What Does Mark 1:20 Mean?
And straightway he called them, and they let go of their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired workers, and went behind him.
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 straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.THE KEY
The same Greek verb that can mean “forgive” names their leaving: following begins as a release.
THE MEANING
The call meets you in the middle of ordinary work, while family bonds and responsibilities remain visible. It moves the brothers at once: they leave their father in the boat, where hired workers remain with him.
THE ROOT
ἀφῆκαν
aphēkan
GROWS FROM
ἀφίημι (apó + hiēmi)
Send away; let go; release.
“let go of” in this verse is aphēkan. The verb behind “left” is ἀφίημι (aphiēmi), whose range includes leaving, sending away, and forgiving or releasing. English separates departure from forgiveness, while the shared verb holds both in the image of letting go; here, that release is literal.
ALSO GROWS
aphiēmi: A verb for leaving or letting something go; it can also mean forgive.
ἀφίημι
The brothers’ departure is expressed with the same verb that can describe releasing an offense.
aphesis: A noun meaning release or forgiveness.
ἄφεσις
This related word makes the link between departure and forgiveness visible: both carry the sense of release.
THE PATTERN
A call becomes visible in the movement it sets in motion away from familiar ties.
And the LORD said to Abram, Go away from your land, from your land of birth, and from your father's house, to the land I will let you see.And straightway they let go of their nets, and followed him.By trust Abraham, called to go out into a place he would receive as an inheritance, heard and responded, and went out, not knowing where he was going.THE THREAD
Watch yourselves. If your brother misses the mark against you, rebuke him; and if he turns, release him.The Greek verb translated “left” here is ἀφίημι (aphiēmi), the same verb translated “forgive” in Luke 17:3. One verb holds literal departure and the release of an offense together, without making those acts identical.
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