What Does Matthew 17:5 Mean?
While he was still speaking, look, a shining cloud cast its shade over them, and look, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I delight; hear 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
While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.THE KEY
The cloud’s revelation is not the endpoint: it names the beloved Son so that attention can turn to his voice.
THE MEANING
The voice names Jesus as the beloved Son and directs your attention to him. The verse joins recognition with hearing: the one named as loved and pleasing is also the one whose words matter now.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the idea that a spiritual spectacle is complete in itself: the cloud and voice direct attention to the Son.
THE ROOT
ἀκούετε
akouete
GROWS FROM
ἀκου-
akou-
Hear, listen.
English “hear” can sound like mere reception, but the imperative here turns the voice’s announcement into directed attention. The same Greek word-family can extend from hearing toward response, though this verse says “hear,” not “obey.”
ALSO GROWS
akoē: hearing; report
ἀκοή
This noun shares the hearing-root and shows how hearing can also name what is received or reported.
hypakouō: listen to; obey
ὑπακούω
This compound contains the same hearing-root and shows how listening can extend into response.
ἀγαπητός
agapētos
GROWS FROM
ἀγαπ-
agap-
Love; hold dear.
“Beloved” belongs to the same Greek word-family as the words for loving and love. The sentence places that love beside the Father’s pleasure, then directs attention to the Son’s voice.
ALSO GROWS
agapaō: to love
ἀγαπάω
This verb shares the root and makes the family behind “beloved” visible.
agapē: love
ἀγάπη
This noun shares the root, linking the Son’s description to the broader word-family for love.
THE PATTERN
When God identifies the one who speaks for him, revelation directs attention toward hearing that speaker.
The LORD your God raises up for you a prophet from your midst, from your brothers, like me. To him you hear and respond.My sheep hear and respond to my voice, and I perceive them, and they follow me.For he received honor and weight from God the Father, when such a voice was borne to him from the magnificent weight, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I delight."THE THREAD
My sheep hear and respond to my voice, and I perceive them, and they follow me.John uses the same Greek verb for “hear” as Matthew’s “hear ye him.” Matthew’s voice names the Son; John shows hearing his voice in a relationship marked by knowing and following.
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