What Does Matthew 22:43 Mean?
He said to them, How then does David in breath call him Lord, saying,
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
He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,THE KEY
David’s “spirit” is breath, so the question turns on the king’s own voice calling another “Lord”.
THE MEANING
The question reaches you: if the anointed one is David’s son, why does David’s breath call him Lord? The verse holds descent and authority together, then turns your attention to the words that follow.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the assumption that being David’s descendant must make the anointed one subordinate to David; lineage does not settle rank.
THE ROOT
πνεύματι
pneumati
GROWS FROM
πνέω
pneō
To breathe or blow; breath in motion.
The Greek word translated spirit belongs to the family of breathing and blowing. David’s words can be heard as spoken in breath: the claim arrives as living utterance, not an abstract label.
ALSO GROWS
pneō: The verb for breathing or blowing.
πνέω
It brings the root’s physical sense into view beneath the translated word spirit.
pnoē: Breath, a blast of air.
πνοή
It shows that this word family holds breath and moving air together.
κύριον
kyrion
GROWS FROM
κυρι- (kyri-, the stem of κύριος)
Authority or mastery; one who holds standing as lord.
“Lord” in this verse is kyrion. The Greek title carries the sense of authority, not only respectful address. David’s voice assigns that standing to the one whose lineage is being questioned.
ALSO GROWS
kyriotēs: Lordship, rule, or dominion.
κυριότης
It makes the authority carried by Lord explicit.
kyrieuō: To rule over or hold mastery.
κυριεύω
It shows that the title points to a relationship of authority.
καλεῖ
kalei
GROWS FROM
καλέω
kaleō
To call, summon, or name.
“call” in this verse is kalei. The verse puts David’s act of naming at the center: he does not only think of the figure as Lord; he calls him Lord. The title is spoken aloud, carried by breath.
ALSO GROWS
klēsis: A calling, summons, or invitation.
κλῆσις
It shows the root can name an act that draws someone into a relation.
epikaleō: To call upon or invoke.
ἐπικαλέω
It extends the act of calling into direct address.
THE PATTERN
Breath carries speech through a human voice, and that speech can name authority beyond the speaker.
The breath of the LORD speaks in me, and his word is on my tongue.So I make known to you that no one speaking in the breath of God says, Jesus is accursed, and no one is able to say, Jesus is Lord, except in the Set-Apart Breath.For prophecy is never borne by the wanting of man, but set-apart men of God speak, borne by the Set-Apart Breath.THE THREAD
A Psalm of David. The LORD says to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I set your enemies as a footstool for your feet.The Greek text of this psalm uses κύριος (kyrios, lord or master) for both titles, the same word Matthew uses when describing David’s address in verse 43. Its Hebrew distinguishes יְהוָה (YHWH, the LORD) from אֲדֹנִי (adoni, my lord), holding a distinction inside the repeated English word Lord.
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