What Does Matthew 12:23 Mean?
And all the crowds were beside themselves, and said, Is this not the son of David?
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 all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?THE KEY
The crowd’s astonishment opens into a recognition question: is this the beloved kingly nature promised through David now standing before them?
THE MEANING
What is happening before you carries the crowd beyond its familiar frame: they are astonished, then ask whether this is the son of David. The title names more than descent; David’s name carries the root sense of beloved, so the question holds lineage and nature together.
THE ROOT
ἐξίσταντο
existanto
GROWS FROM
ἵστημι
histēmi
to stand, set, or take a position
“were beside themselves” in this verse is existanto. The Greek word behind “amazed” pictures the crowd as standing outside its ordinary frame. The same stand-root appears in ἀνάστασις (anastasis), “rising” or “standing again,” so astonishment and rising share an image of changed position.
ALSO GROWS
existēmi: to stand outside oneself; to be astonished
ἐξίστημι
This is the verb behind the crowd’s amazement: their usual stance gives way before what they see.
anastasis: rising, standing up again; resurrection
ἀνάστασις
Its shared stand-root gives the crowd’s astonishment the image of being moved into a new position.
דָּוִד
Dāwīd
GROWS FROM
דוד
d-w-d
beloved
David’s name is commonly linked to דּוֹד (dōd), “beloved.” “Son of David” remains a royal lineage title, while the name’s root adds the nature of the beloved to the crowd’s question.
ALSO GROWS
dōd: beloved; also uncle
דּוֹד
This related word brings the root sense of beloved into the name the crowd speaks.
dōdîm: loves, caresses
דּוֹדִים
The same root carries affection and belovedness, giving David’s name a quality beyond a family label.
THE PATTERN
The promised Davidic line is recognized where deliverance restores what was closed.
And when your days are filled, and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your seed after you, which shall come out of your own inner parts, and I will set firm his kingdom.Then the eyes of the blind open, and the ears of the deaf open.And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying out and saying, Show us faithful love, Son of David.THE THREAD
And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying out and saying, Show us faithful love, Son of David.Matthew 9:27 places the same title in the mouths of blind men seeking mercy from Jesus. The repeated David-name root links recognition of the beloved royal line with a request for restored sight.
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