What Does Matthew 20:24 Mean?
And when the ten heard it, they grew hot against the two brothers.
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 the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.THE KEY
The ten’s outrage exposes how easily the desire for rank survives inside the very people condemning it.
THE MEANING
A bid for honor can inflame a whole circle: the ten turn their anger toward the two, though all belong to one brotherhood. Shared belonging does not prevent rivalry; it can become the ground where resentment takes hold.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Outrage at another person’s bid for rank does not prove that the outraged are free from the same contest.
THE ROOT
ἠγανάκτησαν
ēganaktēsan
GROWS FROM
ἀγανακτ-
aganakt-
To be indignant, resentful, or displeased.
“grew hot” in this verse is ēganaktēsan. English uses “moved” and “indignation,” while the Greek uses one verb for the ten’s reaction. Their anger is not a separate judgment floating above the dispute; it is part of how the struggle over honor spreads through the group.
ALSO GROWS
aganakteō: To be indignant or resentful.
ἀγανακτέω
This is the verb describing the ten’s response to what they hear.
aganaktēsis: Indignation or resentment.
ἀγανάκτησις
The related noun names the same inner response, showing the shared word family behind the English phrase.
ἀδελφῶν
adelphōn
GROWS FROM
ἀδελφ-
adelph-
Brother or sibling; traditionally traced to a compound meaning “from the same womb.”
“brethren” in this verse is adelphōn. The two are named by a word of kinship even as the ten turn against them. The anger runs inside shared belonging, showing how rivalry can divide people who are bound together as siblings.
ALSO GROWS
adelphē: Sister.
ἀδελφή
The feminine form belongs to the same sibling word family.
adelphotēs: Brotherhood or kinship.
ἀδελφότης
This related word makes the shared belonging behind “brethren” explicit.
THE PATTERN
When honor is measured by rank, comparison turns shared circles into rivalry.
And his brothers envied him, but his father guarded the word.And Saul burned exceedingly, and this word was evil in his eyes, and he said, They have given David ten thousands, and to me they have given only thousands. What more can he have but the kingdom?And a love of winning also arose among them, as to which of them was reckoned the greatest.THE THREAD
When the ten heard this, they began to be vexed with James and John.Mark uses the same verb, ἀγανακτέω (aganakteō, to be indignant), and names James and John as the two at whom the ten direct their anger. The repeated wording ties the reaction to the same request for honor.
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