What Does Matthew 12:28 Mean in the King James?
But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
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
God’s governance arrives in the very act of driving out what holds people captive.
THE MEANING
God’s breath is at work when what binds a person is driven out; that release is the arrival of God’s governance, not a sign they must wait for it. The verse names deliverance itself as evidence that God’s reign has reached them.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that God’s governance is only future, with no sign of its arrival in the present, is undone here: its arrival is recognized as devils are cast out.
THE ROOT
πνεῦμα
pneuma
GROWS FROM
πνευ- (pneu-, from πνέω)
Breathe, blow.
The Greek word translated “Spirit” also carries the sense of breath and wind. English can make this sound abstract, while the word holds God’s breath as the force by which what binds is expelled.
ALSO GROWS
pnéō: To breathe or blow.
πνέω
This verb makes the breath and wind within the word for Spirit tangible.
pnoḗ: Breath or blowing.
πνοή
The same word family names breath as an active force; here God’s breath acts, and devils are cast out.
ἐκβάλλω
ekballō
GROWS FROM
βάλλω
ballō
Throw or cast.
“cast out” in this verse is ekballō. The verb carries the force of throwing something out, not merely making it disappear. What is expelled is named plainly in the verse, and that expulsion is the sign that God’s governance has arrived.
ALSO GROWS
bállō: To throw or cast.
βάλλω
This base verb gives “cast out” its forceful, concrete action.
ekbolḗ: A throwing out; jettisoning.
ἐκβολή
This related noun is used for throwing cargo overboard; it echoes the force of what is driven out here.
βασιλεία
basileia
GROWS FROM
βασιλευ-
basileu-
Rule or reign as king.
The word can name a kingdom and also carry the sense of kingship or reign. In this verse, God’s governance is not remote: it has arrived among the people in the act of casting out devils.
ALSO GROWS
basileús: King.
βασιλεύς
The related word names the ruler whose authority the governance expresses.
basileúō: To reign or rule as king.
βασιλεύω
This verb makes the active dimension of God’s governance visible in the verse.
THE PATTERN
God’s life-giving power makes God’s governance visible by displacing what holds people captive.
Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.THE THREAD
But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.Luke uses ἐκβάλλω (ekballō, cast out) and βασιλεία (basileia, kingdom or governance) as Matthew does. The image shifts from God’s breath to God’s finger, while the same expulsion reveals that God’s reign has reached them.
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