What Does Mark 4:41 Mean?
And they feared a great fear, and said to one another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea hear and respond to 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 they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?THE KEY
The wind and sea are not only silenced; the Greek calls their response hearing, and the disciples fear the voice they answer.
THE MEANING
The storm is quiet, but the disciples are seized by great fear and ask who this man is. You can be beyond immediate danger and still be shaken by the authority that has answered it.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that when danger passes, fear must disappear.
THE ROOT
ὑπακούει
hypakouei
GROWS FROM
ἀκούω (akouō), within ὑπακούω (hypakouō)
Hear, listen, heed; the compound describes hearing and responding.
“hear and respond” in this verse is hypakouei. The word translated “obey” keeps hearing inside it: the wind and sea are described as hearing and responding to him. Their response is what makes the disciples ask what kind of man has a voice the storm answers.
ALSO GROWS
akouō: hear, listen
ἀκούω
Hearing lies at the center of the word for obeying; the storm’s stillness is pictured as a response to a voice.
hypakoē: obedience, compliance
ὑπακοή
This related noun names the response that follows hearing.
ἐφοβήθησαν φόβον μέγαν
ephobēthēsan phobon megan
GROWS FROM
φοβ- (phob-), in φοβέομαι (phobeomai)
Fear, dread; the phrase literally says, “they feared a great fear.”
“feared a great fear” in this verse is ephobēthēsan phobon megan. Greek repeats fear as both verb and noun, where the KJV renders it “feared exceedingly.” The calm does not settle the disciples; the authority behind it deepens their fear and their question.
ALSO GROWS
phobos: fear, dread
φόβος
The noun shares the fear-root with the verb describing the disciples.
phoberos: fearful, terrifying
φοβερός
This related word shows the same root describing what inspires fear.
THE PATTERN
When terrifying waters are stilled, the calm reveals an authority beyond the storm.
He makes the storm stand in stillness, and its waves are hushed.Then the men stood in great awe of the LORD, and offered a sacrifice to the LORD, and made vows.And the men marveled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea hear and respond to him?THE THREAD
And all were stirred, so that they asked among themselves, saying, "What is this? What new teaching is this? With authority he commands even the unclean breaths, and they hear and respond to him."The verb ὑπακούω (hypakouō, “hear and respond”) behind “obey” here is also used when Mark says the unclean spirits “do obey him.” The repeated word widens the disciples’ question: his voice reaches both the storm and the spirits.
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