What Does Matthew 1:20 Mean?
While he turned these things over, look, a messenger of the LORD shone upon him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife to your side, for what has been brought forth in her is from the Set-Apart Breath.
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
But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.THE KEY
The life forming in Mary comes from πνεῦμα (pneuma, breath), one word holding together breath, wind, and Spirit.
THE MEANING
Joseph’s fear meets a message that names the source of the life taking shape in Mary: the Set-Apart Breath. The life is already forming before its meaning is visible to him.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
An unexpected beginning is not necessarily evidence of betrayal or disorder.
THE ROOT
πνεῦμα ἅγιον
pneuma hagion
GROWS FROM
πνε- (from πνέω, pnéō)
To blow or breathe; breath and wind.
The Greek word πνεῦμα (pneuma, breath) carries the senses of breath, wind, and spirit in one. Here, “Holy Ghost” carries that breath-life resonance: the life conceived in Mary is described as coming from the Set-Apart Breath.
ALSO GROWS
pnéō: To blow or breathe.
πνέω
The verb keeps the motion of wind and the act of breathing within the same word family.
pnoē: Breath or gust of wind.
πνοή
This branch makes tangible the breath that the English phrase “Holy Ghost” can leave unseen.
γεννηθέν
gennēthen
GROWS FROM
γεν- (from γεννάω, gennaō)
To beget, bring forth, or give birth.
The Greek word translated “conceived” means what is begotten or brought forth. Its word family also names birth and offspring, tying the hidden beginning in Mary to the life that emerges from it.
ALSO GROWS
gennēma: Offspring or what is brought forth.
γέννημα
It presents conception as the beginning of a life that will become visible.
genesis: Birth, origin, or coming into being.
γένεσις
It shares the language of beginnings and what comes into being.
ἄγγελος
ángelos
GROWS FROM
ἀγγελ-
angel-
To announce or convey a message.
“messenger of the LORD” in this verse is ángelos. The Greek noun names a messenger. The appearance matters because it brings a message that gives Joseph a way to understand what is forming.
ALSO GROWS
angéllō: To announce or report.
ἀγγέλλω
This verb reveals the announcing function carried by the messenger’s name.
angelía: A message or report.
ἀγγελία
The branch names what the messenger brings: a word about the source of the life forming in Mary.
THE PATTERN
Life comes forth through the breath of God, whose work is present before its full meaning can be seen.
And the LORD God shaped the ground-being, Adam, from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and Adam became a living soul.The breath of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty keeps me alive.The breath blows where it wills, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so is everyone who is born of breath.THE THREAD
The breath blows where it wills, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so is everyone who is born of breath.Both verses use πνεῦμα (pneuma, breath) for the source of life. John makes the word’s breath-and-wind sense audible, then links it to being born; Matthew names that same unseen source in Mary’s conception.
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