What Does Matthew 16:1 Mean in the King James?
The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.
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 request for a sign is already a test: the verse names the hidden posture before any sign appears.
THE MEANING
A demand for proof can carry a test inside it. The request here is not simply about seeing; it puts Jesus to the test while specifying that the sign must come from heaven. The question exposes the seekers’ stance before any answer arrives.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that asking for evidence is automatically neutral: a request can be shaped as a test from the start.
THE ROOT
πειράζοντες
peirazontes from peirazō
GROWS FROM
πείρα
peira
Attempt, trial, or test.
The Greek word translated “tempting” carries the sense of putting someone to a test. That makes the request more than a search for information: the verse identifies it as a test before Jesus answers.
ALSO GROWS
peirazō: To test, try, or put to the test.
πειράζω
This is the verb behind “tempting” and names the posture the verse assigns to the request.
peirasmos: A trial or testing.
πειρασμός
This related noun names the trial that grows from the act of testing.
σημεῖον
sēmeion
GROWS FROM
σῆμα
sēma
A mark or sign.
A sign is a marker that points beyond itself. Set beside the word for testing, it shows that the request is framed around demanding an indication on the seekers’ terms.
ALSO GROWS
sēma: A mark or sign.
σῆμα
This basic word makes visible the marker-like quality of the sign being requested.
sēmainō: To indicate or signify.
σημαίνω
This related verb shows how a sign works: it points toward something beyond the mark itself.
THE PATTERN
When proof is demanded as a condition, the demand can become a test that reveals the demander’s stance.
Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:THE THREAD
A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.The requested sign in verse 1 and the sign named in verse 4 are the same Greek word, σημεῖον (sēmeion), meaning a sign or marker. The answer names Jonah as the sign, then Jesus leaves.
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