliver.
παραδίδωμι
This related compound shows how the same root can describe a concrete transfer from one person’s hands to another’s.
apodídōmi: To give back, render.
ἀποδίδωμι
The family spans different kinds of giving, making the betrayal here a particular kind of handover.
ἐγένετο
egéneto
GROWS FROM
γίνομαι
ginomai, to become, come to be.
The Greek verb ἐγένετο (egéneto, became) gives the line a sense of transition that the KJV’s “was” compresses. The verse presents “betrayer” as a role Judas came to embody, rather than a quality contained in his name.
ALSO GROWS
génesis: Birth, origin, coming into being.
γένεσις
Its shared γεν (gen) family keeps the idea of coming-to-be visible.
génos: Kind, family, lineage.
γένος
The same word family can describe a kind or lineage, while this verse describes what a person becomes.
Ἰούδας
Ioudas
GROWS FROM
Ἰουδ-
Ioud-, the Greek name-stem for Judah and Judeans. Ἰούδας (Ioudas, Judas) represents Hebrew יְהוּדָה (Yehudah, Judah), traditionally linked with יָדָה (yādâ, praise or give thanks).
“Judas” in this verse is Ioudas. Both men bear the same name, traditionally associated with praise, but the name does not tell their two stories. The verse leaves the shared name intact and lets relationship and action distinguish them.
ALSO GROWS
Ioudaios: A Judean or Jew.
Ἰουδαῖος
The shared Ἰουδ (Ioud) name-stem extends from Judah’s name to a people’s name.
Ioudaizō: To live as a Judean or adopt Judean practice.
Ἰουδαΐζω
The same name-family can describe an identity expressed in practice, echoing the verse’s distinction between a name and a lived action.
THE PATTERN
A name or label does not tell the whole story; a person’s actions make a distinct path visible.
Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.THE THREAD
But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?Luke 6:16 calls Judas a προδότης (prodótēs, betrayer), from the family of δίδωμι (didōmi, give). Luke 22:48 uses παραδίδωμι (paradídōmi, hand over) for the act itself, making the name concrete: the handover happens under the sign of a kiss.
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