What Does Matthew 14:29 Mean in the King James?
And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
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 Greek repeats the same verb in Jesus’ “Come” and Peter’s “to go,” making his crossing the enacted echo of the invitation.
THE MEANING
You meet a call that precedes the step: the Greek verb behind “Come” returns in the phrase translated “to go to Jesus,” so Peter’s movement carries the invitation within it. The ship, the water, and the destination remain distinct; the verse holds the crossing itself in view.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that a path must be secure before movement can begin: Peter steps from the ship onto water at the word “Come.”
THE ROOT
Ἐλθέ
elthé
GROWS FROM
ἔρχομαι (erchomai; stems ἐρχ- / ἐλθ-)
Come, go, arrive.
“Come / to go” in this verse is elthé. The command “Come” and the later “to go” are different forms of the same Greek verb. English changes the wording, while the Greek lets Peter’s movement repeat the invitation.
ALSO GROWS
erchou: Come.
ἔρχου
A present imperative form of the same verb, showing its direct force as a call.
elthé: Come.
ἐλθέ
This is the command used here; it shares its verb with the infinitive that follows.
eltheîn: To come, go, or arrive.
ἐλθεῖν
This infinitive appears in the phrase rendered “to go to Jesus,” repeating the command’s verb.
περιεπάτησεν
periepátēsen
GROWS FROM
πατέω (pateō), with περί (perí)
Tread, step, walk.
The word translated “walked” is formed from the ordinary verb for treading or stepping. Peter’s movement is described as steps across the water, keeping the crossing bodily and immediate.
ALSO GROWS
pateō: Tread, step on.
πατέω
This is the base verb beneath “walked,” making the action a matter of placing steps.
katapatéō: Trample underfoot.
καταπατέω
This compound uses the same base verb for forceful treading, showing the root’s concrete sense of contact with a surface.
peripatéō: Walk, go about.
περιπατέω
This is the verb’s dictionary form; it can describe bodily walking or a person’s conduct.
THE PATTERN
A spoken call becomes tangible as someone crosses the boundary between where they stand and where they are called.
So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.THE THREAD
He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.In Greek, “Come” and “They came” are forms of the same verb, erchomai, as Jesus’ “Come” and Peter’s “to go” are in Matthew. In both verses, the invitation becomes visible as movement toward the one who speaks.
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