What Does Luke 9:18 Mean?
And it came to pass, as he was praying alone, that his disciples were with him, and he asked them, saying, Who do the crowds say that I am?
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 it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?THE KEY
Jesus makes public talk about his identity a live question among those learning him.
THE MEANING
In prayer, the question opens: what do the crowds say Jesus is? Their words come into the company of the learners who are with him, and the next verse turns the question toward their own speech.
THE ROOT
λέγουσιν
legousin
GROWS FROM
λέγω
legō
To say, speak, or tell.
“say” in this verse is legousin. This word family includes both speaking and the word or account spoken: the crowd’s answer is an account of Jesus carried in language. Jesus brings that account into the open among the learners.
ALSO GROWS
logos: Word, message, or account.
λόγος
The crowds’ words form an account of who Jesus is.
lexis: Speech or wording.
λέξις
This branch keeps attention on how identity is expressed through words.
μαθηταί
mathētai
GROWS FROM
μανθάνω
manthanō
To learn.
The word translated “disciples” names these people as learners. Their presence gives the identity question a setting of ongoing learning: they hear what the crowds say while their own understanding is taking shape.
ALSO GROWS
mathētēs: Learner, student, or disciple.
μαθητής
This is the singular form of the word used for Jesus’ disciples.
mathēma: A lesson or something learned.
μάθημα
The shared root connects being a disciple with the process of learning.
THE PATTERN
Identity comes into view when claims about a person are brought into a direct question.
And Moses said to God, Look, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say to them?And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"And he said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you pursue. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.THE THREAD
He said to them, But who do you say that I am? Peter answered and said, The Anointed One of God.Both verses use λέγω (legō, “to say”). The subject shifts from the crowds to the disciples: the public account becomes a question put directly to those learning Jesus.
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