What Does Matthew 6:9 Mean?
Pray, then, in this way. Our Father, who is in heaven, let your name be set apart.
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
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.THE KEY
The prayer begins by asking that the Father’s nature be recognized as set apart, placing who God is before what the one praying needs.
THE MEANING
You pray as part of an “our,” addressing the Father whose realm is heaven. You ask that his nature be recognized as set apart here and now. Prayer begins by naming who God is before naming what you need.
THE ROOT
ἁγιασθήτω
hagiasthētō
GROWS FROM
ἁγι-
hagi-
Set apart; regarded as holy or distinct.
“let your name be set apart” in this verse is hagiasthētō. This form asks that the Father’s name be set apart. The request is for his nature to stand distinct in the one praying’s sight and in the world around them.
ALSO GROWS
hagiasmos: Setting apart; consecration.
ἁγιασμός
It shows the same word family describing the state or process of being set apart.
hagion: A holy thing or sanctuary.
ἅγιον
The same family can name what is set apart, giving “hallowed” the sense of a distinct identity, not just a spoken honorific.
ὄνομα
onoma
GROWS FROM
ὀνοματ-
onomat-
Name; designation, identity, or reputation.
In this prayer, the name gathers more than a spoken label: it points to the Father’s revealed identity and character. To ask that this name be hallowed is to ask that this nature be recognized and honored as distinct.
ALSO GROWS
onomazō: To name or call by name.
ὀνομάζω
It shows the name as something spoken and made recognizable.
onomasia: Naming or mention.
ὀνομασία
It extends the family from the name itself to the act of naming, linking the Father’s nature to how it is made known.
THE PATTERN
The Father’s name is set apart as God’s identity is revealed and honored among people.
And I will set apart my great name, which was pierced among the nations, which you pierced in the midst of them, and the nations will know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when I am set apart in you before their eyes.I have made your nature visible to the people you gave me out of the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have guarded your word.But set apart the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you for a word about the hope within you, with gentleness and fear.THE THREAD
But set apart the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you for a word about the hope within you, with gentleness and fear.Peter’s ἁγιάσατε (hagiasate, “set apart”) belongs to the same Greek verb family as ἁγιασθήτω (hagiasthētō, “let it be hallowed”) here. “In your hearts” brings the prayer into the present: the Father’s nature is recognized within the person praying.
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