What Does Luke 1:60 Mean?
And his mother answered and said, Not so, but he will be called John.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.THE KEY
John’s name breaks the expected family line and names a nature: YHWH has shown favor.
THE MEANING
When identity is expected to repeat a family line, this verse holds open another possibility: a name can carry a distinct nature. John means “YHWH has shown favor,” making the spoken name a compact declaration of favor.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The assumption that a child’s identity must be named after the father gives way here: a name can belong without repeating his.
THE ROOT
κληθήσεται
klēthēsetai
GROWS FROM
καλέω
to call, summon, or name
English can make “called” sound like a label someone assigns, while καλέω carries the act of calling and naming. Here the future passive presents John’s name as an identity that is to be recognized, not merely a family label.
ALSO GROWS
klēsis: calling, invitation
κλῆσις
The same word family holds together being named and being called into a particular place or purpose.
klētos: called, invited
κλητός
This branch describes someone by the call they have received, echoing the verse’s naming as an identity.
epikaleō: to call upon, invoke, or name
ἐπικαλέω
It shows the same root at work when a name is spoken or appealed to.
יוֹחָנָן
Yōḥānān
GROWS FROM
חנן
to show favor, be gracious
The name John comes from the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning “YHWH has shown favor.” Its root חנן also appears in words for favor and graciousness, so the name carries a nature within it rather than serving only as a label.
ALSO GROWS
ḥēn: favor
חֵן
This branch makes the favor contained in John’s name visible as a word in its own right.
ḥannûn: gracious
חַנּוּן
The same root describes the nature of one who shows favor, deepening the name’s declaration.
THE PATTERN
A name can reveal a nature or calling that inherited expectations do not determine.
No longer shall your name be called Abram, but Abraham, father of multitudes, for I have set you as a father of many nations.And the nations shall see your alignment, and all kings your weight; and you shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.And he led him to Jesus. And Jesus, fixing his gaze on him, said, You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas, the rock.THE THREAD
But the messenger said to him, Do not be seized by awe, Zacharias, for your need has been heard and answered; and your wife Elisabeth will bring forth a son for you, and you will call his name John.Luke 1:13 uses the same Greek verb, καλέω, when the name John is announced. In this verse the same naming appears in the future passive: the name is spoken as something to be received, even against the family’s expectation.
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