What Does Matthew 28:9 Mean in the King James?

And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
Matthew 28:9 · KJV
The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

The first contact with the risen Jesus is a grip at his feet: recognition takes the body’s shape.

The risen Jesus meets you while you are carrying the news toward others. Your recognition becomes bodily closeness: you hold his feet and bow down.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

The risen one can be encountered only as an idea, at a distance.

ἐκράτησαν

ekratēsan

GROWS FROM

κρατ

Strength or power; in the verb, the ability to hold, seize, or prevail.

“held” in this verse is ekratēsan. The women do not merely brush against Jesus; they keep hold of his feet. The Greek word belongs to a family that joins holding with strength, making their contact both physical and resolute.

ALSO GROWS

krateō: To hold fast, seize, or rule.

κρατέω

This verb is the same root family as the word translated “held,” making the women’s grasp concrete.

kratos: Strength, might, or dominion.

κράτος

It shows the strength and power carried by the root beneath the act of holding.

enkrateia: Self-control or mastery.

ἐγκράτεια

This compound shares the ⁨κρατ⁩ family and extends its sense of having power or mastery.

Encounter takes bodily form in approach and bowed posture.

And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
Genesis 18:2 · KJVAbraham meets the visitors with his body, running toward them and bowing low.
And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet,
Mark 5:22 · KJVJairus responds to Jesus by falling at his feet.
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
Revelation 1:17 · KJVThe sight of the figure brings a bodily collapse at his feet, followed by his touch.
But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.
Matthew 9:25 · KJV

The same ⁨κρατ⁩ family appears when Jesus takes the girl’s hand and she rises. Here the women hold the risen Jesus at his feet; there, he holds the girl as life returns.

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Matthew 28:9 KJV Meaning