What Does Mark 5:18 Mean?
And as he stepped into the ship, the one who had been held by a demon pleaded with him that he might be with 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 when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.THE KEY
After release, his first appeal is for company: the verb translated “prayed” carries the force of an urging request to be with Jesus.
THE MEANING
When what holds you is removed, closeness to the one through whom freedom comes can be your first longing. Here, the appeal is for Jesus’ company itself. That desire stands before the next verse gives it a different shape.
THE ROOT
παρεκάλει
parekalei
GROWS FROM
καλέω
kaleō
to call, summon, or invite
“pleaded” in this verse is parekalei. Παρεκάλει (parekalei) is a form of παρακαλέω (parakaleō), meaning to appeal or urge, and in other settings to comfort. Its family grows from καλέω (kaleō), “to call” or “invite,” giving this request the feel of a personal appeal for company.
ALSO GROWS
parakaleō: to appeal, urge, or comfort
παρακαλέω
This is the verb behind παρεκάλει here; the man makes a direct appeal to be with Jesus.
klēsis: calling or invitation
κλῆσις
This related word shows how the same word family can carry the sense of an invitation, echoing his request to join Jesus.
THE PATTERN
An encounter with God’s action becomes testimony through the voice of the person who receives it.
Come and hear, all you who stand in awe of God, and I will recount what he has done for my living soul.But Jesus did not allow him, and said to him, "Go to your house, to your own, and tell them how great things the Lord has done for you, and has had compassion on you."For we cannot keep from speaking what we have perceived and heard.THE THREAD
And he made twelve, so that they might be with him, and so that he might send them out to herald.Mark pairs being with Jesus with being sent out. Here, the request for nearness takes the form of a sending home, where the man can tell his own people what has been done for him.
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