What Does Matthew 26:15 Mean in the King James?
And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
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 uses the same give-root for the money Judas asks to receive and the person he offers to hand over.
THE MEANING
This verse speaks wherever a person is reduced to a price: money changes hands as a human being is handed over. The same give-root binds the payment to the transfer, and the thirty pieces make that valuation concrete.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie that money changes hands without changing a human life dissolves here: the stated price is tied to handing a person over.
THE ROOT
παραδίδωμι
paradidōmi
GROWS FROM
δίδωμι
didōmi
To give or grant; the base verb within παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi), meaning “to hand over.”
“deliver” in this verse is paradidōmi. In the Greek, δοῦναι (dounai), “to give,” is the verb in Judas’s question, while παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi), “to hand over,” is his offer. English uses different words for the money and the person; Greek keeps both acts within the same give-root, with the compound specifying the handover.
ALSO GROWS
dounai: To give; an infinitive form of δίδωμι (didōmi).
δοῦναι
This is the form behind “give me” in the same sentence, so the payment and the handover share the same root.
metadidōmi: To share or impart.
μεταδίδωμι
The same give-root can describe sharing; here the compound directs the giving toward handing a person over.
THE PATTERN
When a human life is made an object of exchange, silver gives the valuation a visible measure.
If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value;THE THREAD
And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.The Greek παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi), “hand over,” is rendered “deliver” in verse 15 and “betray” here. The wording keeps the same act in view: seeking an opportunity to hand him over.
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