What Does Matthew 23:7 Mean in the King James?
And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
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 phrase “to be called” makes honor depend on the crowd: their public address is the identity being sought.
THE MEANING
You encounter the pull of recognition in the wish to be greeted in public and addressed with a title. The verse shows status taking shape in the voices around you: being noticed becomes being named.
THE ROOT
καλεῖσθαι
kaleisthai
GROWS FROM
καλ-
To call, summon, invite, or address by name.
“to be called” in this verse is kaleisthai. English “called” can sound like a neutral label, but καλέω also carries the sense of invitation or summons. Here the passive puts the crowd’s voice at the center: the sought identity arrives through what other people call them.
ALSO GROWS
klēsis: Calling, invitation
κλῆσις
It belongs to the καλε-/κλη- word family and retains the sense of a summons, making “called” more than a passive label.
ekklesia: Assembly
ἐκκλησία
Its formation joins ἐκ (“out”) with the καλέω (“call”) family, linking calling with gathering people into an assembly; here the sought title also shapes a public identity.
רַבִּי
rabbi
GROWS FROM
רַב
Great, much; as a title, master.
“Rabbi” in this verse is rabbi. The Semitic title combines rab, “great” or “master,” with -i, “my”: “my master.” Repeating it in the marketplace turns a relation of deference into visible public status.
ALSO GROWS
rav: Great, much; master
רַב
This base supplies the title’s sense of greatness and authority.
rabban: Master, teacher; an honorific title
רַבָּן
It shares the r-b base and shows the root becoming a public designation of authority.
THE PATTERN
When recognition becomes the prize, public titles turn into measures of status.
It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.THE THREAD
But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.The next verse repeats the same Greek call-family in its warning against being called Rabbi, then sets that title beside one Master and a shared brotherhood. It opens verse 7’s marketplace scene as a question of what public naming does to relationships.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us