What Does Mark 3:13 Mean in the King James?
And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.
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 call begins in Jesus’ desire, and its direction is nearness: he summons people to himself, and they come.
THE MEANING
This verse shows a summons that begins in Jesus’ desire and opens into nearness: he calls, and the called ones come to him. The movement leads beyond the mountain toward a person.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It dissolves the belief that movement toward Jesus must begin with the one who comes; here, his desire initiates the summons.
THE ROOT
προσκαλεῖται
proskaleitai
GROWS FROM
καλ- / καλέω (kaleō)
To call, summon, or invite; with προς (pros), toward, the verb means to call someone to oneself.
“calleth unto him” in this verse is proskaleitai. The verb holds both the summons and its direction: Jesus calls these people toward himself. English gives the sound of calling, while the Greek also carries the movement into nearness.
ALSO GROWS
klēsis: A calling or invitation.
κλῆσις
The related noun names the call as an invitation that can be received.
klētos: Called or invited.
κλητός
This related form describes someone as the one addressed by a call, linking the summons to the person who receives it.
ἤθελεν
ēthelen
GROWS FROM
θέλω
thelō
To want, wish, or desire.
“would” in this verse is ēthelen. The call is directed toward those Jesus wants; it rises from personal desire, not from an impersonal summons. That desire and their coming meet in the same brief scene.
ALSO GROWS
thelōn: Wanting or willing.
θέλων
This form keeps the same root in a description of one who wants, echoing the personal choice in the verse.
thelēma: Will or desire.
θέλημα
The related noun names what is wanted, making the desire behind the summons visible in the same word family.
THE PATTERN
A summons begins in the one who calls and becomes visible in the movement of the one who answers.
That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.THE THREAD
And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.Both verses use the καλέω (kaleō, call or summon) word family. In Mark 1:20 the called ones go after Jesus; in Mark 3:13, the summons is explicitly toward him, and they come.
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